School belonging : why are our students longing to belong to school?

School belonging is commonly defined as: ‘the extent to which students feel personally accepted, respected, included and supported by others in the school social environment’ (Goodenow & Grady, 1993). It has been found to be a predictor of a range of broad academic, psychological and physical health benefits in young people. A sense of school belonging can not only buffer the effects of student anxiety and depression but also boost academic engagement and motivation. It has been related to a myriad of further beneficial outcomes including resilience, gratitude, sleep, and self-esteem. School belonging has also been shown to decrease the incidence of factors that are not conducive to education, such as bullying, misconduct, school dropout and truancy. And it does not take much to increase a sense of belonging. There is a plethora of brief interventions that demonstrate that with very little cost and effort, the issue can be effectively addressed. (e.g. Booker, 2018; Craggs & Kelly, 2018; Diebel et al., 2016).