Exploring the role of public services in relation to 'connected communities'; Learning from different conceptualisations of community-school relations

本研究以国家资助的学校作为公共服务的典范，探讨了学校在经历经济贫困和相关劣势的地理社区中的作用。回顾主要来自英国和美国的文献，它特别感兴趣的是将学校和社区联系起来的活动是如何概念化的，以及这对如何发展弱势社区的自力更生、可持续性和福祉有什么启示。它侧重于：1.为将学校和社区联系起来并在社区一级解决不利因素而有意采取的各种行动2。文献表明，在现有的社会安排和结构内工作的专业人员似乎最有可能对社区在与公共服务有关的具体结果方面处于不利地位的经历产生影响。这对正在形成的地方主义议程有影响。促进地方行动可能会加强对现有安排内改善行动的关注，政策制定者必须谨慎预期地方行动无法实际实现的变革性结果。加强地方行动将需要专业人员和社区之间进行更多对话，至少导致共同的议程。需要研究实现这一目标的最佳机制。更具变革性的社会议程将需要地方、区域和国家活动的一些长期协调，以便对更广泛的社会结构产生影响。

Taking state-funded schools as an exemplar of public services, this study has explored the role of schools in relation to geographical communities which experience economic deprivation and associated disadvantages. Reviewing literature primarily from the U.K. and U.S., it has been particularly interested in how activities linking schools and communities have been conceptualised, and what this suggests about how the self-reliance, sustainability and well-being of disadvantaged communities might be developed.A mapping framework for organising and analysing the literature is presented. It focuses attention on:i. the sorts of actions which have purposefully been taken to link schools and communities and tackle disadvantage at a community-levelii. what the literature says about the purposes of these actions and who has the power to act.The literature indicates that professionals working within existing societal arrangements and structures appear best placed to have impacts on communities' experiences of disadvantage in terms of tangible outcomes relating to public services.This has implications for the emerging agenda of localism. Promoting local action is likely to reinforce a focus on ameliorative actions within existing arrangements, and policy makers must be cautious about anticipating transformative outcomes which local actions cannot realistically achieve. Strengthening local actions will require greater dialogue between professionals and communities, leading, at least, to shared agendas. Research is needed into the best mechanisms for achieving this.A more transformative social agenda will require some long-term alignment of local, regional and national activities, in order to impact on wider societal structures.