What is it?
Student belonging occurs when educators create an environment in which students with disabilities are present, invited, welcomed, known, accepted, supported, heard, befriended, needed, and loved.
As summarized by the REL Midwest, research suggests that students who experience a strong sense of belonging are more likely to be engaged with school and to achieve academic success. Despite the importance of belonging, research suggests that students with disabilities are less likely to feel the same level of belonging at school as their peers (Biggs & Carter, 2017; Cullinane, 2020; Nepi et al., 2013).
What do teachers and leaders need to know?
Fostering a culture of student belonging includes attending to peer relationships, student-staff relationships, and how students experience the school community. Students with disabilities may face barriers related to their placement in separate classes, fewer opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities, and difficulty building and maintaining friendships (Cullinane, 2020). As Orrin Murray shares in this REL Midwest blog post “It is important to note that cultivating a sense of belonging is not just the work of an individual within a school. Rather, it is a social phenomenon, as everyone in a school must be engaged in laying down and nurturing the lines of support for one another. In that vein, it is important to recognize that adults also need support and need to figure out the ways in which they belong in the school. The extent to which teachers and all adults in a school have ownership and feel included—and that they belong—ends up being an important foundation for them to both reflect and cultivate that sense of belonging among their students.”
Where can you learn more?