Introduction

As schools are part of society, they can play an active role in social processes related to the continuous improvement and reform of existing conditions, participate in such processes, and remain open to collaboration with others. This collaboration can be established with local institutions, particularly other schools, universities, and relevant organizations, so that issues, problems, and needs can be identified and addressed through a planned network. In light of these challenges, designing a coherent and systematic model for developing interaction between schools and local scientific and educational centers and institutions appears necessary. Accordingly, this study aimed to design a model for developing interaction between schools and local scientific and educational centers and institutions.

Method

This study was applied in terms of purpose, interpretive in nature, qualitative in approach, and exploratory grounded theory in method. The potential participants included experts, specialists, school principals, school teaching staff, and officials of local scientific and educational institutions during the 2024–2025 academic year. Using purposive sampling through three strategies—maximum variation sampling, snowball sampling, and theoretical sampling—and based on the criterion of theoretical saturation, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 participants and subsequently analyzed. The interviews lasted between 40 and 60 minutes and were conducted both in person and by telephone. In this study, the four criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability were used to assess the trustworthiness of the qualitative data.

Findings

The findings of this study, structured upon the Grounded Theory paradigm model, identify “Educational and Social Participation” as the core phenomenon in explaining the interaction between schools and local scientific and educational institutions. The emergence of this phenomenon is directly influenced by five fundamental causal conditions: first, “Institutional Governance and Interactions,” which are shaped by macro-policies and organizational decision-making; second, “structural and organizational challenges of participation,” regarding school autonomy and human resource capacity; third, “socio-cultural barriers and capacities for participation,” encompassing family attitudes and local dynamics; fourth, “cultural capacity-building and stakeholder awareness,” defined by a mutual understanding of the benefits of synergy; and fifth, “economic conditions and resources,” including financial constraints and the welfare level of the local community. The effective realization of this “participatory ecosystem” requires an enabling environment characterized by coordinated structures and processes, sustainable resource provision, inter-organizational trust and empathy, purposeful joint planning, continuous staff empowerment, and resolute support from higher-level authorities, coupled with the reduction of bureaucratic friction. However, the path toward these interactions is not without challenges, as it faces a set of inhibitory intervening conditions. The most significant among these are “structural and policy misalignment,” resulting from conflicting missions, and “distrust and cultural concerns among stakeholders,” fueled by local suspicions and resistance. Furthermore, the absence of communication and technological infrastructure, time constraints within the educational system, weak motivation and limited perceptions of the school’s role, and administrative and legal barriers—which instill a fear of accountability—act as formidable obstacles. To intelligently navigate these barriers and ensure the sustainability of the core phenomenon, this study proposes a set of operational strategies. The focal point of these strategies is the “establishment of formal structures and institutionalized mechanisms for cooperation,” primarily through the creation of local joint councils and working groups. Parallel to this structural development, other essential actions include: implementing joint cultural-educational programs; fostering voluntary participation and local trust-building by activating parent-teacher associations and volunteer networks; building local educational and participatory capacity; leveraging media networking and public information dissemination; incentivizing participation; and mobilizing local resources, such as utilizing religious spaces and charitable endowments. Ultimately, the successful application of this model will yield multi-dimensional and transformative outcomes, including: the enhancement of learning quality, practical application, and enrichment; the development of social and civic skills and competencies; the reinforcement of religious identity, cultural values, and moral education; the strengthening of social participation and home-school-community bonding; the prevention and reduction of social harms; the optimal utilization of local organizational capacities; the promotion of academic, cultural, and nurturing growth and talent actualization; and the fostering of social cohesion and improved mental well-being within the local community.

Conclusion

Like many education systems around the world, schools in the country should not regard students’ learning as confined to the classroom; rather, they should create opportunities for learning in broader environments through the participation of local scientific, cultural, and educational institutions. Accordingly, effective interaction between schools and local scientific, cultural, and educational centers is essential for building a collaborative and synergistic educational ecosystem—one in which all individuals, groups, and organizations that contribute in some way to students’ learning can participate in improving and enhancing school performance. Within this framework, the role of schools as educational hubs within the local community, as well as the quality of the services they provide to that community, should be clearly defined. Active engagement with local scientific and educational institutions enables students to strengthen their cognitive, social, and emotional skills in real and dynamic settings, while at the same time improving school performance and contributing to local community development. From the perspective of learning ecology, all conditions that influence students’ growth and development do not operate in isolation; rather, they interact as components of an integrated whole and exert reciprocal effects on one another. Therefore, to ensure coherence among these conditions, schools need to establish purposeful and long-term collaboration with local scientific and educational institutions so that students’ learning can take place within a comprehensive and effective context.