Why Work Together? Teachers, Parents, Students and Community Partners Talk about the Relationship of the School with its Environment

Abstract

This paper examines the relationships of schools with their external environment through the lens of teachers, parents, students and community partners. The main question that drives the research is to what extent Greek schools are integrated in the wider social context. The research was conducted with focused interviews on a sample of 24 participants. The findings revealed that Greek schools despite all efforts, changes and reforms do not collaborate effectively with their surrounding environments. Despite the agreement of the participants in the research on the need for more focused actions and initiatives in this direction, there are obstacles that make the relationship between schools and their communities ineffective. Shareholders agree that more should be done acknowledging their role in the partnership as being more active, responsible and cooperative.