Mirrors Not Microscopes: High School Students' Perceptions of the Cues and Conditions of Belonging

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Students' Ways of Knowing and Navigating Belongingness Across Educational Context

Abstract

A sense of belonging is important for how students access and experience advanced high school coursework, particularly for students of color. However, belonging is a consequence of cues, conditions, and experiences students encounter in their academic environments and, like many educational inequities, have been disproportionately limited for students of color. Using focus group data from N=114 students, this paper specifies several cues and conditions of the educational context that contribute to or undermine opportunities for students of color to experience belonging. Specifically, culturally relevant curriculum and teaching practices, a sense of community in class, productive conversations about race, and high expectations paired with critical feedback and support are identified as important for creating opportunities for belonging for students of color.

Authors

• Holly L. Karakos, Equal Opportunity Schools

• Alejandro Torres, Equal Opportunity Schools

• Sasha Rabkin, Equal Opportunity Schools