Where Do I Belong? Examining Summer Enrichment Program on Belongingness

• In Event: Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: Youth Engagement: Perspectives, Participation, and Program Practices

Abstract

Students’ feeling of disengagement from school has been identified as a major contributor to dropout. It is critical to understand how feelings of belongingness are cultivated outside of school settings. However, less research has looked at how out-of-school time programs have affected students’ engagement and sense of belonging. The purpose of the present study is to examine how participation in a summer enrichment program fostered students’ sense of belongingness. Pre- and post-surveys on sense of belongingness were administered to 129 students in the summer enrichment program. Results from paired-sample t-test revealed that there was a significant increase for students’ sense of belongingness through a summer enrichment program.

Authors

• Mei-Lin Chang, Emory University

• Brandi Nicole Hinnant-Crawford, Emory University

• Karen L. Falkenberg, Emory University