Working with community

THIS ASSIGNMENT SHOULD BE WRITEN AS IF YOU ARE A STUDENT-TEACHER WHO IS COMPLETING TEACHING PLACEMENT AT A PRIMARY SCHOOL. THE PLACEMENT SCHOOL IS 'BAYSWATER SOUTH PRIMARY SCHOOL' WHICH IS LOCATED IN VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA - PLEASE SEE http://www(dot)baysouthps(dot)vic(dot)edu(dot)au/ -- THE WHOLE ASSIGNMENT (ESPECIALLY PART A) SHOULD BE RELATED BACK TO THIS SCHOOL AS IF YOU ARE A STUDENT-TEACHER THERE. ALSO, THIS ASSIGNMENT IS A REFLECTION ESSAY AND IS TO WRITEN IN 3 SECTIONS. PLEASE SET IT OUT WITH HEADINGS (AND SUBHEADINGS IN PART C) FOR THE 3 SECTIONS - THANK YOU. PART A: Community characteristics (500 words) THIS SECTION MUST BE ABOUT - BAYSWATER SOUTH PRIMARY SCHOOL AND THE AREA OF BAYSWATER IN VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. Please write this section in essay form but answer the following questions in your response. 1. How would you describe/define the community in which your (placement) school is located (geographic, demographic, historical, cultural, political etc)? 2. How is the school positioned within the community – what projects/partnerships/identity/connections does the school share with the wider community? 3. Does the school broaden its curriculum to include/involve community participation? If so, what role does the broader community play in the school? 4. How, if at all, is teaching and learning linked to community? 5. What potential exists for any future relational possibilities/partnerships that are yet to be fully realized by the school? PART B: School/wider school community relations (500 words) THIS SECTION WAS COMPLETED BUT WAS IN NO WAY RELATED TO PRIMARY SCHOOLS OR AUSTRALIA - IF IT IS A GLOBAL ARTICLE IT MUST BE PRIMARY SCHOOL RELATED. For this part of the assignment you must locate and describe TWO case studies (journal articles or book chapters) that exemplify school/broader community relations/partnerships and practices. For example, shared local (or global) projects that bring people together through a focus on ecology/movement/design/sustainability/arts/water, which encourage children to work with community members beyond or within the school grounds. PART C: Implications of case studies findings (1000 words) FOR THIS SECTION PLEASE USE THE QUESTIONS AND HAVE SUBHEADINGS. Drawing on the findings from EACH of the two case studies (article/chapter), discuss the practices, processes, and outcomes that inform your understanding of how curriculum (CURRICULUM INFO CAN BE FOUND AT http://vels(dot)vcaa(dot)vic(dot)edu(dot)au)can be taught through a community framework. 1. What are the strengths/limitations/implications of the two case study projects? 2. How do the case studies correlate (if at all) to your placement school? 3. How do the case studies inform your understanding of the pedagogical role of community? Refer back to the work of Ife and Tesoriero (2006) in your concluding statements. Elaboration on the instructions: BACKGROUND: A community enables the valuing, production and expression of a local or community-based culture, which will have unique characteristics associated with that community, which will enable people to become active producers of that culture rather than passive consumers, and which will thus encourage both diversity among communities and broad-based participation. (Ife and Tesoriero, 2006, p.98) In Week 4 we began to explore the relevance of schools and broader community relations. Using Ife's and Tesoriero's work (above) we examined and defined the meaning of community with the assistance of the five characteristics of community (2006, pp. 96-98). Whilst these characteristics are valuable in understanding the relevance and meaning of community, the term community is contested, complex and not always easy to define. TASK: In this assignment, we use community as a framework for considering how our placement schools engage/identify with the broader community. You are required to look beyond the boundaries of the school fence and describe and comprehend the characteristics and involvement of the wider community. N.B. In order to successfully complete this task you will be required to make critical observations and partake in strategic conversations with school staff (not just your mentor teacher) throughout your teaching placement throughout your placement. PART A: Community Characteristics (500 words) Use the following questions to frame your response (these same questions will be used to assess your work in the rubric criteria). 1. How would you describe/define the community in which your (placement) school is located (geographic, demographic, historical, cultural, political etc)? 2. How is the school positioned within the community – what projects/partnerships/identity/connections does the school share with the wider community? 3. Does the school broaden its curriculum to include/involve community participation? If so, what role does the broader community play in the school? 4. How, if at all, is teaching and learning linked to community? 5. What potential exists for any future relational possibilities/partnerships that are yet to be fully realized by the school? Part B: School/wider school community relations (500 words) For this part of the assignment you must locate and describe TWO case studies (journal articles or book chapters) that exemplify school/broader community relations/partnerships and practices. For example, shared local (or global) projects that bring people together through a focus on ecology/movement/design/sustainability/arts/water, which encourage children to work with community members beyond or within the school grounds. Part C: Implications of case studies findings (1000 words) Drawing on the findings from EACH of the two case studies (article/chapter), discuss the practices, processes, and outcomes that inform your understanding of how curriculum can be taught through a community framework. 1. What are the strengths/limitations/implications of the two case study projects? 2. How do the case studies correlate (if at all) to your placement school? 3. How do the case studies inform your understanding of the pedagogical role of community? Refer back to the work of Ife and Tesoriero (2006) in your concluding statements. EXTRA INFO: - the placement school that MUST be used is Bayswater South Primary School (http://www(dot)baysouthps(dot)vic(dot)edu(dot)au/) - Statistics about the location (Bayswater) can be found on the Australian Bureau of Statistics wesbite (http://www(dot)abs(dot)gov(dot)au/) and on other various websites. - REFERENCE: Ife, J., Tesoriero, F. (2006). 'Community'. In Community development: community-based alternatives in an age of globalisation (3rd ed.) Frenchs Forest: Pearson, pp. 96-103. This reference MUST be used and will be attached as a file to my order.