A new report from the Baltimore-based nonprofit Fund for Educational Excellence has found that when students feel they are part of their school’s community, they are more likely to succeed in academic pursuits.
For the study “Seen and Heard: How Student Belonging Shapes School Communities and Student Success,” the four authors surveyed more than 1,000 students and their families over the course of a year, garnering responses from 115 schools and 75% of Baltimore City Public Schools.
“Belonging is the foundation of a successful school experience,” says Roger Schulman, president and chief executive officer at the Fund for Educational Excellence, in a news release. “When students feel connected to their school communities, they are more likely to attend regularly, engage in extracurriculars and pursue meaningful pathways after graduation. Real growth happens only when students feel they belong.”
“Seen and Heard’s” four main findings were the importance of student-teacher relationships in making students feel accepted and included, the necessity of student safety, a need for communication and the fact that extracurriculars play more of a role in making students feel included and involved in school life than many may think.
The study found that students’ sense of belonging varied greatly depending on different socio-economic factors, as well as their backgrounds.
Black students reported less of a sense of belonging than White and Hispanic/Latino students, with students at high-poverty schools also feeling less like they belong compared to students at low-poverty schools.
“Addressing student belonging in an equitable way means acknowledging that disparities are real,” Schulman adds. “In an ideal school system, belonging would not depend on a school’s resources or an exceptional educator—it would be a standard experience for every student. We need to implement specific, equitable strategies to make that vision a reality.”
