Online ISSN: 2325-7466
2006
Triannual
National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET)
United States

Articles

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

  • Kenneth Lloyd Reimer, Ph.D. (Author) University of Winnipeg (Canada) image/svg+xml
    Ken Reimer is an Associate Professor at the University of Winnipeg (Canada). Prior to this, he had a twenty-five year career in Canada’s public school system. This included positions as a mainstream, special education, and resource teacher, guidance counselor, and school principal in six different schools in two different school divisions. Dr. Reimer holds a PhD (Inclusive Education focus) from the University of Manitoba. His primary research interests have focused on inclusive special education, school leadership, creativity, educational policy, graduation rates, at-risk learners, and teacher collaboration. He has served as President of the Manitoba Council for Exceptional Children.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.582
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
American Indian Culture, American Indian Students, Classroom Techniques, Clubs, Educational Games, Educational Strategies
References

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Prewett, S. L., Bergin, D. A., & Huang, F. L. (2019). Student and teacher perceptions on student-teacher relationship quality: A middle school perspective. School Psychology International, 40(1), 66–87.

Reimer, K. (accepted, 2024). Between two worlds: Promoting identity development in middle school. International Journal for Talent Development and Creativity (IJTDC). Reimer, K. (accepted, 2023). “Every interaction of every moment of every day”. Establishing positive middle school teacher-student connections. Journal of Academic Perspectives. Oxford Education Research Symposium.

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Reimer, K. (2020). Teacher-student connections in the elementary school. Journal of Academic Perspectives, 20(2), 1-13.

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There are 16 references in total.
How to Cite
Reimer, K. L. (2025). “From Chaos to Community”: Inclusive Community Building in Middle Schools. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, 20(2), 175-190. https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.582

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  • Article Type Articles
  • Submitted May 13, 2025
  • Published June 15, 2025
  • Issue Spring/Summer 2025
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