Investigating School Belonging Using Socio-Ecological Systems Theory

A wide body of literature has found that a strong sense of belonging and connection to school is imperative for students’ academic success, in addition to their social and emotional well-being. School belonging is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, and researchers have identified a multitude of factors that influence the development of belonging at school. Given its complexities, a holistic representation of school belonging is often left out of the research, leading to a lack of clarity on this essential educational construct. To develop a comprehensive model of school belonging, this literature review examines the construct using Bronfenbrenner's (1993) ecological systems theory of human development. Drawing on evidence originating from a broad range of peer-reviewed studies, this article investigates how school belonging evolves in response to influences across Bronfenbrenner's (1993) levels of development (i.e., the individual level, the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and the chronosystem). Findings from this investigation are also used to discuss strategies for promoting belonging in schools. This review makes an original contribution to the field of educational research by developing a comprehensive model of school belonging through the lens of a socio-ecological framework. Keywords: school belonging, ecological systems theory, peer relationships, teacher-student relationships, academic achievement, psychosocial well-being