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| Author(s): | McLellan, Ros; Morgan, Bethan |
| Title: | Pupil perspectives on school belonging: an investigation of differences between schools working together in a school-university partnership |
| Pages: | 24p |
| Note: | Paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, 3-6 September 2008 |
| Abstract: | This paper reports on findings of research on pupils' perspectives on engagement and sense of belonging currently being undertaken within a schools university partnership for educational research (SUPER) involving eight secondary schools and the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. During the 2005/6 academic year, the SUPER schools decided that working under the umbrella of "pupil engagement" would provide a desired for commonality of approach, whilst at the same time allowing individual action research projects appropriate to particular school contexts. Pupils' perspectives on their sense of engagement and belonging were assessed during the summer term of 2006. The schools are now undertaking the first wave of an action research cycle utilising the findings of this assessment (reported in this symposium). Existing research suggests engagement is a key factor in pupil motivation and success which teachers can usefully draw upon to inform thinking and planning (Goodenow 1993, Watkins 2005). Pupil engagement has been investigated in various guises, for example, in relation to attitudes to school (Gray & McLellan, 2006), motivation to learn (Fredericks, Blumenfeld & Paris, 2004) from psychological perspectives, pupils' affiliation and belonging to school (Deci & Ryan, 2000) and why belonging is important for "at risk" pupils (Smith 2006). Hence the SUPER schools were keen to address these questions: (i) do pupils in their school feel the same degree of belonging as pupils in other SUPER schools?; (ii) are there different facets of school belonging, and if so, are there differences in the profile of belonging for their school compared to others?; (iii) are there particular groups of pupils that feel that they belong less than others? By understanding pupils' perspectives, schools felt they would be in an informed position to identify potential areas of concern and plan action accordingly. Data was gathered from pupils via a survey and followed up by focus group interviews. Here we focus on the survey data. Two cohorts (Years 8 and 10) were selected for comparative purposes to elicit perspectives from pupils who had been in the school sufficiently long to hold an established view and to see how this might differ for younger pupils whilst at the same time ensuring the research was manageable. 2408 pupils completed the survey. Goodenow's Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale was chosen for the survey as it has been used by several researchers and its psychometric properties have been documented (Goodenow 1993; Hagborg 1994; Hagborg 1998). The scale comprises of 12 items focusing on respect, inclusion, acceptance and support. Two items relating to sense of belonging in individual subject areas and the tutor group were added to see whether issues of belonging were domain specific. In addition four open-ended items (for instance "what would help you feel more of a part of the school") were included to elicit further information. Background information (gender/age/school) was also sought. Analysis involving exploratory principal components factor analysis employing a Scree test to determine the number of underlying factors suggests that sense of belonging is multi-faceted and that a 3-factor solution is most appropriate. Following Varimax rotation these factors are interpreted as: (i) "being noticed and feeling others take an interest"; (ii) "feeling different to peers" and (iii) "acceptance by peers" and accounted for 55.7% of the variance. The paper will present these findings and compare them to those of other researchers using this measure. Scales were created for each facet and analysis of variance conducted to look at differences between the schools, gender and age. Significant differences between the schools, boys and girls and different year groups emerged. These will be also presented. Age and gender effects in attitudes towards school and motivation are well documented and findings from this study are discussed in terms of this literature. There are clear implications for educators, although it is acknowledged that treating different age and gender groups as homogeneous is misleading and that survey research only provides one insight into the situation. Nevertheless, this analysis, together with the interview data not reported here, has empowered SUPER schools to target their action research more effectively (author abstract) |
| Level: | Secondary Education |
| Document type: | Conference Papers; Monograph |
| Subjects: | Action Research; Educational Cooperation; Identification (Psychology); Pupil Attitudes; Pupil Behaviour; Teacher Researchers; University Role |
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