Teachers and social cohesion in diverse secondary classrooms

The present paper aims to examine how teachers contribute to social cohesion in terms of the three dimensions: social relations, group identification, and the common good. A qualitative study was conducted using interviews with teachers and students and observations in two Dutch secondary schools with diverse student populations. The results showed that the dimension most often addressed was the dimension of social relations, and teachers seemed to focus on individual students more than on the group as a whole. Bridging home and school, and group formation were main themes in the dimension of group identification. The main theme in the dimension of the common good was teacher practices with regard to rules, in which fairness was an important topic for students. The three dimensions of social cohesion are inter-related and should be considered alongside each other when schools are committed to strengthening social cohesion.