Everyone is talking about ‘belonging’ but what do they really mean? A critical race and optimal distinctiveness analysis of school belonging research

Sense of belonging has long been recognized as a fundamental psychological need and essential component of achievement motivation and socioemotional thriving. However, research on school belonging has only recently begun to examine the barriers to, supports for, and experiences of belonging among racially marginalized students of color within US schools and universities. Further, within an era of DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging) discourse and backlash, we have a limited understanding of what belonging means, how it is internalized, and what shapes it for such students of color. Through this lecture, Dr. Matthews evaluates the developmental trends in school belonging research conducted with racially marginalized student populations and describe three distinct trends of school belonging research: assimilationist, reformist, and sociopolitical, as well as the ideological characteristics of each trend. Further, he employs critical race and optimal distinctiveness theories as conceptual guides to assess the affordances and limits of each trend and how the research literature has evolved across these three trends. Finally, he offers insights for responsibly advancing school belonging research in ways that authentically address the needs of racially marginalized student groups and honor the cultural and contextual nuance of their lived experiences.

• EPI