Community is more than shared values but also level of sustainability

Brint in his review of community literature critiques the traditional definition of communities. Thin describes the word community as "a strongly value-laden term used to describe good social relations and shared identity and interests (p. 53)." Community is made of more than just people with shared values. A community is a healthy, sustainable, system with "quality social relationships, participation in decision-making, communication, and about the extent to which increased participation and empowerment constitute improvements in the quality of life or are means for bringing about improvements (Thin, p. 59)." Theories on sustainability should be attached to traditional definitions of community. It is not just the shared values that make a community, but their social relations, knowledge networks, and adaptability to change that allow them to build capacity (as explained by Professor Rhodes). So far I have arrived at the following research question for my disseration topic:
How do social networks vary across school context and what implications do they have for college access?

• What are the similarities and differences in student educational aspirations and opportunities among various school contexts (economically segregated v. economically integrated)?• Are there any similarities and differences in the social and educational networks for accessing college among the various school context?
• Does an integrated school setting provide better outcomes for low, middle, and high income students than a economically segregated school setting?
• How do integrated school settings make true integration work well? What are some of the challenges?

I want to compare the networks of school communities, integrated v. segregated, used to gain access to college. Desegregation and integration literature claims that integrated settings tap students into greater opportunity networks (Wells & Crain, 1994). But it is not enough for a school community to be integrated physically by a certain number of students of certain racial and economic backgrounds. It is the shared knowledge networks and the nature of their connections that define a successful integrated school community. Not only are  the types of networks of an integrated v. segregated school community important but what are the characteristics of the networks within each community that create better linkages to college?With help of Thin's previously mentioned quote, the sustainability towards college access of the integrated or segretated school community could be determined by the quality of the school communities relationships, participation in decisions, and level of empowerment. 

Brint argues that a community does not have to be defined by shared values but individuals could be linked by affect, loyalty,  personal concern, or by economic and political networks. Within an integrated or desegregated school context in what ways is an individual student linked to individuals or other communities to gain access to college? According to Brint these linkages could occur in a variet of ways. A student could be make the linkage for economic reasons, because the person has personal concern for them, because of the political/power connections of the linkage, etc. Thus the indiviudal student could have a variety of networks within their surrounding community for a variety of reasons and purposes.

Brint structures a community in the following levels:

1. The ultimate context of interaction (divided by choice based or geographic based interactions)

2. The primary motivation for interaction

3. Rates of interaction

I believe the school community networks that a student uses to gain access to college cannot just be divided into either "choice based" or geographic based" networks or virtual, place bound, elective, or imagined communities (Brint). I might need to re-think how I am defining community for the purposes of my research because an  integreated or segregated school is not necessarily a community, but instead a space or context in which networks or interactions take place. What creates the community is that these networks share a common goal or end, accessing college. These college access networks are not all necessarily place bound, because students seek college access networks outside the school setting, but instead the focus should shift to how the characteristics of the space or place (integrated v. segregated) impact the college access community or networks. So I should shift from defining the school setting as community to the networks built around gaining access to college as community.