Does Education Work in a Vacuum?

Or

Gown-Town Partnership

Or

School-Community Partnership

 

Communities are made up of people who hold sets of shared beliefs that are difficult to change; however, education can foster change by serving as a principal tool leading to community participation and community building. If we are to succeed at the economic rebirth of Pakistan, we must create full partnership between the private sector, government entities, and the communities themselves. The conditions in Pakistan--the education crisis, the low skill level of entry-level workers, and the demands of an evolving economy do not accelerate the development of these partnerships between school and community. Research shows that schools operate best when there is close cooperation among the stakeholders: parents, teachers, administration, business, and the community at large. In addition, it is critical for the decision making process to be closest to the point of implementation. A partnership formed by schools and business results in a firm commitment to develop educational practices that reflect the values of the community and vision of all.

 

The structure of partnerships is varied: one school and one partner, one partner school cluster, a group of partners communitywide, or a group of partners nationwide. The most common form of partnership is probably the use of volunteers from corporations who serve in classrooms under the supervision of paid staff. The impact of partnership programs includes everything from reinforcing classroom instruction to improving employability skills, providing internships for teachers, and providing employment opportunities for gifted or at-risk youth.

 

The myriad of partnership initiatives which have been undertaken in a variety of developed community settings (urban, suburban and rural), and at different educational levels (elementary, secondary, and post-secondary), a great deal of additional inquiry, elaboration, and refinement is still necessary in evaluating school business partnerships. Research is needed that undertakes comparative studies of the various ways of interrelating: cooperation, coordination, and collaboration. With a further delineation of the components of each process, perhaps we would learn the requirements of each method, the limitations, and the effectiveness of each type under specific circumstances. Partnership models for Pakistan are needed which may document day to day workings and present results at the school building level. We have all the right to learn from others, I believe.

 

Business and education are two vital but different streams. Typically, business values and methods are more tangible "product oriented" while education is concerned with less concrete goals such as helping our young become good citizens. Motivated by a need for an improved labor force, businesses are not working with schools in ways that can affect every aspect of the education process. School-community partnerships may bring about newly developed programs and relationships, increased public confidence and support for education, a strong commitment to local communities and to the national interest, and broad based coalitions with clear goals. However, leaders in both business and education have not yet convinced about gown-town partnership. As we have entered in 21^st century, though barefooted, businesses and schools will need to identify new goals, new ways for meeting those goals, and new processes for measuring their accomplishments.

The Value of Partnerships

The assumption that in school business partnerships only the schools "get" while the businesses "give" is outdated. New innovative win-win approaches are being developed, recognized and encouraged. These programs are not just for large companies with lots of time or money. With some innovative thinking, any size business can contribute and benefit from the partnership. Partnerships are based on the premise that improved education benefits all members of communities both directly and indirectly. Essential to success is making improved student learning the goal of partnership activities. True partnerships benefit all parties. In developed countries, business involvement in public schools: has produced a durable commitment to local communities and to the national interest; reflects persistence in developing new programs and new relationships; has shown greatest success in building broad-based coalitions with clear goals; and has effectively attracted and maintained public attention to education concerns. But partnerships do not begin simply as an act of goodwill. They appear as a valuable strategy of improving the educational opportunities of students.

Partnerships provide schools an opportunity to bring the influence of the school, the family, and the community into balance. They are a way to return to families and communities functions they can and should perform. However, the school does not abrogate responsibility for these functions. Instead, it assumes a new responsibility: coordinating the efforts of all three spheres through school-family-community partnerships to enhance students' development, learning, and success in school and in later life.

 

The Focus of Academic Partnerships

There is a relationship of partnership goals within the context of a particular focus. Focus: Classroom Teaching and Learning. These partnerships are teacher-focused. They give teachers authentic work with real world problems in a business setting, provide teachers with opportunities to interact with technically trained professionals, assist teachers with transferring work experience into classrooms, and act as change agents within the school system. Focus: Cooperative Education. This is probably the oldest and most enduring form of partnership between business and education. In cooperative education programs, school coordinators supervise students while they are on the job, arrange for job opportunities with employers, and help to connect work experiences with classroom learning. Focus: Vocational Education. This focus on partnerships to promote agricultural, industrial, and home economics subjects. Focus: Apprenticeships. Apprenticeships are a form of structured workplace training. They serve as learning environments for young people and create an institutional link between education and employment, and between adolescence and adulthood. Employers share the responsibility for educating youngsters by helping schools plan, organize, and implement work-based learning. Focus: Helping Hands, the "helping hand" focus to describe a variety of activities in which business people work to improve schools through site-specific programs. Examples of this type of partnership include business participation in career or work awareness initiatives, managerial assistance, and adopt-a-school projects.

 

Some Possibilities of Educational Partnerships

There are a number of common elements which are essential to developing and implementing a successful partnership. The beginning of a successful partnership requires communication among all potential participants about: the nature of the concerns that led to the idea of developing a partnership; whether a partnership is a good way to address those concerns; the organization of the partnership; the specific roles and responsibilities of partners; and the content and focus of partnership activities. In successful partnerships, leadership builds commitment and gathers resources; problems are used as an opportunity to build relationships; and evaluation and strategic planning are used to ensure that goals are achieved. In addition, education is no longer just a service delivery model. Some possibilities of partnership maybe as follows:

 

·         Movement to a partnership model of education requires a reorientation of educators, parents, administrators, and students away from a service delivery model. A paradigm shift is necessary in five dimensions: movement away from activity-specific partnerships toward collaborative partnerships; movement toward social responsibility; strong interest in learner outcomes and learning processes; re-conceptualization of education from a service delivery model to a partnership model; and bottom-up strategy for change.

 

·         The policy level of business involvement in the schools requires concentrated efforts by the top echelon of corporate officers serving on policy task groups over an extended period of time. Policy partnerships are collaborative efforts among businesses, schools, and public officials that shape public and political debate about schools. They bring about substantive changes in legislation or governance, and affect the overall direction of the educational system.

 

·         The systemic educational improvement level of business involvement in the schools concentrates on the school district restructuring process. Systemic educational improvement programs of future government system (the devolution) in Pakistan may require strategic planning and a long term commitment by a consortium of business CEO's, and local school, community and political representatives.

·         The classroom level of business involvement in the schools involves volunteers who bring their business or occupational expertise directly into the instructional setting or bring the classroom to the business setting. Classroom partnerships are the most widespread activities used by business in the schools. These activities can take the form of adopt-a-school or helping hand programs. By "adopting" a local high school, for example, a company can deploy employee volunteers to encourage students to look ahead to jobs and college and not drop out. It can boost teacher morale and provide management help to principals.

·         Initiatives are aimed at enhancing education rather than reforming education in a school setting. Classroom partnerships can include educational support programs such as mentoring, or join-a-school initiatives by businesses of all sizes. This type of partnership is usually a short term investment by corporations and requires limited involvement. General Electric, IBM, and RJR Nabisco have set aside millions of dollars to help schools increase the number of college enrollments for disadvantaged students, develop innovative computer use in schools, and create local educational improvement projects.

 

·         Programmatic partnerships are an extension of classroom partnerships. They require larger resource commitments from corporations than classroom partnerships and are designed to change current educational practices in the schools. Most famous type of programmatic initiatives is academies. Academies are schools within schools. They attempt to prepare students for the world of work by offering an enriched business curriculum and career preparation skills. Academies often have field placement for students in order to expose them to professional business environments. The American Express Company's "National Academy of Finance" has an Academy of Finance housed in sixty-one schools and twenty-six school districts throughout the nation. These academies teach high school students how to work in a business and/or become entrepreneurs.

 

The essential elements for success of school-community partnership: involvement of staff and administrators of the school and business, parents, community members, business partners, teachers, and students, as well as the necessary events in the planning, implementation, and completion phases continue to be much the same. In looking to the future of opportunities for school-community partnership initiatives, sharing does not begin simply as an act of goodwill. Sharing appears as a valuable strategy of improving the educational opportunities of students. When families, educators, and communities work together, schools improve and children receive the quality education they need to lead happy, productive lives. For Pakistanis to move forward to become prosperous and strong, parents, community members and businesses need to become involved in providing learning opportunities for all children.