Publication Date

2024

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Tonks, Stephen M.

Degree Name

Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)

Legacy Department

Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations

Abstract

School sense of belonging is critical for students’ academic achievement and emotional well-being. The development of a sense of school belonging is influenced by direct and indirect factors within the school environment. Categorization into low and high achievement groups based on academics is a process largely outside the direct control of a student. This study employed an interpretive phenomenological analysis of interviews conducted with 17 seventh- and eighth-grade students about their belonging experience in a Midwestern public middle school. Experiences of students academically categorized as high, typical, or low achievers were compared and described in the context of three emergent themes. The three themes of cultural, academic, and social belonging were illustrated within a bioecological model as potential pathways contributing to an overall sense of belonging at school. The results emphasized that school sense of belonging is a multi-dimensional concept with indirect factors such as school culture and academic categorization influencing students’ social relationships with teachers and peers. The findings of this study may be useful to school administrators seeking ways to increase sense of school belonging through alteration of the indirect influences on students’ social relationships and the enhancement of pathways to overall belongingness.

Extent

204 pages

Language

en

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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