Cultivating Learning Communities of Belonging: Practices for Inclusive Education

This book is a practical guide for educators seeking to foster inclusive, supportive classrooms. It invites teachers and school leaders to reflect on how race, trauma, sexual orientation, and cultural background shape classroom experiences and school culture.

Rather than offering simple solutions, this book poses transformative questions: How do racism and oppression contribute to student alienation? How can school culture be a catalyst for social change? And most centrally, how can we create inclusive communities that value diversity?

Each chapter includes reflective questions and suggested group practices designed to build trust and deepen understanding. Educators are encouraged to share their stories, bear witness to others, and participate in the shared work of reimagining education. Through structured group study, this book helps educators not only learn about belonging—but practice it.

Whether read alone or in community, Cultivating Learning Communities of Belonging is a call to co-create classrooms that reflect the full beauty of God’s image in every learner.

Edith van der Boom is Director of the Master of Arts in Philosophy in Educational Leadership program and Associate Professor of Philosophy of Education and Practice of Pedagogy at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto, Canada.