Journal Article

Exploring Students' Sense of School Belonging Among Adolescents Across Muslim Countries

Bouhlila, Donia Smaali, Hentati, Imen

2024

Overview

The need for school belonging is crucial for adolescents and affects academic performance (Goodenow, 1993). School belonging refers to the extent to which students feel accepted, valued, and included in their school environment. It encompasses a sense of connectedness to peers, teachers, and the broader school community, contributing to students' emotional and social well-being (Allen et al., 2021). Using selected data from the International Institute of Islamic Thought (2019–2020) and Item Response Theory (IRT), we derived a measure for school sense of belonging across Muslim countries/regions. Three main discriminative items were identified: pride in school, respect from teachers, and community integration. Additionally, the scores of school belonging revealed that students in Tatarstan showed higher levels of belonging, while those in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Sudan, and Tanzania reported lower levels. We conducted a regression analysis to gain insight into the relationship between school belonging and the country's GDP. The results showed a significant association between school belonging and GDP per capita, indicating that students in wealthier countries tend to have a stronger sense of belonging. These findings have practical implications for educators, researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders in the field of education and social well-being. They underscore the need for schools to focus on pride, teacher respect, and being part of a school community to foster belonging to make a positive impact on students' well-being and academic performance.

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Subject: Academic achievement / Educational evaluation / Social aspects / Students / Teenagers / Youth