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Power, Relationships, and Trust in Sociological Research on Homes, Schools, and Communities

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Handbook of the Sociology of Education in the 21st Century

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

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Abstract

This chapter offers a critical perspective on sociological research exploring the interactions among students’ homes, schools and communities. We conceptualize each of these spaces as a unique context that influences students and, as such, must be attended to both on its own terms but also especially where each context meets, conflicts with, or exerts power over the others. We highlight three major areas of promising research in this field: first, research that attends to the tensions inherent to the struggle for power among and between these contexts; second, research that explores the foundations and practice of creating equal, communicative relationships between stakeholders from each context; and third, research that can account for the presence, absence, or impact of trust in these relationships.

Now more than ever, the world needs research that sheds light on how social contexts matter in learning, teaching, student achievement, and in the development of equitable and just forms and systems of education.Elizabeth Birr Moje (2016)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Erin McNamara Horvat

  2. Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI, USA

    Karen Pezzetti

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  1. Erin McNamara Horvat
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  2. Karen Pezzetti
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Correspondence to Erin McNamara Horvat .

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  1. College of Education, Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Barbara Schneider

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Horvat, E.M., Pezzetti, K. (2018). Power, Relationships, and Trust in Sociological Research on Homes, Schools, and Communities. In: Schneider, B. (eds) Handbook of the Sociology of Education in the 21st Century. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76694-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76694-2_2

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