Collaborative inquiry: a means of creating a learning community

This article reports on a case study of a collaborative research process un dertaken by a principal, kindergarten parents and a college researcher. Fac ilitated by the school principal and by a college faculty member, parents e ngaged in a year-long inquiry about their children's kindergarten experienc e. They kept journals over the course of the year, chose excerpts to share with other parents during parent meetings, analyzed these excerpts for comm on themes, and created and performed a readers' theater script as a way of presenting what they learned to ether parents. This project is one example of how a school call invite parents into the sc hool's learning community. Participating parents reported significant learn ings about their child's development and about school programs. The small n umber of participants (20% of the kindergarten class each year) suggests th at this is just one way to induce parents to participate as learners with s chools. Questions related to issues of a school's leadership and culture, c ulturally sensitive parent participation processes, and parents' ability to juggle multiple responsibilities in the ever quickening pace of today's so ciety need to be further explored. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All right s reserved.