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Citation:

Farkas, S., Foley, P., & Duffett, A. (2001). Just waiting to be asked? A fresh look at attitudes on public engagement. New York, NY: Public Agenda. http://www.publicagenda.org/specials/pubengage/pubengage.htm

Annotation:
This national survey explores the attitudes and assumptions of different groups (superintendents, board members, teachers, parents, and nonparents) regarding public engagement in school reform. Public engagement is described as an effort to build relationships between public schools and communities, in which school leaders listen and respond to parents and community residents. Public engagement also emphasizes greater collaboration between public schools and communities. According to survey results, superintendents were the most familiar with the concept of public engagement, having a definition of engagement that includes give-and-take dialogue. However, their goal is often to help the community understand and support the schools, not to better understand community views. School board members described "listening to complaints" as a very frequent occurrence in their dealings with the community. They described their board meetings as generally unproductive and dominated by narrow interests, yet they depend on these meetings to understand public opinion. They were somewhat skeptical of the publicÕs ability to participate constructively in decision making. Generally, both parents and nonparents were somewhat detached from school policy debates and content to delegate many of these decisions to school personnel. However, those that felt their local schools are failing are much more interested in being involved. Of all the groups surveyed, teachers felt most disconnected and left behind in decision making. They seem to be the forgotten players in the public engagement process, although many non-school people rely heavily on them for information. Data were gathered using nationwide mail and telephone surveys, and through individual interviews and focus groups. Approximately 1,900 individuals participated in the survey. This study presents some important, practical information about different stakeholdersÕ perceptions of public engagement. It also gives good background information to help others plan public engagement activities that are practical and strategic.