ABSTRACT

Building authentic linkages between educational institutions and the communities they serve has become an ongoing concern in the current era of educational reform in North American school jurisdictions. At the primary level schools use their communities as curriculum resource, whereas at the secondary level community involvement or service is rapidly becoming a requirement for graduation. At the postsecondary and professional education levels the community has become a site of choice for more authentic, interactive, and experiential education. Over the past few decades teacher educators have become conscious of the community's potential to prepare its teachers not only for a culturally relevant pedagogy but also for civic responsibility, social justice education, and democratic schooling.