A school council’s experience with school improvement: A Saskatchewan case study

Abstract

Based on a qualitative case study conducted within one Saskatchewan (Canada) rural community, the purpose of this article is to describe the challenges a school council faced when supporting a school improvement plan. The primary data for the study were 35 semi-structured individual interviews conducted with school council members, teachers, and community members. Findings indicated that the school council policy, which mandated that its members assist in the development and promotion of a Learning Improvement Plan, was mismatched with what the participants viewed as valuable forms of community involvement in school. Analysis through social capital theory spotlighted an inverse link between supporting the Ministry of Education’s goals and developing trust within volunteer groups. A core implication of the study is that promoting local forms of community involvement in school nurtures beneficial, nonthreatening relationships between the school and parent/community members.