Measuring Up: An Integrative Review of Measures of School Belonging

• In Event: How to Create Environments of Belonging for Students: New Perspectives on School Belonging Research

Abstract

Despite a broad consensus that students’ sense of belonging at school is important for their academic engagement, persistence, and performance, there is little agreement on how belonging should be measured—or even exactly what it is. Here, we discuss how school belonging has been defined and conceptualized, highlight common measures of school belonging across the full range of school-going years (primary school through postsecondary education), discuss assessment considerations, and underscore key challenges in the measurement of school belonging. Through greater attention to how we measure students’ belonging, practitioners and researchers will be better positioned to understand and improve students’ experiences at school.

Authors

• Shannon T. Brady, Wake Forest University

• Kelly-Ann Allen, Monash University

• Maithreyi Gopalan, University of Oregon

• Amy L. Reschly, University of Georgia

• Katharine E. Meyer, The Brookings Institution

• James Soland, University of Virginia

• Lynley H. Anderman, The Ohio State University