“From Chaos to Community”: Inclusive Community Building in Middle Schools

Abstract This paper highlights a study (2022) conducted in a Canadian school division which explored the perceptions of classroom teachers (n=4) in middle schools. The purpose of the study was to highlight ways in which middle school teachers successfully connected with middle years aged students in their classrooms. Participants spoke of the importance of building community in their classrooms and highlighted several ways in which they developed an inclusive community throughout the school year. The approaches and strategies teachers shared to create an inclusive community are compared to several models related to community building, including Peck’s (1998) model highlighting the four stages of community: Pseudo Community, Chaos, Emptiness, and Community. Keywords: middle school, teachers, students, connection, inclusive, community