Using Community Circles to Build A Sense Of Belonging In Kindergarten

Author

Andrea J. D’Aiuto

Date of Award

5-2025

Degree Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

Comments

Presented to the Faculty of Sacred Heart University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education

Committee Chair

Kathleen K. Wallace, Ed. D

2nd Reader

David Title, Ed.D.

3rd Reader

Seth Stevens, Ph.D.

Abstract

This Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice explored how implementing daily community circles in kindergarten classrooms equipped teachers with strategies to support dysregulated students. The participants for this study consisted of three kindergarten teachers. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods research design, the practitioner investigated the impact of delivering five Professional Learning Series (PLS) sessions and implementing community circles on students' behaviors and sense of belonging. The practitioner merged quantitative data comprising pre- and post-survey results from the Community Circles Teacher Survey and prosocial and antisocial frequency student behavior data with qualitative data from semi-structured interviews to answer the proposed research questions. Quantitative results from the survey did not yield a significant change in teachers' knowledge and comfort level when implementing community circles. However, the quantitative student behavioral data and qualitative results support previous research on community circles' impact and how they can create a sense of belonging and foster positive relationships. The data presented in this study supports the conclusion that implementing community circles in kindergarten classrooms improved student prosocial behaviors, decreased student antisocial behaviors, and created an environment where students feel connected and have a strong sense of belonging. The data presented in this study also supports the conclusion that the PLS sessions and implementation of community circles increased adult SEL strategies to regulate kindergarten students.

Recommended Citation

D’Aiuto, A.J. (2025). Using community circles to build a sense of belonging in kindergarten. [Doctoral dissertation, Sacred Heart University]. https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/edd/54

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.