Development and Validation of a Model Predicting Students’ Sense of School Belonging and Engagement as a Function of School Climate

Abstract

For many years, studies have explored the relationship between school belonging and engagement, two concepts that are associated with several positive outcomes. However, the relative influence that school climate may have on these components has received little attention. Based on the theoretical perspective of Janosz et al (1998), school belonging and engagement were examined as a function of multiple dimensions of school climate, and were tested across genders. The research took place in Morocco, and participants were 238 students from 9th grade (101 males, 137 females; Mage = 15.1) living in the cities of Casablanca and Témara. Students completed a questionnaire aimed at measuring school belonging, school engagement, and school climate. Correlational and structural equation modeling methods were used to analyze the aforementioned relationships. Results showed that only the climate of justice had a positive effect on school belonging, which, in turn, had a positive effect on the three types of school engagement. The multigroup analysis revealed the relation between school belonging and behavioral engagement to be partially invariant across genders. These results highlight the benefits of creating a positive school climate which can support students' belonging and engagement.

Factors of a Sense of School Belonging: Bronfenbrenner’s Theoretical Model as a Starting Framework for Interpretation

“…Also, effectively responding to the occurrence of behavioural problems in the school environment contributes to the creation of a democratic environment that promotes justice and equality, thereby enhancing the sense of school belonging among students (St-Amand et al, 2021). The assumption is that strict school disciplinary practices have a negative impact on the relationship between students and teachers, which consequently affects the sense of school belonging (Tillery et al, 2013).…”

The sense of school belonging: Its importance for the positive development of students and prevention of behavioural problems

“…Uopšte uzev, studije dokumentuju povezanost osećaja pripadnosti školi sa boljim akademskim postignućem (Korpershoek et al, 2020;Morales-Chicas & Graham 2016;Pittman & Richmond, 2007;Sari, 2012), višim nivoom akademske motivacije (Gillen-O'Neel & Fuligni, 2013;Gutvajn i sar., 2021;Kiefer et al, 2015;Korpershoek et al, 2020;Walker & Green, 2009), većim stepenom angažovanosti u školi i školskim aktivnostima (Allen et al, 2021;Encina & Berger, 2021;Kiefer et al, 2015;Knifsend & Graham, 2012;Korpershoek et al, 2020;Markowitz, 2017;St-Amand et al, 2017;St-Amand et al, 2021;Van Ryzin et al, 2009), boljim mentalnim zdravljem (Allen et al, 2017;Arslan, 2021;Gaete et al, 2016;Jose et al, 2012), višim samopoštovanjem (Baumeister, 2012;Begen & Turner-Cobb, 2015;Nutbrown & Clough, 2009;Zhang et al, 2018), višom stopom prosocijalnog ponašanja (Allen et al, 2017;Arslan & Coşkun, 2020;Cemalcilar, 2010;Demanet & Van Houtte, 2011;Murnaghan et al, 2014;Oldfield et al, 2016), većim stepenom zadovoljstva životom (Allen & Bowles, 2013;O'Brien & Bowles, 2013;You et al, 2008), adaptivnim prilagođavanjem (Law et al, 2013), pozitivnim identitetom…”