Academic and Psychological Functioning in Late Adolescence: The Importance of School Belonging

Abstract

Few researchers have considered the influence of school context, an important construct at earlier ages, on late adolescents' college adjustment. In a sample of second-semester freshmen (N = 266), the authors explored associations between a sense of school belonging and academic and psychological adjustment. Students' reports of belonging at the university as well as in high school were both significant in predicting current academic (e.g., grades, academic competence) and psychological adjustment (i.e., self-worth, internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors), even after controlling for other important demographic and relationship factors. Last, the authors found that parental education (i.e., whether the participant was a first-generation college student) interacted with high school belonging in predicting externalizing problem behaviors.

School Racial Climate and the Academic Achievement of African American High School Students: The Mediating Role of School Engagement

“…Focusing on belonging within a school setting, several studies conducted with students in middle and high school from various racial and ethnic groups found students who emotionally engage in school and develop a sense of belonging in school are more likely to succeed in school than those who disidentify with school (Goodenow, 1993;Osterman, 2000). Other bodies of literature have indicated that affective connections at school are promotive of academic achievement (e.g., Connell et al, 1994;Gonzalez & Padilla, 1997;Dotterer & Lowe, 2011;Goodenow, 1993;Hagborg, 1998;Irvin, 2012;Irvin, Meece, Byun, Farmer & Hutchins, 2010;LeCroy & Krysik, 2008;Pittman & Richmond, 2007;Roeser, Midgley & Urdan, 1996;Smerdon, 2002;Valeski & Stipek, 2001;Voelkl, 1996Voelkl, , 1997. Likewise, Fine's (1991) research on predominately African American and Latino high school students who dropped out of school provided qualitative support for the importance of identification with school.…”

Wellbeing and Society: Towards Quantification of the Co-benefits of Wellbeing

“…The study concludes that a positive association exists between wellbeing at school and academic achievement, these being measured in terms of happiness at school, teachers' appreciation and enjoyment of lessons on one side and pupil and school value-added from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 on the other side. An empirical analysis by Pittman and Richmond (2007) shows that also college students with higher sense of attachment to university tend to perform better and to be more confident in their academic abilities.…”

A Sense of Belonging From an Educational Cultural Perspective – A Review of Research

“…This implies that not only a sense of belonging relates to identification but also that identification encompasses a sense of belonging. Contrary to this, L. D. Pittman and A. Richmond (2007) claim the opposite to J. D. Finn (1989)'s: 'belonging… goes beyond just identification … but includes individual perception of fitting in and belonging with to others' (Pittman, Richmond, 2007: 272), which implies that a sense of belonging encompasses identification. Although different views exist among researchers, there seems to be an agreement that a sense of belonging and identification are related.…”

“…L. D. Pittman and A. Richmond's (2007) investigated a sense of belonging and iii) competence and showed that students who felt more belonging with their university experienced more competence in their scholastic pursuit. R. M. Ryan et al (1994) investigated relatedness, ii) autonomy and iii) competence.…”