The sense of school belonging: Its importance for the positive development of students and prevention of behavioural problems

Abstract

The sense of school belonging is defined as the extent to which students feel personally accepted, respected, included and supported by others in the school environment. Given that certain authors regard school belonging as the key factor in the adequate development of children and youth, this paper aims to summarize and present theoretical and research findings that testify to the importance of the sense of school belonging for students' positive development and prevention of behavioral problems. In addition, the basic tenets of prevention science and the positive development perspective are discussed, and the relationship between these two approaches is analyzed. The results of our review suggest that the sense of school belonging is related to a wide range of academic and developmental outcomes, such as academic achievement and motivation, school engagement, prosocial behavior, life satisfaction, self-esteem, positive identity, well-being, adaptive adjustment, etc. In other words, past research has indicated that, depending on the extent to which the sense of school belonging is developed, its effects can be interpreted within the context of risk and protective/promotion factors in students' mental health and behavioral problems. The above implies that actors in the education system must not lose sight of the importance of the sense of school belonging for students' reaching their full potential. Moreover, taking into account the striving of prevention science to identify and enhance the factors underpinning protective processes, further research is needed on the factors and mechanisms of development of the sense of school belonging.