PUB DATE 1993-00-00 NOTE 27p.; Originally published in the Community Education

This action research explored the relationship between community and learning. The essence of community was examined through informal conversations with Hawaiian parents, service providers, and students involved in advocating for family/community centers in the schools. Community was found to be inversely related to alienation and defined by experience more than structure. Specifically, the sense of community consists of the senses of connection, meaning, empowerment, oneness with others, and a sense of harmony with all. A review of brain theory found that the processes of community making and the processes of learning are basically the same. Human development theorists recognize a gradient of lnaividual human development from self-preservation to community and harmony with all. In reconceptualizing community education, the most important criterion by which to judge prOgrams is whether they have produced a more positive sense of community among the participants, which in turn leads to higher levels of human development. Five objectives of community education were identified. The fundamental role of the community educator is to be a model learner and model the essence of community in policies, programs, and practices. The model of community education resulting from this study was used in the development of parent-community networking centers currently operating in Hawaii. (Contains 35 references.)-(TD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document