TEACHERS' STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING CLASSROOM COMMUNITY IN SLOVAK PRIMARY EDUCATION
TEACHERS' STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING CLASSROOM COMMUNITY IN SLOVAK PRIMARY EDUCATION

Summary/Abstract: Building a classroom community is an important dimension of primary teachers’ professional practice. It influences classroom climate, children’s engagement, and their social development. However, less is known about the specific pedagogical strategies through which classroom community is built in everyday classroom practice. The aim of the study was to identify and interpret pedagogical strategies used by primary school teachers to build classroom community. The study was designed as a qualitative follow-up to a previous quantitative survey. The empirical material consisted of 137 written reflections produced by future teachers who observed teaching as part of their teaching internship in 137 primary school classrooms. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis combining deductive and inductive procedures across four analytical areas: acceptance and inclusion, classroom behavioral regulation, teamwork and communication, and children’s self-assessment and responsibility for learning. The analysis revealed a wide range of pedagogical strategies used by teachers in everyday classroom practice. These strategies reflected two broader regulatory orientations of teaching practice: participatory-preventive approaches that support cooperation, reflection and children’s autonomy, and directive-reactive approaches based primarily on external regulation and behavioral control. The findings suggest that classroom community-building is shaped not by isolated techniques, but by broader pedagogical strategies that reflect different regulatory orientations in classroom practice. These strategies regulate participation, relationships, behavior, and learning in everyday classroom practice.

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