ABSTRACT
Neither human existence nor individual liberty can be sustained for long outside the interdependent and over-lapping communities to which we all belong. Nor can any community long survive unless its members dedicate some of their attention, energy and resources to shared projects. (Etzioni 1997)
I want more bins, more hospitals, more hostels. Less traffic. I’m worried that there will be more violence, robbery and unemployment. (Children talking about their local area: Hicks and Holden, 1995)
It is perhaps strange that schools are uncertain how to teach about community and community involvement when they themselves are institutional representations of ‘the community’. Perhaps it is because teachers are aware of potential differences and tensions in the community that they are hesitant about making these links. In spite of this, schools have a continuing concern to provide a curriculum that is relevant to children’s lives. A part of this means providing opportunities for students to learn how to become ‘helpfully involved in the life and concerns of their neighbourhood and communities, including learning through community involvement and service’ (QCA 2000: 5).
