Abstract:
This paper reports on research into how schools, parents and local communities work together to
support students' learning during the transition from primary to secondary schools in what is
referred to as the middle years of schooling. The research was conducted in four Australian schools
within one urban school district. These schools were located in low-income communities and had
high numbers of bilingual students. We mapped existing school-community links that support
student learning by identifying key participants and describing how they perceive these links-iparticularly
in relation to improving students' engagement in learning. Our approach was qualitative
in nature, utilizing interviews and focus groups. We found that students, families and teachers
commonly expressed the view that learning is limited to schooling; that contacts between schools
and communities about learning are difficult to negotiate and are heavily mediated by school
principals; and we describe a lack of consensus about the nature of communities and the potential
of school community links to contribute to enhancing student learning outcomes.
