The Good, the Bad, the Exclusionary: Experiences That Foster and Hinder Teachers’ Sense of Belonging

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 11:40 am Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Teachers' Experiences With Belonging, Remaining, and Leaving the Profession (Table 5)

Abstract

Sense of belonging is a fundamental human need and driver of human behavior. A large corpus of literature explores the antecedents and benefits of increased sense of belonging for students in K-12 contexts. However, there is scant research exploring the antecedents and barriers of sense belonging for K-12 teachers. Drawing on interview data from 39 teachers in one school district, this study explores experiences that foster and hinder school belonging in teachers who are new to the district. Findings indicate the importance of supportive colleagues, feeling valued, and social relationships in fostering belonging and that negativity from others and incongruence between words and actions can hinder belonging. This paper offers insights for school leadership and new avenues for future research.

Authors

• Peter Bjorklund, University of California - San Diego

• Jennifer Karnopp, San Diego State University