Teaching and learning as social enterprises embedded within school and community contexts¶
Theory · All theories
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 1 study (1 review),q1· 0 of 1 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study
Description¶
The chapter's organizing framework holds that teaching and learning are "social enterprises which are embedded within school and community contexts." It explains school improvement through four interdependent social factors examined with Chicago research: community context, teacher collaboration, family involvement, and inclusive school leadership that builds teachers' capacity. This reframes improvement as an organizational and relational problem rather than a purely instructional one.
Design Implications¶
Context¶
Requirements¶
- Improvement efforts must attend to the school context in which teachers work, not instruction alone
Constraints¶
Target Learners¶
- school staff and teachers
Target Learning Objectives¶
- organizational conditions that support teacher effectiveness and school improvement
Claims¶
- Instruction Delivery Depends On School Context [+W]
- Reform Narrowly Focuses On Instruction [+W]
- School improvement is related to staff interactions, staff relationships with families, and ties to the broader school community [+W]
- Inclusive school leadership plays a critical role in building teachers' capacity for school improvement [+W]
Related Theories¶
- Communities-of-Practice theory as a framework for understanding community membership and learning
- Developmental relationships: experiences shape development most within strong, supportive, sustained relationships with adults and peers
- School social-organizational structure mediates community influences on school safety
Examples¶
Key Sources¶
- How the Organization of Schools and Local Communities Shape Educational Improvement. (2017). Chapter 7 of Teaching in Context: The Social Side of Education Reform, Harvard Education Press. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/how-organization-schools-and-local-communities-shape-educational-improvement
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
theory |
title |
Teaching and learning as social enterprises embedded within school and community contexts |
description |
The chapter's organizing framework holds that teaching and learning are "social enterprises which are embedded within school and community contexts." It explains school improvement through four interdependent social f... |
status |
review |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-08 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — how-the-organization-of-schools-and-local-communities-shape-educational-improvement-2017 |
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