Robyn Donovan, Rockhampton City Council, Kevin Tharp, Central Queensland University, Steve Lloyd Rockhampton City Council, Wal Taylor, Central Queensland University
Parent organisations associated with secondary schools are increasingly challenged to become involved in meaningful ways to improve the educational and infrastructural outcomes of schools in order to provide the best opportunities for their children.
This case study will focus on the use of Interactive Communication Technologies (ICT) to mobilise a parent led response to assist a regional girls school arrest the trend of declining enrolments and likely closure. The use of a self generated email list in combination with other trust building techniques enabled the stakeholder groups to identify and then build action to address the school's viability.
The advantages and limitations of the use of ICT in this above context are presented and the resultant changes in the dynamic of social inclusion in the broader school stakeholder groups are also discussed. The case study concludes that ICT is a useful tool in building social capacity for community engagement and for addressing limitations in unitary organisational structures which are often bounded by calculative rationality.