Multilevel Determinants of School Belonging: The Moderating Role of National Safety Climate

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Abstract

This study explores the role of safety and teacher–student relationships in shaping students’ sense of belonging across 74 countries, using data from PISA 2022. The analytic sample included 501,731 15-year-old students with complete data on school belonging, perceived safety, and relational climate. Multilevel modeling revealed that students who felt safer and more supported by their teachers reported higher belonging. Country-level differences in average safety also mattered: in safer countries, the positive link between individual safety and belonging was even stronger. However, national variation in perceived teacher–student climate was not a significant contextual predictor. These findings underscore the dual importance of individual perceptions and national context in fostering a stronger sense of school belonging among adolescents worldwide.

Authors

• Shreya Malla, University of Kansas

• Jose Fabian Elizondo-Gonzalez, University of Kansas

• Solange Barros, University of Kansas