A sense of belonging helps students cope with academic setbacks: Study

When it comes to coping with academic setbacks, a recent study has found that a sense of belonging at school is essential to building student resilience. Keiko CP Bostwick (UNSW Sydney), Andrew J Martin (UNSW Sydney), Emma Burns (Macquarie University), and Rebecca J Collie (UNSW Sydney) write about the findings of a recent study they conducted with over 70,000 high school students to better understand resilience. A student’s sense of belonging was the most notable factor in their resilience, both in terms of resilience at the individual-student level and average resilience at the whole-school level. The authors discuss how a sense of belonging protects students from stress and negativity and facilitates feelings of support. They further provide recommendations for cultivating a greater sense of belonging among the student body.