Perceptions of belonging and school climate in diverse Finnish secondary schools
We investigate how students in culturally diverse lower secondary schools experience belonging and school climate. The data consist of group interviews with 55 students (14–16 years old). Regarding a sense of belonging, the students discussed inclusion, exclusion and discrimination. The school climate was experienced as highly positive but simultaneously chaotic. The students perceived ethnic diversity as accepted and a marker of inclusion, whereas non-binary gender identity was reported as a reason for exclusion, which may be related to this specific school context. To construct a positive school climate for diversity, more detailed attention must be paid to diverse identities.
Authors
- Samaneh Khalili (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2099-7392)
- Svenja Hammer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4335-3178)
- Keith O'Neill (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0840-2744)
- Anuleena Kimanen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0049-826X)
- Kara Mitchell Viesca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9083-592X)
- Jenni Alisaari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4096-1888)
- Aleksi Seger
- Anna Kuusela
Institutions
- University of Nebraska–Lincoln (US)
- Åbo Akademi University (FI)
- University of Turku (FI)
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Finnish Journal of Social Research
- Published
- 2025-09-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.51815/fjsr.144754
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Research in Social Sciences
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 8.93
Funders
- Society for Research in Child Development
- Turun Yliopisto