Abstract
This brief reports findings from a survey with middle and high school youth in a midsize district in the Mid-Atlantic. We find that belonging varies by race and ethnicity for young people. Overall, Black and Latino/x youth report lower belonging when compared to their White peers in a pro-diversity and inclusion district. Implications for policy and practice are addressed to improve sense of belonging for racially/ethnically and linguistically diverse youth.
Introduction of the Issue/Question
Research shows belonging matters for students’ academic achievement (Goodenow, 1993). Educational success and related school experiences have proven to be especially challenging during and following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without attending school, youth isolation and a lack of connectedness increased across the country and disproportionately impacted youth of color (Goldberg, 2020). These challenges both persist and evolve as the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted to being characteristic of an endemic (see Biancolella et al., 2022). Belonging generally relates to feeling included, respected, and supported (Goodenow & Grady, 1993). Even before the pandemic, young people in the United States struggled with school belonging and positive well-being. Although most research, particularly survey research, focuses on school belonging, youths’ sense of belonging is impacted by perceptions of supportive relationships both within school and beyond the educational context and how their racial or ethnic identity is affirmed or rejected in schools and communities; the contextual and situational factors can vary by race, ethnicity, and gender (Durand & Blackwell, 2022). In other words, school belonging matters, but social belonging that includes identities, relationships, and interaction beyond school is critical. Furthermore, social belonging—as it relates to social relationships, identity, and cultural affirmation across contexts and interactions—is our focus and contribution. Although these two conceptualizations of belonging differ between school (referring to in-school dynamics) and social (referring to relationships), both describe belonging as relational feelings of connectedness, positive social relations, and identity (Allen et al., 2021). Ultimately, understanding youths’ sense of belonging matters for their well-being and academic success.
This brief addresses how youth in a midsize district perceive belonging and contributes to education research about social-relational belonging as we examine both school and social belonging (see Supplemental Material available on the journal website). Our work addresses a gap where although belonging has been identified as a key goal in improving student academic outcomes, it has rarely been looked at in relation to social belonging outside of school and comparatively among groups of students (e.g., middle and high school and by race, gender); past research largely focuses on school belonging rather than also considering social belonging (Goodenow, 1993; Rodriguez, 2023). Social belonging matters for students’ well-being and perceptions of support they have through relationships and networks (Small, 2009; Stanton-Salazar & Spina, 2003).
We ask:
What is the overall belonging for middle and high school youth?
Are there differences by race, ethnicity, and gender?
Discussion of Data and Findings
The data include youth responses (N = 1,233) to a 40-item survey instrument conducted by the first author in a midsize school district with rapidly changing demographics in the Mid-Atlantic, where a recent set of what district members refer to as “racial incidents” and “bullying” occurred (Rodriguez, 2023). The survey included four sections with previously validated items about belonging at school and out of school (Goodenow, 1993) and in the community (Ayόn, 2017) and related to identity-based factors such as ethnicity, culture and immigration status, and perceived support (Phinney, 1992; Stanton-Salazar, 2001). It also contained an open-ended question, analyzed elsewhere, asking what belonging meant to youth and what helped or hindered it. These 600 open-ended responses showed positive and negative examples of belonging, including that bullying and negative student-adult interactions contributed to (un)belonging.
The survey sample for this brief (N = 1,233) included 734 middle school and 499 high school students. Of all students, 122 were Black, 106 Latino, 62 multiracial, and 43 Asian. There were 25 students identified as English language learners (ELLs), and 235 students were in special education programs (Table 1).
Descriptive Statistics
For analysis, we divided the survey’s four categories of belonging and created a mean score for each student for each construct: in-school belonging (α reliability coefficient = .82), community belonging (α = .55), out-of-school belonging (α = .68), and belonging related to identity outside of school (α = .65). We calculated descriptive statistics and analysis across demographic groups (e.g., gender and race/ethnicity), student status identifiers (e.g., ELL, gifted, and identified as in special education), and grade level (e.g., 5–8 for middle school and 9–12 for high school). We utilize an alpha of p < .05 to identify statistical significance.
For Table 2, mean tests with Bonferroni post hoc analyses and Tukey’s honest significance tests across demographic groups indicated that Black (p = .021) and multiracial (p = .001) high schoolers reported significantly lower school belonging compared to other groups; Black students reported significantly lower community belonging (p = .013), which referred to feeling discriminated against or unsafe in the community. Meanwhile, Hispanic (p < .000) and multiracial (p = .044) students reported significantly lower out-of-school belonging due to lack of affirming racial/ethnic groups or experiences in out-of-school programs. 1
Means for Belonging Constructs Across Demographics
Note. Bold notes that this demographic group (operationalized as a binary indicator variable) is statistically different in corresponding belonging score from those not in the group, based on analysis of variance and post hoc Bonferroni tests. Values in parentheses refer to standard deviations.
p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
Moreover, trends for middle schoolers were similar but with some notable variation. For instance, Black middle schoolers reported significantly lower school belonging compared to other demographic groups; Black, Hispanic, and Asian students reported significantly lower community belonging; and Black students reported significantly lower out-of-school belonging.
Similar mean tests with post hoc analyses across the student identifiers indicated that ELL middle school students reported significantly lower community belonging and out-of-school belonging than non-ELL students; ELL high school students also reported significantly lower out-of-school belonging.
Regression analyses (Table 3), accounting for variation in demographics and student identifiers, indicated that for the high school sample, Black and multiracial student status predicted lower scores in school (Black: p = .003; multiracial: p = .001) and community belonging (Black: p = .031; multiracial marginally significant at p = .066), and ELL and special education student status predicted lower scores in out-of-school belonging (ELL: p = .008; special education: p = .012). Regarding middle schoolers, regression analyses indicated Black student status predicted lower school belonging (p = .006). Furthermore, Black (p = .005), Hispanic (p < .000), Asian (p < .000), ELL (p < .000), and special education (p < .000) middle school student status were each associated with lower community belonging than the respective reference group; regressions also indicated Black (p < .000), Asian (p = .036), male (p < .000), and ELL student status (p = .004) predicted lower out-of-school belonging. There were no significant findings regarding interactions between race and gender on belonging constructs.
Regression Analyses
Note. Results from linear regression analyses for the subsamples of middle school and high school across the four belonging constructs. Bolded are all statistically significant findings at p < .05.
p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
Descriptive analysis of open-ended response items in the belonging survey revealed that youth also reported that the reasons for feeling a lack of belonging stem from negative experiences at school, few trusting adult-student relationships, and little affirmation from the adults in school of students’ identities (e.g., racial/ethnic and language backgrounds). Specifically, we found Latino students, especially those from immigrant households and nonnative English speakers, report lower sense of belonging than White peers. Schools must address this through taking steps to better understand students’ needs and their racial/ethnic and linguistic backgrounds because generally, we found that non-White students and those with additional language learning needs experience lower belonging.
Implications for Research and Conclusion
Our brief makes two main contributions to education research. First, we note that belonging has become a central aim of improvement efforts in schools but often is not examined by distinct type (e.g., urban, suburban, rural) or size. Many districts are facing challenges related to racial inequity, anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy, and anti-Black racism. Thus, improvement efforts include racial equity components that need transforming systems and structures to support marginalized youth. Yet youth voices are often not central to improving structures of support. Second, belonging is often spoken of generally or for populations (e.g., immigrant students) but rarely looked at comparatively among groups of students. Belonging also needs to be understood in social and relational terms, not just in terms of school belonging, which has been conceived of as important for academic success.
Additional analyses are needed to understand specific reasons for lower belonging among racially/ethnically minoritized youth and better identify how school districts can address race-specific bullying and a lack of affirming identities and supportive relationships in schools. Although the open-ended responses point toward these items in our data set, we call for additional investigation of culturally sustaining curriculum and education awareness about racial/ethnic minoritized groups and program and structural change at district levels. Additional qualitative analysis ought to investigate how schools are addressing well-being and inclusion given the high priorities about equity in many districts (Rodriguez, 2023). These equity aims must incorporate research from youth—ideally survey and qualitative data—to identify and address conditions and opportunities to increase belonging in school and through school-community partnerships and out of school, potentially through community-based programs. In highly racialized contexts, Latino and Black youth in particular face social inequities and need to feel safe and connected in school and in their communities. Relationships and structures of support are critical for belonging and increasing youths’ future opportunities for educational and social mobility and well-being.
Supplemental Material
sj-pdf-1-edr-10.3102_0013189X231216949 – Supplemental material for Struggling to Belong: Evidence From a Survey of Youth Belonging in Public Schools
Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-edr-10.3102_0013189X231216949 for Struggling to Belong: Evidence From a Survey of Youth Belonging in Public Schools by Sophia Rodriguez and Gabrielle Cabrera Wy in Educational Researcher
Footnotes
Notes
Authors
References
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
