The Development of the French Version of the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) Questionnaire: An Analysis of its Structure, Properties and Potential for Research with at-risk Students

Abstract

Introduction. As it plays an important role in students' adjustment, and positively impacts their motivation and academic success, school belonging seems to be a pivotal determinant of the overall quality of a school experience. However, measuring such a belonging and estimating its contribution to the overall quality of school adjustment remain a challenge for the scientific community. Method. Thus, the French version of the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) questionnaire was tested to determine its latent structure, validity, and capacity to predict dropout among at-risk students. In Study 1, the French version of the PSSM scale was thoroughly analyzed for validity while performing exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis on self-reported data provided by a sample of high school students. In study 2, answers of a particular sample of at-risk students were carefully analyzed with ANOVAS to determine the potential of the PSSM to predict high school dropout. Results. The exploratory factor analysis and the confirmatory factor analysis revealed four predominant dimensions: (1) teacher-student relationships; (2) peers' relationships; (3) sense of acceptance; and (4) sense of attachment, while the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis revealed the PSSM to be partially invariant with regards to the gender of the participants. In Study 2, we found that the PSSM can be used as a tool to help identify students who are at risk of dropping out of school. Conclusion. Strategies to develop students' school belonging are discussed.

Examining the Psychological Sense of School Membership among the Basic School Students

“…As such, in her doctoral research in the US primary [Elementary] school context, Wagle (2021) stated that "female students were more likely to experience high school belonging levels than male students" (p. 12). Similar to these findings, other studies such as Cortina et al (2017), Sari (2012), andSt-Amand et al (2020) also reported that female students have a higher sense of school belongingness than male students. The literature indicates that gender difference is a significant impetus factor in determining the students' sense of school membership.…”

“…Generally, the previous studies presented the findings separately, like in the original PSSM scale. However, this study presents the findings as the studies (Craggs & Kelly, 2018;St-Amand et al, 2020;Ye & Wallace, 2014) allow the researcher to present the result in the following four dimensions.…”

“…Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) scale (Goodenow, 1993), a valid and reliable scale to assess the adolescent students' sense of school belongingness, has been widely accepted and used for around three decades. After developing the PSSM scale by Goodenow (1993) in the United States, many other studies (also in different countries/geographical regions) such as Cortina et al (2017), Craggs and Kelly (2018), Slaten et al (2016), St-Amand et al (2020), St-Amand et al (2017) have confirmed its validity and reliability. Primarily the PSSM scale is developed for adolescent students.…”

“…For instance, a French version of the PSSM scale (St-Amand et al, 2020) is tested to ensure its validity. Although the Open and Distance Learning Centre, Tribhuvan University, has been surveying PSSM as a part of a larger study on gender-inclusive pedagogy recently, no study of PSSM has been conducted yet in Nepal.…”

“…As Goodenow (1993) defines it, the "psychological sense of school membership is the extent to which students feel personally accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in the school social environment" (p.81). While students' sense of belonging is a prerequisite to active engagement/participation in the teaching-learning process and better academic achievement (St-Amand et al, 2020), it is neglected in Nepal. Although some focus has been paid to creating inclusive pedagogy with the existing pedagogical practices (Bista et al, 2016;Sharma, 2019), none of the efforts are existent to foster the PSSM of Nepali school students.…”