Beyond the Classroom Walls: The rediscovery of the family and community as partners in education

Abstract

Teachers have been aware of the influence of home on school success for a long time. However, in the last decade we have seen a significant increase in the interest of educational researchers, educational authorities and individual teachers in the relationship between home, school and community. In this paper I want to set this emerging interest in its historical context and challenge readers to consider this topic through multiple, and more diverse and appropriate lenses. I want to argue that there is a need to look closely at the nature of the relationship between home and school and to deconstruct the purposes that drive these initiatives. There is a need to examine the many claims about the relationship between home and school, and to critique the deficit views that have driven much of this interest. However, rather than just to critique, I want to explore alternative more responsive models for developing partnerships between home and school, and use literacy practices as one way to illustrate some of the options available.