How Perceptions of School Climate Relate to Early Adolescents’ Feelings of Belonging

• In Event: Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Topic - Education, Schooling

Abstract

A positive school climate and sense of school belonging can influence students’ academic outcomes and wellbeing in desirable ways. A higher sense of school belonging is related to increased motivation, effort, academic self-efficacy, and academic enjoyment (Goodenow & Grady, 1993; Sanchez, Colón & Esparza, 2005; McMahon & Wernsman, 2009; Sakiz, Pape & Woolfolk Hoy, 2012). School climate has been found to be associated with academic success, school engagement, and behavioral outcomes (Marshall, 2004; Wang & Holcombe, 2010). Theory suggests that school climate and school belonging may hold particular importance in adolescence. Specifically, stage-environment fit posits that some of the psychological challenges faced by adolescents may result from a mismatch between their developing needs and the opportunities afforded to them in their social environments (Eccles, Wigfield, Buchanan & Flanagan, 1993). This is of particular importance in middle school, where there are key differences from elementary schools that may alter students’ feelings of connection as they develop, such as an increased focus from teachers on discipline and a decrease in reported positive relationships between teachers and students (Eccles, et. al., 1993).

However, not enough is known about the aspects of school climate that influence middle school students’ feelings of belonging and how gender, ethnicity, and grade may relate to those feelings. Such information is vital for school leaders wishing to improve school climate at their sites. To bridge this gap, we surveyed middle school students (n=1,226) about what they perceived as the best parts of their school and the parts most in need of improvement, as well as their sense of belonging. Thematic coding of open-ended responses identified that students’ perceptions of their school were aligned with the major areas of school climate: safety, relationships, teaching and learning, and institutional environment (Thapa, Cohen, Guffey, & Higgins-D’Alessandro, 2013). These four areas were found to be predictive of sense of belonging scores to different degrees, such as liking nothing about the school and listing relationships as needing improvement both being associated with lower scores in sense of belonging. Gender and grade were also found to be salient predictors of feelings of belonging, with seventh and eighth graders feeling less belonging than their sixth grade peers and girls having lower sense of belonging than boys. Ethnicity was an inconsistent predictor. These findings support what stage-environment fit theory suggests, that a match between one’s developmental needs and their environment is important for adolescents. Further, relationships with peers and teachers were highly important, underscoring the need to consider how the structure of middle schools can hinder interpersonal relationships, which are of increased importance in adolescence. These results offer directions for future research focused on the school factors related to students’ sense of belonging, which can be used to help practitioners improve school belonging amongst their diverse students.

Authors

• Jennifer Renick, University of California - Irvine
  Presenting Author

• Stephanie M Reich, University of California - Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author