The School/Community Planning Team as a Social Invention. A Discussion Paper on Research in Progress.

This paper is a description of action research in progress centered on the development of a School/Community Planning Team as a vehicle for long-range educational planning. At present, 10 teams exist which are composed of small groups of 6-12 persons including citizens, professional educators, and students. Each team is charged with the development of long-range proposals in a specific area of school life, such as alternatives in elementary education, the education of early adolescents, and variety and depth of curriculum. Teams have numerous volunteers and research support provided by a small professional staff. The teams relate administratively to the board of education and with other teams through a Design Management Team. Three sets of variables are being studied to ascertain the impact of the teams on the educational process: (1) those relating to who participates in the teams, (2) those relating to the successful functioning of the teams internally, and (3) those variables relating to how the work of the teams is utilized by the board of education and the rest of the school system. (Author/MLF)