bELonging: Do Students Classified as English Learners Feel Included?

Abstract

In this article, we analyze student survey data related to sense of belonging and relationships with teachers and adults within and across the fastest growing subgroup of K–12 public school students: students classified as English learners (ELs). Students classified as ELs in our study, overall, felt a similar sense of belonging, or slightly higher sense of belonging than their never and formerly EL-classified peers; however, within the sense of belonging constructs, students classified as ELs varied in their perceptions of school climate. Additionally, current EL-classified students who took the survey in English were more positive than those who took the survey in another language; however, once student demographics and school contexts were held constant, survey language was weakly related to our outcome measures. We conclude by discussing how our findings can guide K–12 education policies, practices, and research to foster inclusive educational environments.