The Lived Experience of School Belonging

Abstract

Belonging in schools is an often-researched topic. However, the lived experiences of students with disabilities as related to belonging have not been explored in great depth. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to begin to understand the lived experiences of belonging for middle school students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs) through a relational lens (relational here was meant as more than just focusing on relationships). This phenomenological approach allowed for an in-depth exploration of how participants understand belonging and how it impacts their lives. Ten student participants were interviewed over a series of four interview sessions in which they discussed their experiences with and understanding of belonging in school. Findings revealed complex and multifaceted subjective lived experiences of belonging. Findings are presented here through participant summaries, across participants in broader descriptive themes, and through the creation of a participant model. Interpretive themes are also presented to help guide further analysis and understanding of the findings. Considering the qualitative nature of this study, these themes are not meant to be reductive, but rather to generate additional questions. In keeping with this purpose, a Generative Model of Belonging was created from the broader literature base on middle school belonging, and this model was revisited and revised based on the findings of this study. It was also used to create the aforementioned participant model.