COMMUNITY BUILDING: A THEME FOR SMALL SCHOOL GATHERINGS
Open Access
- Author:
- Mallow, Amber Nanette
- Area of Honors:
- Elementary and Kindergarten Education
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Stephanie Cayot Serriere, Thesis Supervisor
Stephanie Cayot Serriere, Thesis Supervisor
Deborah Anne Smith, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- community building
student voice - Abstract:
- ABSTRACT As students enter into an elementary school classroom, they are not simply looking to gain knowledge of ABCs and 123s, but they are seeking to know how to belong to the society that surrounds them. These students are seeking to find a classroom in which they can experiment with ways of interacting with others and the truths about themselves that make them a member of the community of their school. Students are looking for a teacher who will allow them to be themselves in a place where being yourself is a potentially risky and petrifying idea. Students are seeking to find a place of trust and of acceptance. Schools are a place in which students are learning the ways in which they can be helpful, productive members of a much greater society. According to the National Council for the Social Studies, “In a society such as ours, where citizens have been divided and diverse throughout history, it is essential that schools and communities foster a reasoned commitment to the founding principles and values that bind us together as people” (National Council for the Social Studies, 1997). It is a primary responsibility of schools to provide students with an opportunity to develop a deep understanding of these principles so that they may reach their full potential as members of our society. Along with that idea, students are also seeking to feel as though they are being heard. There is such a great importance in allowing students to find a place in which they know that the teacher is listening and values their ideas. However, so often, teachers say that they are giving their students a voice in the classroom, but they are really simply directing the students’ voices in a way that pleases them. Giving students a true, authentic voice is a difficult and daring idea within the context of a classroom, bound by traditional power structures of teacher as expert and student as learner. Because of this, it can be the tendency of teachers to give students limited voice into the workings of the classroom. This study sought to investigate the ways in which a Small School Gathering could become a place of community building. Within the context of this study, allowing children to simply become a member of a community became the primary goal and focus of a small group meeting at School A. I seek to present sub-themes that allowed this overarching theme of community building to occur. These sub-themes are caring relationships, collaborative interactions, autonomy, and common purposes or ideas. The data from this study was collected from one case study, which is part of a larger research study called “Young Citizens Engaged.” The study looked at the development of that culture by the teacher directing that group. The researchers collected data that shows that the primary goal and motivation of the teacher leading the Group E Small School Gathering was to allow students to come together as a group to get to know one another and build a community among themselves and within the entire school. The data collected from this study shows how community building could become the primary focus of a Small School Gathering and what community building looks like in the context of Group E’s small school gathering at School A. This case study provides a clear picture of what factors may influence a teacher to use a Small School Gathering to enhance the community of a classroom or of a school.