Education affects all sorts of other social institutions. The amount and quality of learning children receive has a direct effect on their prosperity, health, and citizenship. Adults, too, need access to lifelong learning. And not all learning has to take place inside a classroom. People learn from their environment, from the people around them, and from all their experiences. Their community therefore plays an important part in education throughout their lives. This is why studying community education is important.

We suggest you take a look at the two introductory resources below, which will give you a good grasp of the subject; enjoy exploring these resources, and if you know of something that we could include here in future revisions, please email us at tamarack@tamarackcommunity.ca.

Education - Signature Documents

Communities & Schools Series The Caledon Institute’s Communities and Schools Series includes five profiles of schools that have made their communities an important part of education, and two position papers from the Caledon Institute on the importance of community to learning. The pieces discuss the different ways that communities and schools interact, and raises important political issues, such as the privatization of education. [In Publication Search, choose "Communities & Schools" under Subject and then click "Search."]

Education & Community Building This booklet from the Institute for Educational Leadership makes the link between community engagement and education more clearly and explicitly than any other we found. It describes the rationale for linking schools to the larger community and how it can be achieved. It also includes “Sticking Points”—the things that can stand in the way of the integration process and how to avoid them. The stories of four communities round out this extremely useful resource.

Useful Definitions

Community Engagement - People working collaboratively, through inspired action and learning, to create and realize bold visions for their common future.

Community Education - Education at all levels and ages which teaches skills, instills community values, uses local resources, and involves the entire community in the process of teaching and learning collaboratively through diverse activities both inside and outside traditional classrooms.

Community School - A school which acts as a hub of community activity, fostering relationships between students, teachers, parents, business, health and social services, nonprofits, volunteers, and others.

Service Learning - Incorporating community involvement and volunteer work into traditional curricula to the mutual benefit of students, who are engaged in their communities, and community organizations, which receive valuable help in their activities. Service learning is just one aspect of Community Education.

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