ERIC Number: EJ1370076
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0256-8543
EISSN: EISSN-2150-2641
Relationship-Centered Education in Primary School: An Ethnographic Case Study
Follari, Lissanna M.
Journal of Research in Childhood Education, v36 n4 p577-591 2022
The current educational climate has emphasized academic achievement and test-driven accountability, prompting many schools to narrow their curricular and school-wide initiatives around math and literacy, eclipsing time for and investment in social-emotional learning. The purpose of this article is to describe an ethnographic case study of a primary school's perceptions and practices around their stated mission of relationship-centered, whole-child education. The case study school serves 450 children with 65 employees in a small community bordering a mid-size city in the western United States. Data were collected over a two-year study through qualitative methods, including field notes, observation, interviews, informal conversations, work sample analysis, and review of existing data. Findings suggest five key themes around which an array of specific practices were found to guide the district-wide initiatives of supporting relationships first, as an essential foundation for positive school outcomes in children: administrative leadership, intentional hiring and training, curricular investments, time and effort dedicated to relationships, and unique wellness activities. The themes emerging from this descriptive study can serve to inform how schools can approach broad, district-wide intentional efforts to create a positive, healthy school climate through relationship-centered education.
Descriptors: Holistic Approach, Teacher Student Relationship, Peer Relationship, Elementary Education, Outcomes of Education, Wellness, Leadership, Personnel Selection, Training, Social Emotional Learning, Educational Environment, Interpersonal Competence, Teacher Attitudes, Administrator Attitudes, Student Attitudes, Grade 1, Grade 3, Curriculum Implementation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Early Childhood Education; Grade 1; Primary Education; Grade 3
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A