Can schools be communities? The tension between shared values and inclusion

This article considers a central dilemma associated with school communities , the tension between the need for shared values that are constitutive enou gh to serve as the basis for community and the premises of liberal inclusiv eness. The author evaluates 3 candidates for school-community values-compre hensive doctrines, caring, and democracy-and concludes that, ifa value is a constitutive one, then it cannot be consistent with liberal inclusiveness. He suggests a middle ground based in variants of these values that are thi ck, but vague, and more freedom of association within the public school sys tem around these values.