The Importance of Student Sense of Belonging (IES)
Two-page infographic from IES’s Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest shares five promising strategies for teachers interested in nurturing relationships to support students’ sense of belonging.
Structures for Belonging: A Synthesis of Research on Belonging-Supportive Learning Environments (SERN)
Student Experience Research Network reviews research on structural factors related to belonging in access to learning environments; relationships with educators, peers, and families; instructional resources and pedagogy; and system-level policies and practices.
The Belonging Barometer (Over Zero and the Center for Inclusion and Belonging at the American Immigration Council)
This robust 2023 report reviews the concept of belonging, centering its importance for key stakeholders, leaders, and philanthropists in the US today who care about health, democracy, and intergroup relations. The report introduces the Belonging Barometer, a way of measuring belonging that is robust, accessible, and readily deployable in the service of efforts to advance the common good. The Belonging Barometer was used in a nationally representative survey in late 2021 to assess the state of belonging in five life settings: family, friends, workplace, local community, and the nation. The report concludes with considerations for designing interventions that increase…
Brené Brown on Empathy (video)
Building trusted relationships within any group, including among those in co-deigning sessions, is critical. This animated short from RSA is narrated by Brené Brown, and offers important insights into how to authentically relate to others.
Stories from the Field: Building Strong Relationships (Transforming Education)
Why do teacher-student relationships matter? How can we foster a sense of belonging that allows students to feel like they truly belong in the classroom? This brief from Transforming Education is part of a series on fostering strong relationships, and offers strategies for developing and sustaining strong relationships between teachers and students.
Building a Belonging Classroom (Edutopia) (video)
To learn, students need to feel safe, cared for, and emotionally connected to their teachers and each other. This Edutopia video, which is part of Edutopia’s How Learning Happens series, shares some ideas for building belonging in the classroom.
How to Cultivate a Sense of Belonging in Schools (The Edvocate)
The Edvocate offers six tips for fostering a culture of belonging, inclusiveness, and mutual respect. Together, they underscore the roll of creating a positive and supportive space, and encouraging social interactions while acknowledging and celebrating diversity, promoting teacher-student relationships, and ensuring student involvement in decision making.
Ten Ways to Help Students Motivate Themselves (EdWeek)
Former and current educators share their ideas on how to encourage student motivation in this April 2023 blog post. Whitney Emke highlights the role of fostering belonging, purpose, and agency, and Laura Robb offers seven classroom conditions, like student-centered learning, collaboration and reflection, that nurture positive relationships to build a community of engaged learners.
Bridging Differences Playbook (Greater Good Science Center)
How do we build bridges when we are trying to create a sense of belonging in our school? How do we belong to a collective group with so many differences? This playbook from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center offers 14 research-based strategies to promote positive dialogue and understanding to bridge differences.
Middle and High School Students Who Take Care of Siblings, Parents, and Grandparents: Associations With School Engagement, Belonging, and Well-Being
State-wide survey of caregiving and its impacts for students finds that only through school-level analysis and gathering data from multiple sources can schools figure out how to most effectively understand and respond to student caregiving prevalence and impacts.