Home, school, and community partnerships: integrating issues of race, culture, and social class

The current review is an examination of home-school-community partnerships utilizing an ecological approach to understand the influences of race, culture, and social class. The ecological approach recognizes that families and schools are embedded in communities, and that these settings influence each other and the development of children. The roles of race, culture, and social class in the development of partnerships between the home, school, and community settings are explored. Race, culture, and social class may interact with parent and family attributes, teacher and school qualities, and community context. These factors are often misunderstood either through underinvestigation or lack of integration. The implications for future research, practice, and policy are discussed. © 1998 Plenum Publishing Corporation.