The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Education is responding to the challenges of education by establishing a Centre for the Community School – a first of its kind in the country – to be located within the faculty.
The launch of the Centre takes place on Friday, 26 August, at 16:00 at the university’s Missionvale Campus. The keynote speaker is foremost scholar and expert on education and inequality in America, Prof Pedro Noguera. His research focuses on ways in which schools are influenced by the social and economic conditions of the communities where they are located.
An open invitation to concerned parents, teachers, principals and others who wish to become part of the education solution is being extended to the immediate communities of Missionvale to attend the opening function.
Newly-appointed Centre director Dr Al Witten says recognising that the answers to society’s most challenging questions lie at the crossroads of many disciplines. As a result, the work of the Centre will be cross-disciplinary and inclusive. It will draw on expertise and experience from a range of other areas and departments at NMMU, including psychology, health, and development studies in shaping the scope of research projects and engagement activities in support of communities.
“The centre will focus on developing and expanding the knowledge base of community schools in the country – a grouping of schools that are engaged in simultaneous efforts to improve teaching and learning, as well as address some of the social challenges that affect these core processes,” says Dr Witten, who has moved from Cape Town to Nelson Mandela Bay to head the new initiative.
He says these schools work to achieve their objectives by building active partnerships with parents, community members, and other education stakeholders.
The Centre will aim to:
- Connect to schools across the province that is involved in a range of school and community activities to leverage their impact on a broader scale.
- Draw from the work of these schools as a quantitative and qualitative knowledge base to identify best practices, develop a research agenda, and generally inform the work of the Centre.
- Promote, strengthen, and support the work of community schools in the Eastern Cape through the Centre’s convening capacity, research production, and public awareness efforts.
- Serve as a national resource centre that elevates the concept of the community school as a credible, replicable and sustainable model for educational improvement in South Africa.
School principals are invited to the launch. They should bring along one teacher, parent and learner. Please RSVP by 19 August 2011 to Carol-Ann Kotze on 041 504 4767 or carol-ann.kotze@nmmu.ac.za
Alan Straton
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