Fostering School Coexistence among Primary School Students: A Case Study in a Chilean Learning Community

Abstract

School coexistence is a central element for improving educational quality and for enabling children to grow up in environments free from violence. The Learning Communities project has been widely studied, as it shows how the principles of dialogic learning and Successful Educational Actions contribute to strengthening social cohesion in diverse educational settings. However, the effects of its implementation in Chile have yet to be sufficiently explored. Through an analysis based on the principles of dialogic learning, this qualitative case study explores how the implementation of Learning Communities influences student coexistence among students in a primary school in the country. The communicative methodology was used, and communicative daily life stories were conducted with students, along with communicative discussion groups involving students, teachers, and mothers. The data analysis shows how egalitarian dialogue, solidarity, and the equality of differences are principles of dialogic learning that contribute to the improvement of school coexistence in the Learning Community studied. The study concludes with reflections on the potential of these principles for understanding school coexistence grounded in participation and inclusion, and offers evidence of the role that families can play in its development.