Learning Environment, Interaction, Sense of Belonging and Study Success in Ethnically Diverse Student Groups

Meeuwisse, Marieke; Severiens, Sabine; Born, Marise Ph.

doi:10.1007/s11162-010-9168-1

Cited by 230 publications

(211 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Such negative encounters hinder social integration in the school community by causing students' reluctance to participate and their dread of being bullied by peers, thus leading to alienation. These outcomes extend previous findings that peers are crucial in creating a sense of belonging (e.g., Cemalcilar 2010;Ma 2003;Meeuwisse, Severiens and Born 2010;Rowe and Stewart 2009;Tinto 1997), and peer relations are central in influencing students' experiences of schoolwide activities. Thus, this study highlights the significance of students' mutual interest and respect at the schoolwide level, beyond friendships or classroom-level relationships.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Students’ experiences of social integration in schoolwide activities—an investigation in the Finnish context

Niemi¹

2017

Education Inquiry

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The question of how students' sense of membership and connectedness to their school can be supported through school practices concerns educational contexts internationally. According to the Programme of International Student Achievement test, students' experiences of school belonging have decreased and polarized in many of the participating countries since the 2003 test. This study provides new knowledge about the topic by investigating students' experiences of schoolwide activities from the perspective of social integration. The study approaches social integration from the conceptual pre-understanding presented in Jürgen Habermas ' (1984; 1987) theory of communicative action about the creation of solidarity among groups. The study is based on interview data with Finnish lower secondary students (14-16 years old). The findings show that schoolwide events can be valuable for creating social integration, but the negative aspects of school community may also culminate during these occurrences. This study provides new knowledge about how social integration is constructed in schoolwide events through cultural-level values and commitments, school community-level practices, and personal-level interactions among students. This study has practical importance for developing school practices internationally.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Students’ experiences of social integration in schoolwide activities—an investigation in the Finnish context

Niemi¹

2017

Education Inquiry

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“…In this study, the sense of belonging is approached as a "psychological sense of membership" (Goodenow, 1993) that is created through all the formal and informal social interactions students experience with their teachers and peers (Ma, 2003;Meeuwisse, Severiens, & Born, 2010;Cemalcilar, 2010;Rowe & Stewart, 2009Tinto, 1997). To understand the value school celebrations can have in shaping students' experiences of their school, the theory reviews the socio-emotional and educational aspects of school celebrations discussed in previous studies and in the Finnish National Core Curriculum for Basic Education published by the Finnish National Board of Education (hereafter FNBE) (FNBE, 2004(FNBE, , 2014b.…”

Section: Theoretical Framework For School Celebrations and School Belmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the majority of studies on school belonging have been conducted in the US, some recent studies have been conducted in Iran, Australia, Turkey, Peru, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, and China (e.g., Babakhani, 2014;Bond et al, 2007;Cemalcilar, 2010;Cueto, Guerrero, Sugimaru, & Zevallos, 2010;Demanet & Van Houtte, 2012;Liu & Lu, 2011;Ma, 2003;Meeuwisse et al, 2010;Rowe & Stewart, 2009. In addition, the sense of school belonging has been studied in PISA tests as part of students' engagement (OECD, 2013).…”

Section: School Belonging As a Sense Of Membershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing students’ sense of belonging through school celebrations: A study in Finnish lower-secondary schools

Niemi¹,

Hotulainen²

2015

IJRSE

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The notion of school belonging refers to the sense of membership and relatedness individual students feel with the other students and with the teachers at their school. Educational and psychological studies carried out in various contexts have shown that students' sense of school belonging is associated with several academic and non-academic outcomes, such as students' motivation to learn, level of academic achievement, and general future orientation. However, one of the major gaps in school belonging studies is the lack of connections between theoretical studies and actual school practice. There is an international need to gain a better understanding of the factors affecting students' sense of belonging in schools. To deepen our knowledge of how schools can better promote students' sense of school belonging at the whole-school level, this study focuses on school celebrations. The study consists of a statistical survey questionnaire conducted at three Finnish lower-secondary schools during the 2013-2014 academic year. To analyze the data and test the methodological hypotheses, we used a structural equation model (SEM). The findings of this study show that students' socio-emotional and educational experiences of school celebrations are positively related to their sense of school belonging. The study also shows the notable role of peer relationships in shaping students' social and emotional experiences of these events. The findings highlight the need for educational researchers, curriculum makers, and practitioners to pay more attention to the social, emotional, and educational content that school celebrations provide for students.

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“…Several studies investigate the direct and indirect effects of self-perceived interaction with fellow students on study success (e.g., Brooman and Darwent 2014;Christie et al 2004;Torenbeek et al 2010;Meeuwisse et al 2010;Severiens and Wolff 2008). However, few studies address what determines students' academic support relationships in a FLC and how they are connected by social relationships with peers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergent achievement segregation in freshmen learning community networks

et al. 2017

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A common assumption about Freshmen Learning Communities (FLCs) is that academic relationships contribute to students' success. This study investigates how students in learning communities connect with fellow students for friendship and academic support. Longitudinal social network data across the first year, collected from 95 Dutch students in eight FLCs, measure both social and academic relational choices within and beyond the FLCs. Using stochastic actor-based models, the study tests two competing hypotheses. The alignment hypothesis states that students connect with their similar-achieving friends for both academic and social support, leading to an alignment of both types of networks over time. In contrast, the duality hypothesis states dissimilarity between academic support networks and friendship networks: Institute for Analytical Sociology, Linköping University, Kopparhammaren 2 Norra Grytsgatan 10, 601 74 Norrköping, Sweden students should connect with better-achieving fellow students for academic support and to more similar peers for friendship. The data support the alignment hypothesis but not the duality hypothesis; in addition, they show evidence of achievement segregation in FLCs: the higher the students' achievement level, the more they connect with other students for both academic support and friendship, relating in particular to peers with a similarly high achievement level. The results suggest that lower-achieving students are excluded from the support provided by higherachieving students and instead ask similar lower achievers for support. They thus cannot benefit optimally from the academic integration FLC offer. The article concludes with recommendations of how to support students in an FLC so that they can reach optimal achievement potential.

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Learning Environment, Interaction, Sense of Belonging and Study Success in Ethnically Diverse Student Groups

Cited by 230 publications

References 34 publications

Students’ experiences of social integration in schoolwide activities—an investigation in the Finnish context

Students’ experiences of social integration in schoolwide activities—an investigation in the Finnish context

Enhancing students’ sense of belonging through school celebrations: A study in Finnish lower-secondary schools

Emergent achievement segregation in freshmen learning community networks

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