Rethinking school belonging - A socio-ecological framework

Abstract

Belonging has been described as the need for positive regard from others, affiliation motivation, and desire for relatedness. Friedman (2007) described a sense of belonging as the development of the self and identity building. It is well accepted that sense of belonging is not dependent on participation with, or proximity to, others. Rather, it relies on perceptions about the quality of social interactions. Therefore, belonging could be considered as one's perception of his or her involvement in a social system or environment.