Complexities and Paradoxes of Community: Toward a more Useful Conceptualization of Community

This article uses data from a longitudinal ethnographic study of two predominantly Navajo schools to prompt a reexamination of the concept of community. To that end, these reflections are situated in a description of the social and educational context of these two schools and identify some of the concepts that have led to the authors' reconceptualization of the notion of community: the issue of bilingualism, diverse community goals and attitudes, understandings of culture, and conflicting values. These vignettes provide the basis for discussion of the school as a moral community, a community of difference, and a community of dialogue. Incorporating these concepts into an understanding of community will help minimize the cognitive dissonance that is currently associated with normative concepts of community and lead to the more useful concept of communities of difference that will be helpful to educators in other diverse and cross-cultural settings.