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Citation:

Musser, P. M. (2004). Listening to the voices of family members, teachers, and community members. Research in Middle Level Education Online, 27(2). http://www.nmsa.org/research/rmle/spring04/pdf/article_2.pdf.

Annotation:
This study's purpose is to examine the perceptions of teachers, families, and community members regarding their interrelationships-from a perspective that places each group as a central component, with equal importance, in a complex ecological system. Researchers looked both at the perceptions of family members, community members, and teachers regarding current roles in working with each other to benefit middle level students and at their perceptions of what their roles should be in working with each other to benefit middle level students. Results indicated that relationships among family, community, and teachers (in addition to communication and values) shaped the participants' perceptions of their roles. Furthermore, how individuals perceived their roles in working with children guided how they perceived their roles in working with other adults. Data were derived from focus groups, field notes generated during recruitment of participants, visits to the community and school, a researcher-prepared questionnaire, and a review of school documents and archival records. Participants in this study were family members, community members, and teachers associated with River Middle School in Portland, Oregon. There were 895 students attending River Middle School at the time of this study; the majority were white and were from middle socio-economic backgrounds. Some participants could be categorized into more than one of the teacher, family, and community groups. This study focuses on adult perceptions of family-school-community partnerships and does not address the perceptions of the middle school children involved.