CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING THE COMMUNITY

A Major Step In Developing A School Public Relations Program Is Collecting Information That Will Enable School Districts To Know The Community In Which The Program Will Function However A Continuously Changing Community Means This Is An Ongoing Process.

SOCIOLOGICAL INVENTORY  TO PLAN A PROGRAM ONE MUST HAVE FACTUAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE UP THE COMMUNITY.  IT IS A MISTAKE TO TRY TO COLLECT TOO MUCH DATA – KEEP IT PERTINENT TO THE SCHOOL NEEDS.

 CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS – THESE ARE COMMON IDEAS, ATTITUDES AND HABITS OF THE PEOPLE. THIS MUST INCLUDE IDENTIFYING MANY GROUPS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY – THIS WILL HELP DEFINE THOSE GROUPS WHICH COULD HELP OR HINDER EDUCATIONAL CHANGES – NOTE THAT STEREOTYPING THE PEOPLE MUST BE AVOIDED.  POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS – THESE CONCERN EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, AGE, SEX, GAINFUL OCCUPATION, RACE, CREED, AND NATIONALITY – KNOWING THE MAKEUP OF THE COMMUNITY HELPS IN PLANNING A PUBLIC RELATIONS PROGRAM. (ACTUALLY IS NEEDED IN ALL EDUCATIONAL PLANNING)

 COMMUNICATION CHANNELS – ONE NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THE MEDIA AND TO WHAT EXTENT THE PUBLIC RELIES ON IT FOR INFORMATION –WHAT SPECIAL GROUPS (RELIGIOUS, SOCIAL, FRATERNAL, ETC.) PROVIDE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC – IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE WHERE LARGE GROUPS SPEAK AND READ A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN THE HOMES  COMMUNITY GROUPS – EVERY COMMUNITY IS MADE UP OF MANY GROUPS. ONE MUST KNOW THE WHO THEY ARE, AND WHAT THEIR PURPOSES AND PROGRAMS ARE.

 LEADERSHIP – LEADERSHIP IMPLIES A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE INFLUENCING AGENT AND THE PERSONS WHO ARE INFLUENCED – IT IS IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY BOTH FORMAL AND INFORMAL LEADERS, AND THEIR FOLLOWERS.  ECONOMIC CONDITIONS – AN ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIC CONDITIONS PROVIDES ESSENTIAL INFORMATION TO UNDERSTAND THE COMMUNITY  POLITICAL STRUCTURE – THE EDUCATIVE PROCESS IS AND ALWAYS BE POLITICAL – WE CANNOT KEEP POLITICS OUT, ONLY UNDERSTAND THE RULES AND WORK WITHIN THEM – EDUCATORS NEED A SOPHISTICATED UNDERSTANDING OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM.

 SOCIAL TENSIONS – TENSIONS AND CONFLICTS EXIST WHEREVER PEOPLE LIVE AND WORK TOGETHER – PLANNERS MUST BE FULLY AWARE OF THE CAUSES OF TENSIONS AND THE LEVEL OF BITTERNESS.  PREVIOUS COMMUNITY EFFORTS – A REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES FOR THE LAST FIFTEEN YEARS OR SO SHOULD BE CONDUCTED. IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO “REINVENT THE WHEEL”. THIS WILL ALSO LET YOU SEE PREVIOUS SUCCESSES AND FAILURES.  SOURCES OF INFORMATION -- THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP IS TO DETERMINE HOW TO GATHER THE DATA -- INFORMAL SURVEYS OF THE BOARD AND THE SCHOOL STAFF CAN OFTEN PROVIDE A GREAT DEAL OF INFORMATION – SCHOOL RECORDS CAN OFTEN PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE COMMUNITY (NOTE THAT THE USE OF SCHOOL RECORDS ARE COVERED BY PRIVACY LAWS)

 THE BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, NEWSPAPER FILES, AND INTERVIEWS WITH LOCAL PEOPLE – MUCH OF THIS CAN BE DONE THROUGH RESEARCH.

POWER STRUCTURES THIS IS AN INTERRELATIONSHIP AMONG INDIVIDUALS WITH VESTED INTEREST WHO HAVE ABILITY OR AUTHORITY TO CONTROL OTHER PEOPLE, TO OBTAIN CONFORMITY UNDERSTANDING THE COMMUNITY POWER STRUCTURE IS ESSENTIAL TO WORKING IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR – KNOWING WHO THE PEOPLE ARE WHO MAKE OR INFLUENCE DECISIONS IN THE COMMUNITY.

TYPES OF POWER STRUCTURES  ELITE POWER MODEL – THIS IS A PYRAMID WHERE POWER AND INFLUENCE INCREASES AS YOU MOVE UP THE PYRAMID – THUS THERE IS A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF POWER IN THE HANDS OF A SMALL GROUP OF ELITE PEOPLE – THIS CAN BE BASED UPON MANY TYPES OF GROUPING – POLITICAL, COMMERCIAL, RELIGIOUS, SOCIAL, ETC.  PLURALISTIC OR DIFFUSED MODEL -- IN THIS CASE THE POWER IS DIVIDED BETWEEN TWO OR THREE GROUPS WITH NEARLY EQUAL INFLUENCE.  AMORPHOUS MODEL – USUALLY IN RURAL COMMUNITY THERE IS AN ABSENCE OF POWER STRUCTURE OR IT IS LATENT AND WILL APPEAR WHEN NEEDED.

POWER STRUCTURES VARY FROM COMMUNITY TO COMMUNITY, AND THEY CAN ALSO CHANGE FROM ISSUE TO ISSUE – “TO WORK WITHIN THE COMMUNITY EDUCATORS MUST BE AWARE OF THESE POWER STRUCTURE AND BE PREPARED TO WORK WITH AND AGAINST THEM.” POWER STRUCTURES SELDOM HAVE SCRUPLES WHEN THEY WANT TO EXERCISE POWER – ALSO MANY WORK IN THE BACKGROUND CHOOSING NOT TO BE IN THE LIMELIGHT –THESE CAN BE THE MOST HELPFUL AND ALSO THE MOST DANGEROUS TO THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND ONE MUST HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR EXISTENCE

POWER STRUCTURES USE A SYSTEM OF REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS FOR INFLUENCE AND THE EXERCISE OF THEIR POWER THIS CAN MEAN THAT A SCHOOL OR AN ADMINISTRATOR CAN BE DESTROYED WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING WHO OR WHAT OR WHY IT HAPPENED TO THEM. SCHOOL POWER STRUCTURES – POWER STRUCTURES EXIST WITHIN THE BOARD, WITHIN THE ADMINISTRATION, AND WITHIN THE PARENTS’ GROUPS – EACH ADMINISTRATOR MUST BE PREPARED TO WORK WITHIN THESE STRUCTURES

MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION OPINION RESEARCH IS ESSENTIAL IN DEVELOPING AND EVALUATING A SCHOOL PUBLIC RELATIONS PROGRAM SOME TYPES OF OPINION RESEARCH ARE NEXT ON THE AGENDA

UNSCIENTIFIC METHODS FORUMS AND CONFERENCES – THESE ARE USUALLY FOR SHORT TERM INPUT ON SPECIFIC ISSUE(S) ADVISORY COMMITTEES -- THESE ARE USUALLY ONGOING AND CAN BE FOR A SPECIFIC AREA OF CONCERN, FOR A PARTICULAR SCHOOL, OR GENERAL – MUST BE BALANCED WITH A CROSS SECTION OF THE COMMUNITY PANELS – A GROUP OF LAY PERSONS INTERVIEWED BY THE STAFF TO FOCUS ON A PARTICULAR ISSUE OR CONCERN – CAN BE ESTABLISHED FOR ONE ISSUE AND BE CONTINUING TO REVIEW ONGOING ISSUES KEY COMMUNICATOR PROGRAM -- IDENTIFY THOSE WHO ARE AT THE TOP OF THE HYPOTHETICAL PYRAMIDS AND KEEP COMMUNICATION WITH THEM TO GET OUT INFORMATION AND TO GET FEEDBACK FROM THEIR GROUPS

SCIENTIFIC METHODS FORMAL PUBLIC OPINION POLLING-- PUBLIC OPINION POLLING STARTED WITH MERCHANDISING AND HAS BEEN TAKEN TO A NEW LEVEL BY POLITICIANS – THIS REQUIRED SPECIALLY TRAINED PERSONNEL. RANDOM SAMPLING – EVERY MEMBER OF THE POPULATION HAS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO BE INCLUDED -- –SYSTEMIC SAMPLING –STRATIFIED SAMPLING –CLUSTERED SAMPLING

QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION ANY PUBLIC OPINION QUESTIONNAIRE SHOULD: BE AS CONCISE AS POSSIBLE USE UNDERSTANDABLE LANGUAGE PROVIDE EXACT INFORMATION AVOID LEADING QUESTIONS AVOID AMBIGUOUS QUESTIONS AVOID DOUBLE BARRELED QUESTIONS BE PRE-TESTED IN A FACE VALIDATION

TRAINING IS REQUIRED FOR THE INTERVIEWER!! USE THE SAME QUESTION CRITERIA AS STATED ABOVE AND BE SURE TO: –BE COMPLETELY FAMILIAR WITH THE QUESTIONS –NOT VARY FROM THE QUESTIONS –RECORD RESPONSES TO OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS EXACTLY –BE FRIENDLY AND SHOW GENUINE INTEREST IN THE PROCESS INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES

STRUCTURE OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE INTRODUCTION – PURPOSE AND SPONSOR STATED MAIN SECTION – THE QUESTIONS ARE HERE CONCLUSION –OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS AND DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS ARE HERE

ELECTRONIC POLLING RECENT TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO DO POLLING BY PHONE WERE PEOPLE RETURN A CALL, AND ONLINE WHERE PEOPLE RESPOND ONLINE VIA COMPUTER. ONE MUST BE CAREFUL WHEN USING ANY TYPE OF POLLING WHERE A PERSON SELECTS HIMSELF FOR PARTICIPATION – THIS TYPE OF SELF- SELECTING SURVEY CANNOT BE VIEWED AS HAVING THE SAME STATISTICAL VALIDITY AS A RANDOMLY SELECTED SAMPLE.

CONCERNS IN THE APPLICATION OF THE COLLECTED DATA WHAT METHOD IS TO BE USED TO COLLECT THE DATA? WHAT WILL BE THE COST OF THE PROJECT? HOW MUCH TIME IS NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE DATA COLLECTION? WHO SHOULD DO THE RESEARCH IN PUBLIC OPINIONS MEASUREMENT? HOW SHOULD THE FINDINGS BE USED?