Identifying the Benefits of the "School as a Neighborhood Educational Center" Project from the Perspective of the Cooperative Groups (Case Study: Elementary Schools in Mahabad County)

This research aimed to recognize the benefits of the "School as a Neighborhood EducationalCenter" project from the perspective of the cooperative groups of elementary schools inMahabad County. The present research was carried out using a qualitative approach and aphenomenological method. The participants of this research were the cooperative groupsof elementary schools in Mahabad County, 10 of which were selected through targeted andsnowball sampling and interviewed in this research. The research tool was a semistructured interview, the validity of which was obtained through a long engagement,individual review by members, and obtaining information from the homogeneity. Thereliability of the interview was also calculated through the preparation and application of awritten framework for the interview. This framework was used in all interviews afterexperts approved it and ensured its effectiveness in covering the objectives. The thematicanalysis method was used to analyze the data. The results of the interviews from thesupport groups of elementary schools in Mahabad County regarding the benefits of theschool plan as a neighborhood educational center revealed that there are twenty-six basicthemes and six organizing themes, including social development, improving the connectionbetween the school and the neighborhood, improving the quality of learning, increasing theproductivity of the neighborhood, the growth of the school's effectiveness, and thepromotion of the financial cycle. Moreover, regarding the factors affecting the optimalimplementation of the school plan as a neighborhood educational center, thirty-three basicthemes and three organizing themes were found, namely human factors, structural factors,and extra-organizational factors. Additionally, regarding the implementation problems andchallenges of the school plan as a neighborhood educational center, nine basic themes andfour organizing themes, including lack of extra-organizational support, structuralobstacles, cognitive problems, and the challenge of connecting the school and theneighborhood, were obtained. The general result of this study indicates that this projectstrengthens the connection between the school and the neighborhood and improves thelearning and educational capacities of the school and the neighborhood