Towards a 'Learning Community'

The Case of Rana Primary School

Abstract

As we look at various schools, there appear to be those that can be broadly categorised as 'successful', or in the predominant tenuinology exhibit 'quality' features. In such schools, children seem to be learning effectively, there is a strong sense of community and interaction, and often support derives from the wider community context. This is usually accompanied by a strong sense of 'ownership', by all stakeholders, of both context and 'content', demonstrated in a particular allegiance to the school and the learning that occurs within. However, these are often generalised perceptions and we have little in terms of strong basis for such assertions or valuations. Accordingly, acknowledging the potentiality for such schools, we need to discover more about them, what it is that contributes to situations of 'Learning Communities' where teachers, pupils, and, to varying extents, the community become involved in educative contexts and processes. The notion of schools as learning communities has attracted increasing interest and comment within Australia in recent years, and has been the subject of various Departmental publications. often, however, without seeking to examine the school-based reality of such anapproach to schooling. The focus of the paper is upon a case study of one particular school in rural New South Wales. It is not being held as a paradigm of a 'learning community', but rather is an instance where there is strong community involvement and perception that it is a'successful' school. The study involved qualitative approaches, in-depth observation, interviews and infonual discussion with all members of the school (students, staff, parents and community members) over the 1996 school year.