The Association Between Teaching Practices and Students' Perceptions of Being in a Classroom Community of Engaged Learners.

Past research suggests that a sense of belonging to a community is developmentally important for adolescents and affects their engagement in school, especially during the transition to high school. However, little research examines the teaching practices that simultaneously foster classroom belonging and behavioral engagement to create a classroom community of engaged learners. This study investigates the association between specific teaching practices (i.e., lesson organization and structure, academic support, and student-teacher trust) related to students perceiving they are in a classroom community of engaged learners. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze survey responses of 16,137 ninth grade students in a large urban school district. Results show a positive relationship between the way a teacher organizes their classroom lessons and activities, the level of academic support, and student-teacher trust towards students perceiving they are in a community of engaged learners. These findings differ across student characteristics (e.g., race, sex, living in a high poverty neighborhood, special education status, grades). The findings suggest that teaching practices that are generally considered by educators within the profession as good instructional practices may also be key for creating a community of engaged learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]