Stakeholder Engagement: Improving Education Through Multi-Level Community Relations

This book focuses on the topic of the multiple-stakeholders that comprise the education community across the P-20 continuum. In various ways and forms, the authors of the chapters found within this book promote the importance of engaging with the diverse array of stakeholders in order to truly improve education in an increasingly interconnected world. The book itself is divided into two major arcs, the first of which covers community relations and stakeholder engagement in P-12 schools, while the second addresses those same issues in higher education. When one considers the activities that take place within education institutions, there is a realization that they are influenced and driven by much more than just the educators and administrators who occupy the schools. In the editors’ own work, (e.g., see Tran & Bon, 2016), the importance of the inclusion of the viewpoints and inputs of multiple-stakeholders in school decisions when appropriate has been consistently argued, given that the school is considered by many to be a social and communal environment. To address these issues, in this text, this book is lucky to have a collection of peer-reviewed writing that explore various aspects of how multiple-stakeholder input can be used to improve school decisions.

Table of Contents:
P-12 1. Voices from the Field Commentary: The Importance of Effectively Communicating with all Stakeholders: Utilizing Technology to Engage the School-wide Community Denver J. Fowler 2. The Accuracy of a Reductionist Message: A Case Study of Public Relations Involving a Michigan K-12 School Bond Referendum Alan J. Brokaw and Thomas E. Merz 3. The Importance of Shared Vision and Stakeholder Influence on K–12 School Leaders’ Efforts to Improve Student Mathematics Achievement. Emma P. Bullock and Patricia S. Moyer-Packenham 4. School Leaders’ Reflective Blogs Inspire Systemic Change Rita J. Hartman, Cheryl Burleigh and James Lane 5. Resettled Muslim Parents’ Perceptions of School–Community Relations Michael Hess, Charles L. Lowery, Rowda Olad, Connor Fewell, Steven Yeager and Tracy Kondrit 6. Book Review: Partnering with Parents to Ask the Right Questions by Santana Luz, Dan Rothstein, and Agnes Bain. Reviewed by Art Stellar Higher Education 7. How Can Higher Education Engage with Rural Communities to address their Teacher Shortages? Theresa Harrison and Henry Tran 8. Systemic Advocacy and Collaborations: Supporting Students Emerging from Foster Care and Matriculating to College Sarah Jones 9. Prime Real-Estate: Branding University Syllabi Vickie Shamp Ellis, Kaylene Barbe, Ann McNellis, & Braden East 10. Engaging Industry Stakeholders: A Case Study of Academic Assessment Practice at a Rural Agricultural Focused Two-Year College Douglas A. Smith, Emily C. Fox, & Alex Jordan

About the Author :
Henry Tran is an Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policies and director of the Talent Centered Education Leadership Initiative (TCELI), who studies issues related to education human resources (HR) and finance. He holds two national HR certifications and serves on the Board of Advisors and Board of Trustees for the National Education Finance Academy. In addition, he is the executive editor of the Journal of Human Resources, formerly Journal of School Public Relations. Douglas A. Smith, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Community College Leadership and Higher Education at Iowa State University. Dr. Smith has led community college leadership preparation programs in South Carolina and Iowa. His research is focused on contemporary community college issues, community college leadership, and rural education. David G. Buckman, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Ed.S., Program Coordinator in the Department of Educational Leadership at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia. He studies school human resources and school finance issues in the P-12 educational environment and is the associate editor of the Journal of Education Human Resources (JEHR).

Review :
In Stakeholder Engagement: Improving Education through Multi-Level Community Relations, Tran, Smith, and Buckman have produced an edited volume of original empirical and theoretical contributions that will now serve as a milestone in the literature on stakeholder engagement for public K-12 schools and higher education institutions. Written for both practitioners and researchers, this book goes to the heart of the interlocking set of stakeholder challenges that leaders must understand and resolve in order to move their organizations forward. Accessible and yet rich in scholarship and research, Tran, Smith, and Buckman have given us a work that will inexorably drive readers to the recognition that facilitation and support of stakeholder engagement will be a critical factor in determining whether the schools, colleges, and universities of tomorrow are truly preparing students for the future or simply accommodating the status quo. Highly recommended. Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of school leadership from P-12 through higher education is how to effectively involve and honor the multiple stakeholder voices with different perspectives and agenda. In two significant arcs, Stakeholder Engagement: Improving Education through Multi-Level Community Relations addresses the complexities of stakeholder engagement and building authentic relationships from P-12 to Higher Education. Covering a wide range of critical topics from financial support of the community to the importance of shared vision—P-12, to the role of engaging rural communities and industry stakeholders—Higher Education, this work substantiates the importance of stakeholder involvement in all levels of education. As such this book serves as a useful tool for any leadership course that seeks to explore stakeholder involvement. As a compilation of nine research studies and one book review, Stakeholder Engagement: Improving Education through Multilevel Community Relations pres­ents clear evidence that educational leaders who listen to and consider stakeholder voices when making decisions can improve student outcomes and build coalitions of support.