2026 Theses Doctoral

Community Co-Construction in the First-Year Writing Classroom

Yi, John D.

Community construction in the English classroom has been widely explored by scholars, yet it remains particularly relevant in today’s educational landscape. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, students entering First-Year Writing at Borough Community College have struggled to find meaningful connections with peers. This research examines how community is co-constructed in a diverse, face-to-face First-Year Writing classroom that integrates in-person learning with digital tools and online collaboration.

As a Korean American research practitioner, I bring a culturally grounded and reflexive perspective to this work, informed by lived experiences navigating my own sense of community and belonging. Working within a narrative inquiry framework, I explore how students perceive their engagement with community-building practices and how these shape their learning experiences and sense of belonging as First-Year writers. Through interviews, digital artifacts, teacher reflections on classroom practices, and Memory Work (Kuhn, 2002), this study centers student voices to understand the relational, sociocultural, and socioemotional dimensions of community formation. The findings highlight how the co-construction of community influences students’ engagement, growth, and sense of belonging in First-Year Writing at Borough Community College. Ultimately, this research contributes to how we understand community as both theory and praxis that sustains student learning and success.

Keywords: Community, Community Co-construction, Research Practitioner, Narrative Inquiry, community development practices, community-engaged curriculum, First-Year Writing, blended learning, Memory Work, Community College, college teaching of English, Narrative research