Learning from Difference: Considerations for Schools as Communities

Abstract

In today’s highly complex and heterogeneous public schools, the current notion of schools as homogeneous communities with shared beliefs, norms, and values is inadequate. Drawing on Barth’s (1990) question of how to use difference as a resource, I take up ideas from feminism, multiculturalism, and inclusive education to consider the development of community in schools. I argue that despite the valuable contributions of these theoretical perspectives, each also includes the potential for increased fragmentation and polarization. As we consider how to use differences as a foundation for community, it is important not to reify any particular perspective, thus marginalizing others and erecting new barriers. Explicitly embracing the need to identify and respect difference, being open to new ideas without taking an exclusionary position, and committing to ongoing participation in dialogical processes may help schools to develop as more authentic communities of difference.