Utilizing Classroom Meetings as an Intervention for Creating Culturally Responsive Communities

• In Event: Innovations in Teaching, Classroom Management, Learning Environments, and Culturally Responsive Communities

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how in-service teachers utilized classroom meetings to develop culturally responsive classroom communities that support the participation and empowerment of all students. As part of our study, I investigated the process of how elementary and secondary teachers enacted classroom meetings to help cultivate a classroom community focused on (a) students’ personal and social development (b) values and skills related to participation in the civics of classroom life and (c) building positive and trusting human relationships. The findings revealed that enacting a classroom meeting curriculum is an integral component for helping to transform classroom communities that are culturally responsive, and should be considered as an intervention that teachers can integrate into their practice.

Authors

• Yelena Patish Johnson, University of Washington

• Ben Ibale, Washington Education Association