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Structures for Belonging: A Synthesis of Research on Belonging-Supportive Learning Environments (SERN)
Student Experience Research Network reviews research on structural factors related to belonging in access to learning environments; relationships with educators, peers, and families; instructional resources and pedagogy; and system-level policies and practices.
The Belonging Barometer (Over Zero and the Center for Inclusion and Belonging at the American Immigration Council)
This robust 2023 report reviews the concept of belonging, centering its importance for key stakeholders, leaders, and philanthropists in the US today who care about health, democracy, and intergroup relations. The report introduces the Belonging Barometer, a way of measuring belonging that is robust, accessible, and readily deployable in the service of efforts to advance the common good. The Belonging Barometer was used in a nationally representative survey in late 2021 to assess the state of belonging in five life settings: family, friends, workplace, local community, and the nation. The report concludes with considerations for designing interventions that increase…
Brené Brown on Empathy (video)
Building trusted relationships within any group, including among those in co-deigning sessions, is critical. This animated short from RSA is narrated by Brené Brown, and offers important insights into how to authentically relate to others.
School Connectedness Helps Students Thrive (CDC.gov)
The CDC shares why connectedness is important and the benefits of promoting connectedness in our schools. The website includes specific actions schools can take to build connectedness, the effects of school connectedness, and additional resources to decrease risky behaviors through connectedness, including from the CDC’s What Works in Schools. See also the March 2009 CDC report, School connectedness: Strategies for increasing protective factors among youth, which includes detailed examples of six strategies to promote school connectedness:
The GRAD Partnership Chronic Absenteeism Toolkit
A collection of GRAD Partnership resources for addressing chronic absenteeism in schools.
We Are Made to Connect (U.S. Surgeon General)
Following its advisory on the healing effects of social connection and community, in December of 2023, the United States Surgeon General launched a national connection challenge to encourage people to prioritize their relationships. The “5-for-5 Connection Challenge’ involves taking five actions that express gratitude to, offer support to, or ask for help from people over five days. These simple but powerful actions build and strengthen relationships and inspire others to incorporate connection as part of their daily lives.
Core Practice Continuum: Supporting Student Agency (Turnaround for Children)
Turnaround’s Core Practice Continuum for Student Agency is a tool designed to prompt reflection and empower growth across roles in a school by providing rich descriptions of quality and categorically different images of practice across levels that lead to student agency. The Core Practice Continuum for Student Agency is intended for use by individual educators who engage with students in various ways in a school community, including teachers, student support staff, instructional support staff, school leaders and administrators. The continuum is intentionally framed to show a developmental progression of practice and pathways to improvement.
Get Schooled: Student Stories from Across KY
Get Schooled is a youth-led podcast series that amplifies and elevates the stories and voices of students so that they can have agency in our education system. Get Schooled is produced by the Kentucky Student Voice Team, a statewide organization of young people co-creating more just, democratic Kentucky schools and communities as research, policy and advocacy partners.
Stories from the Field: Building Strong Relationships (Transforming Education)
Why do teacher-student relationships matter? How can we foster a sense of belonging that allows students to feel like they truly belong in the classroom? This brief from Transforming Education is part of a series on fostering strong relationships, and offers strategies for developing and sustaining strong relationships between teachers and students.
Building a Belonging Classroom (Edutopia) (video)
To learn, students need to feel safe, cared for, and emotionally connected to their teachers and each other. This Edutopia video, which is part of Edutopia’s How Learning Happens series, shares some ideas for building belonging in the classroom.