Community Engagement: A Critical Guide for Practitioners

Chapter 4: Making Educational Relationships

Abstract

As practitioners, one of the seminal aspects of our work is establishing that all important relationship with those around us. It is the ubiquitous concept that facilitates meaningful work and, whether figuratively or literally, ensures the door is not shut in our face. In my opinion, it is the commitment and value placed on this relationship that unifies and under- writes all aspects of the community education field and in my role as a Family Support Worker cannot be down played. In this chapter, Jim Crowther and Mae Shaw highlight this dynamic, its tensions and the necessity for this relationship to be one of educational purpose.