CREATING CLASSROOMS THAT STUDENTS EXPERIENCE AS COMMUNITIES

Although prior research has shown sense of community in schools to be related to many positive student characteristics, effective interventi ons that can create or enhance this sense have not been demonstrated. In this paper we describe a comprehensive elementary school program, i mplemented by teachers, that was successful in creating a sense of com munity in the classrooms, as perceived by students. The program was im plemented in three elementary schools in a suburban school district; t hree additional schools in the same district sewed as a comparison gro up. The program, which emphasized cooperative learning, the importance of democratic and prosocial values, student autonomy and self-directi on, and a child-centered approach to teaching and classroom management , was experienced by a cohort of students front kindergarten through G rade 4, and by a subset of that cohort through Grade 6. Sense of commu nity was assessed-by questionnaire-in Grades 4, 5, and 6; various stud ent outcomes were assessed via questionnaire and interview. Results in dicated that the program was successful in heightening students' sense of community, and that the sense of community-by itself and in combin ation with program status-related positively to a number of student ou tcomes, There was also suggestive evidence that students who experienc ed their classroom as a community attempted to abide by its norms and values, and that the authority structure of the classroom was an impor tant determinant of students' experience of community and of some of i ts observed effects.