Sense Of Belonging

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Pages: 7

Senses of belonging and interpersonal connectivity are widely researched topics in psychology, but researches have disagreed on the significance of sense of belonging on the educational field (Ma, 2003). Likewise, sense of belonging has been defined in various terms such as belongingness, relatedness, classroom membership, community, acceptance, and support (Strayhorn, 2012). According to Osterman (2000), sense of belonging has to do with the feeling of connectivity with others in the same environment, and often involves the identification of one’s self with a particular group. Moreover, Baumeister and Leary (1995) acknowledged that sense of belonging has two aspects: contact and interactions on a regular basis and the context of love and care. …show more content…
Sense of belonging is related to, and seemingly a consequence of, mattering. Mattering refers to feeling, rightly or wrongly that one matters, is valued or appreciated by others.
5. Social identities intersect and affect college students’ sense of belonging.
6. Sense of belonging engenders other positive outcomes, such as engagement, achievement, wellbeing, happiness, and optimal functioning.
7. Sense of belonging must be satisfied on a continual basis and likely changes as circumstances, conditions, and contexts change. While sense of belonging tends to stabilize over time, it remains highly susceptible to positive or negative experiences. (p.
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Goodenow (1993a) stated that the need to belong is an essential factor that is required in all schools levels. Goodenow also studied the relationship between adolescents’ sense of belonging and their expectations, values, motivation, effort, and academic performance in several studies. In the first study, Goodenow examined the correlation between sense of school membership, value, and effort by using The Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) Scale. There were 1,366 participants from fifth to eighth grade from one suburban middle school and two urban junior high schools. The findings showed that the sense of school membership substantially influenced students’ motivation, effort, participation, and subsequent achievement (Goodenow, 1993a). Care, love, and acceptance are essential in ensuring that students like their surroundings which eventually help them exhibit high morale and effort within the school