Secondary school pupils’ sense of school belonging: Exploring the relationship with wellbeing outcomes and the experiences of autistic female pupils in a special secondary school

Forming connections with others and developing a sense of belonging to groups and organisations is theorised to be evolutionary advantageous with physical and psychological benefits for all.

For adolescents, school is a particularly important organisation to feel part of. Chapter one provides rationale for exploring the concept of school belonging in the current UK context and discusses the motivations and epistemological stance underlying the thesis.

Chapter two presents the review paper which critically evaluates thirteen published studies and examines whether a strong sense of school belonging predicts enhanced wellbeing outcomes for secondary school pupils.

Eleven of the thirteen studies included in the review presented a significant relationship between these two variables, with a greater sense of school belonging associated with fewer negative and greater positive wellbeing outcomes.

Cautious conclusions are made in light of the varying methodological quality and relevance of the studies to the review question.

Chapter three presents the empirical paper which explores the experiences of social inclusion and sense of school belonging for female autistic pupils attending a special secondary school.

Exploring the experiences of this cohort of pupils aims to balance the gender bias in autism research, and reveals what helps in promoting feelings of inclusion and belonging for a group of pupils who report often feeling socially marginalised in schools.

Using semi-structured interviews analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), the Drawing the Ideal School technique, thick description checklists and a school belonging measure, five unique lived experiences are presented through a series of case studies.

Additional cross-case analysis revealed six factors which emerged as helping the participants to feel more included and supported in their school.

The implications of these findings for educational psychologists' professional practice are discussed.

Lastly, chapter four discusses the implications of the current research and presents a detailed dissemination plan.