01/30/2024
By Zakkiyya Witherspoon
Candidate: Heather Jacobi
Degree: Doctoral- Leadership in Schooling
Defense Date: Monday, February 12, 2024
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Remote Zoom link
Thesis/Dissertation Title: The Effect of Check-In Circles on Fifth-Grade Students’ Teacher-Student Relationships and Sense of Belonging
Dissertation Committee
Dissertation Chair: Jim Nehring, Ed.D, Professor, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Committee Members: Phitsamay Uy, Ed.D, Associate Professor, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Amie Milkowki, Ed.D, Dissertation Mentor, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Abstract
Historically marginalized students, especially urban students attending under-resourced schools, experience lower levels of belongingness than their white peers in suburban, well-resourced schools. Much research highlights that student belongingness increases student outcomes such as on-time graduation, standardized test achievement, and lifetime earning capacity. A review of the relevant literature suggested that students with strong teacher-student relationships might experience enhanced student belongingness. Data from a local needs assessment at City Academy Arts, a charter middle school in Connecticut, and the analysis of standardized test results showed that the school’s students were experiencing low levels of student belongingness and achievement. Causal factors impacting this problem were traditional schooling practices, school climate, and teacher-student relationships. To address the problem, fifth-grade students engaged in the restorative practice of check-in circles facilitated by their teacher. A mixed methods study design was employed to determine the degree to which check-in circles impacted teacher-student relationships and student belongingness. The researcher found that the fifth-grade students experienced both enhanced teacher-student relationship quality and student belongingness as a result of their participation in the check-in circles. Pertinent thematic findings from the qualitative analyses include: positive teacher-student relationships are underpinned by bi-lateral collaboration; in an emotionally safe environment, students feel empowered to share; teacher-student relationships grounded in empathy and understanding of student experiences engender positive academic outcomes; and shared experiences in check-in circles inform empathetic understanding of classmates and teacher.