The Montserrat’s neighbourhood dream: involving Moroccan residents in a school-based community development process in urban Spain

Abstract

Previous research has identified the potential of community-based development processes to reverse inequalities. However, in many cases, constraints arise that hinder the achievement of community goals. This article focuses on the role contributed by a school to overcome these barriers. Specifically, we address the role played by the Mare de Déu de Montserrat School, which is a Learning Community, in the launch and development of a community-based process. Known as The Dream, this process was initiated by a group of unemployed Moroccan residents in an impoverished urban neighbourhood in Spain. Through this process, the neighbours have created a self-managed community garden, which has enabled them to improve their job training and build social networks. Based on the communicative methodology, our qualitative study finds that this school has contributed to the creation of specific conditions that helped to overcome some barriers that had hindered the emergence of community responses. In addition, the contributions of the school have promoted a horizontal and dialogical organization of the process, placing neighbours in central positions in decision-making and leadership roles. This case study provides relevant theoretical and practical implications for the contributions that certain school-based interventions can provide to promote community initiatives in impoverished environments.

Propelling Children’s Empathy and Friendship

“…Previous studies have already shown that schools as learning communities contribute to improving social cohesion and overcoming social exclusion [29,30]. The engagement of the whole community at all levels in an egalitarian dialogue is key in decreasing conflicts and promoting solidarity and social inclusion [31][32][33]35].…”

“…Safe and supportive educational environments are best achieved in interactive spaces where, from a whole-school approach, all students, families, school staff, and other community members are involved through egalitarian participation [28]. Schools as Learning Communities, an educational model based on community participation through egalitarian dialogue, has been shown to improve, in addition to academic achievements, the school environment and social cohesion [29][30][31]. In particular, different studies on these interactive spaces reported an increase in social inclusion [32,33] and solidarity [34] and a decrease in violence [31,35].…”

“…Moreover, due to their impact and transferability to diverse contexts, several SEAs have been included in different public policies and policy recommendations, such as the European Toolkit for Schools (https://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/en/pub/resources/toolkitsforschools/detail.cfm?n=354), or an agreement with the Portuguese Directorate General of Education to implement them in 50 school groupings (https://observador.pt/2019/11/06/projeto-de-combate-ao-insucessoescolar-chega-a-50-agrupamentos-de-escolas/?fbclid=IwAR1Qs0xSqkZyTgHjKoiLysyrZpa1fKIn-vD3WKOfdIaD0BtY66DmMvYPGZU). Based on the principles of dialogic learning [39], which enhance egalitarian dialogues between different community members involved, SEAs are transforming relationships within and outside the schools, transferring their impact to the communities, neighborhoods, and households of the students and promoting their social sustainability [30,40]. Currently, they are being implemented in more than 6700 schools in 14 countries all over the world.…”

Science With and for Society Through Qualitative Inquiry

“…That means Nuria was enjoying interactive groups and dialogic literary gatherings from the first course of the school. As well as many other students at the school, she improved her academic results thanks to these successful actions and the high implication of many Moroccan family members of the neighborhood (Girbés-Peco, Renta, De Botton, & Álvarez, 2018).…”

Dialogic Model of Prevention and Resolution of Conflicts: Evidence of the Success of Cyberbullying Prevention in a Primary School in Catalonia

“…In this case study, the research focused on analysing the results of the application of this model in cyberbullying detection and prevention. The educational centre, that is a learning community, had been previously studied because of the positive results achieved in a collaboration between teachers and families, including its impact on improving the lives of neighbourhood residents [50]. However, this study provides the first results on cyberbullying prevention obtained in this school.…”