Collection
Perspectives on Current and Future Directions in School Belonging Research
Abstract submission deadline: 15 August 2023
In a world increasingly fragmented by sociocultural, geopolitical, and ideological divisions, students are facing growing threats to their belonging, especially given the rise of mental health challenges aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and other societal turmoil. Although many ways of understanding school belonging exist, it has most consistently been defined as “the extent to which students feel personally accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in the school social environment” (Goodenow & Grady 1993, p. 80). School belonging is fraught with challenging transitions, a new set of surroundings and people, and spaces potentially hostile toward historically oppressed students. Although institutions have focused for centuries on establishing places of academic learning, they currently grapple with how to foster genuine student belonging.
Despite the shared understanding among researchers, educators, administrators, and policymakers that school belonging is an essential factor for students’ success and well-being, there is a continual need for an improved understanding of (a) how school belonging is defined and understood, (b) evidence-based and theoretically rich theories of school belonging, and (c) guidance for creating meaningful opportunities for improving school belonging, particularly for minoritized, marginalized, and underrepresented students.
The aim of the topical collection is to synthesize the state-of-the-art on school belonging research as well as to generate future directions across several perspectives in the field that rarely come together in one place, including social psychologists, educational psychologists, sociologists, PK-12 researchers, higher education researchers, survey researchers, intervention researchers, etc. If an individual wants to learn about the school belonging research topic area, it is currently difficult to find several of the key perspectives across fields and educational settings, so we see this collection as a way to bring together various perspectives that could be useful to those interested in this topic.
Some of the pressing questions about the school belonging literature revolve around definitional issues of school belonging, belonging measurement, connections with other educational psychology constructs (e.g., motivation, achievement), how to intervene to promote belonging, and different theoretical frameworks. Through a series of reviews, meta-analyses, and theoretical/conceptual articles, this collection aims to showcase the cutting edge of theory-driven, school belonging research. In doing so, the issue will consolidate existing perspectives, thereby both underscoring the value of methods, models, and theories involved in school belonging research, and also promoting their application in future research on this topic.
Topics of importance that can be addressed in the Topical Collection include, but are not limited to:
● Definitions and measures of school belonging
● Reviews of theoretical perspectives on school belonging
● Interventions and classroom practices to promote school belonging (including reviews of current intervention work)
● Identity groups and school belonging
● Motivation and school belonging
● Representation and school belonging
● School belonging in specific disciplinary contexts (e.g., STEM)
● School belonging in early childhood, primary, and secondary school settings
● School belonging in postsecondary settings
● School belonging beyond postsecondary settings
We especially welcome review papers and meta-analyses.
Abstract submission information:
If you are interested, please send a brief expression of interest including a tentative title, author list, and 500 word abstract to topical collection editors, Chris Rozek (crozek@wustl.edu) AND Carlton Fong (carltonfong@txstate.edu), by August 15, 2023.
Timeline:
August 15, 2023: Submission of abstracts (500 words)
August 30, 2023: Communication of decision on abstract fit for the collection
November 15, 2023: Submission deadline full manuscripts
May 2024: Submission deadline revised manuscripts
August 2024: Acceptance of manuscripts
Editors
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Chris Rozek
Christopher S. Rozek is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at Washington University in St. Louis. He investigates the psychological factors associated with student success and well-being. His research focuses on students' emotions and sense of belonging in school. Additionally, he develops and evaluates school-based interventions to empower students and promote adaptive emotions and a sense of belonging in equitable ways.
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Carlton Fong
Carlton J. Fong is an Associate Professor in the College of Education at Texas State University. In his research, he examines the psychosociocultural and instructional factors that influence postsecondary student learning. Leveraging meta-analytic approaches and secondary data, he focuses on motivational and self-regulatory processes such as belonging and help-seeking, particularly for Students of Color.
