Zygmunt-Fillwalk,+Malaby,+Clausen,+2010

EDU 713 June 1, 2011
 * Kimberly Porsch**

Reference:

Zygmunt-Fillwalk, E., Malaby, M., & Clausen, J. (2010). The imperative of contextual cognizance: Preservice teachers and community engagement in the schools and communities project. //Teachers Education Quarterly, 37 (2),// 53-67.

**Introduction** While it is widely accepted that the “whole child” needs consideration by teachers, most teacher-training programs omit or limit preservice teachers exposure to the communities where they complete their practicum. During the last decade, teacher-training programs have begun to include training that encourages partnership between preservice teachers and their communities (2010). It was with this in mind that The Schools and Communities Project began in 2007. Midwestern University’s College of Education partnered with the local school system to create The Schools and Communities Project. The project was aimed at helping preservice teachers understand how the community a student comes from affects both the school and student learning (Zygmunt-Fillwalk, Malaby, and Clausen, 2010). **The Project** Before the exposure to the students’ community, the preservice teachers wrote a reflection on any preconceptions and feelings they may have about the project. They were then trained in data collection and researched the background of the community. Next, the preservice teachers went into the community and collected audio and video data. During this process, the preservice teachers were able to tear down what they thought they knew about teaching, the students, and their community, and build a new, more complete understanding. As a culmination of the project, the preservice teachers hosted an open community forum in which an open dialogue was established. A webiste was created to compile all results of the project. Finally, preservice teachers wrote a reflection on their experience. **Method** Twenty-two preservice teachers were chosen to participate in the Educational Foundation course used for the study. The students were all Caucasian, fourteen were female, eight were male, and all were traditional age undergraduate students. The majority of the students had very little exposure to economic or racial diversity (Zygmunt-Fillwalk et al., 2010). The Schools and Communities Project was located in an urban environment with high poverty rates, strong racial divide, and little interaction between groups. **Results** Common themes in pre- and post- project reflections were analyzed. They were sorted and compared to examine differing points of view. Prior to the Project, preservice teachers had common themes of fear, pessimism, and apprehension. These themes were said to be, “Consistent with random samples of undergraduate populations who tend to blame the poor for their condition (Zygmunt-Fillwalk et al., 2010, p. 4).” Post reflections had an entirely different outlook. They expressed feelings of pride in heritage and diversity, strong community ties, and greater understanding of what it is to be a teacher. **Discussion, Implications and Recommendations** The communities in which children are raised have both direct and indirect impacts on a child’s life and education. The preservice teachers in this project were able to examine the influence that these components have on the developing child. It is recommended that all preservice teachers have a similar experience of life within the community where they will teach. The Schools and Communities Project was successful in creating an open dialogue between people of the community and the school. The project helped the preservice teachers develop more effective teaching partnerships and home-school connection. Because of the project’s success, administrators have begun to use the information from the project to recruit and train new teachers (Zygmunt-Fillwalk et al., 2010). **My Thoughts** My students always learn best when one of two things is present. Either they can touch what we are learning or they can relate it to their personal lives. I feel at the heart of this project is this same concept, “The recognition of the worth of local wisdom can increase the extent to which culturally relevant curricula are developed (Zygmunt-Fillwalk et al., 2010, p. 6).” Rather than view the community as a hindrance or something to overcome, teachers should choose to embrace the community and build upon the strength of it. When we collaborate we should always remember that it is not just with other professionals, we need to collaborate with families and communities as well.

I had a hard time conceptualizing preservice teachers perceiving race as problematic. I view each of my students’ backgrounds as something they bring to enhance our classroom. “These notions of community deficit frequently fuel a culture of lowered expectations for children, effecting curriculum, and resulting in decreased achievement (cited in 2010, p. 4).” I was, however, very reassured to see that the preservice teachers were willing to deconstruct their premature evaluations and stereotypes of the community as they built new knowledge about the community. The results of the project make me realize how important it is for a course such as this to be offered in every teacher-training program.

I think he project would have been more thorough if they had included a control group that took the class as it was originally planned. It would have been easier to see a direct correlation between knowledge purposefully procured and changed attitudes of the participants.

**Connections to Course Material** In __Interactions__, Friend and Cook state, “Your primary responsibilities in working with families are to understand the family needs and to facilitate family participation in decision making. . . (Friend and Cook, 2010, p. 187).” If we are to really help our students succeed, we need to collaborate with families. To collaborate with families we need to understand their frame of reference. This project offers a way to help preservice teachers understand this concept and work towards success.

Using the family systems theory, we can assume that students who have teachers that are willing to form positive relationships with their families, are more likely to be happier, healthier, and more productive. As teachers, our sole responsibility is not to simply stand in front of the class and teach; we need to remember the “whole child.” **References** Friend, M. & Cooke, L. (2010). Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals (6th edition). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.