Co-construction: A facilitator for school reform in school, community and university partnerships

Journal of Negro Education, The, Winter 2001 by Carroll, Grace, LaPoint, Velma, Tyler, Kenneth

Co-Construction: A Facilitator for School Reform in School, Community and University Partnerships*

Unlike some models, Talent Quest is not prescriptive but a co-constructive Talent Development Model for school reform. Co-construction, although more time consuming and labor intensive, has the potential of yielding the transformational outcomes, which go beyond the school doors. Based on the field experiences of CRESPAR staff members, this paper will operationalize the definition of co-construction and review the literature on related constructs. It will also present the need and rationalization for co-construction in order to maximize the schooling experience and outcomes for all key stakeholders. The challenges for co-construction are presented along with strategies for successful implementation outcomes. A suggested paradigm of key leverage areas for co-construction are offered with examples from field sites encompassing experiences from elementary to middle and high school settings.

Maximizing student academic achievement and social competence in public schools in underresourced urban communities continues to be a major concern and quandary for American school districts and state education departments (Boykin, 2000; Helge, 1989; Sanders, 2000). In recent years, partnership programs, between underresourced urban public schools and varying stakeholders, have emerged and proliferated as one of the most effective proven strategies to provide human, material, and financial resources to improve student academic and social competence (Beaumont & Hallmark, 1998; Kemple, Poglinco, & Snipes, 1999; Morse, 2001; Osguthorpe, Harris, Harris, & Black, 1996; Sanders, 2000). More broadly, integrating community development and school reform (Ferguson & Dickens, 1999; Harkavy, 1996,1998) with schools include entities such as families, faithbased communities, universities, the federal, state and local governments, foundations, non-profit and for-profit organizations. Recognizing the many contributions that school, community, and university partnerships have made in educating students placed at risk, many policymakers, practitioners, and advocates have encouraged and even mandated the creation of these partnerships as a priority to improve student educational outcomes (Becker, 1999; Clark, 1991; National Governor's Association, 1990; U.S. Department of Education, 1994).

These recommendations call to action all stakeholders, especially colleges and universities, to build and sustain partnerships to enhance student academic achievement and social competence. Collaboration, which is the notion of two independent entities working together equitably toward a common goal, is central to effective school-community partnerships (Beaumont & Hallmark, 1998). However, greater specificity in theory and application is needed to operationalize partnerships in working effectively with schools to improve student academic achievement and social competence.

The purpose of this article is to (a) define the concept and application of co-construction in school and community partnerships with an emphasis on college and university partnerships and (b) suggest how these partnerships can most effectively improve student academic achievement and social competence. It presents six areas of information: (a) a review of literature on partnership definitions, history, and examples; (b) challenges to and facilitators of partnerships; (c) the definition of co-construction and examples of coconstruction at Talent Quest interventions in schools from Howard University's Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At-Risk (CRESPAR); (d) challenges to and facilitators of co-construction; (e) the value of co-construction in improving student academic achievement and social competence; and (f) implications for education research, policy, and practice. In this article, when referring to partnerships with higher education institutions, university is used to be inclusive of college institutions.

Definitions and Conceptualizations

There are several definitions and conceptualizations of school, community, and university partnerships, also known as K-16 partnerships. According to Beaumont (1998), schooluniversity partnerships are agreements between these institutions where the degree of collaboration is determined not only by participant shared goals, but also by participant attitudes, resources, and protocols that are specific to the academic, social and cultural environments of teachers and researchers who engage in collaborative efforts. Osguthorpe, Harris, Harris, and Black (1996) state that school, community, and university partnerships vary in their composition. In some partnerships, school-based family organizations are included as official partners while in others business, industry, and social service agency representatives are participants. Some partnerships involve a single university and a few schools while others involve several school districts and several universities or a network of partnerships that operate within a given state. School, community, and university partnerships generally have four components (Osguthorpe et al., 1996):