Relation Between School and Family in the Community : Dialogues Amidst Systemic Tensions

This book is about the relation between the school, the family, and the community as agents of education considered as a large field that goes beyond schooling. The triadic dialogue taking place amidst boundaries is analyzed, mainly from the perspective of cultural psychology, in a complex way in reference to different epistemological, ideological methodological, and very practical issues. This volume situates this triadic dialogue amidst a field of tensions that take different forms. The tensions between systemic continuity and discontinuity across different ecological levels are central in this book. How diversity and difference are dealt with is at the core of such tensions.

This volume addresses a number of crucial issues. First, it brings to the field of home-school-community relationships a systematic theoretical scheme. Secondly, it gives us a comparative-cultural (India and Canada) glimpse into the histories of education as it has been used as a tool to conquer the minds of new―by force annexed―members of the society. Thirdly, it brings into the school-home-community relationships discourse basic dialogical principles. These relationships are not merely general themes of discourse but can take very concrete forms. Fourthly, the general model of Urie Bronfenbrenner, which has been used as a basis for looking at schools in society since the 1970s, is given careful analytic attention. Finally, we explore innovative pedagogical practices that are oriented towards the parents who may be brought into the school territory to join their children in joint construction efforts.

Dany Boulanger is a university professor in education in Quebec.