The idea that students’ sense of belonging is crucial to a happy and successful school career has gained real traction in the last few years, but it can leave school leaders in something of a bind. They might recognise a lack of belonging as a big issue in their school, especially for some groups of students, but what can they do about it? Many schools have tried a plethora of approaches over the years but are frustrated by a stubborn lack of progress. It’s a sticky problem.
But it’s a problem that’s important to fix. Attendance, behavior, motivation, well-being, and attainment all take a big hit when students don’t feel like they belong at school. All of this can have knock-on effects on teachers’ motivation and performance, with consequences for recruitment and retention. So, what can be done?
Unpacking the Structure of Belonging
A first step to a fresh approach is to do some unpacking. Decades of research in educational psychology have identified barriers associated with a lack of belonging. Consider the impact on a student’s day-to-day experience of school if they feel that …
… none of my teachers really cares about me as a person.
… the school doesn’t treat people from families like mine the same as everyone else.
… nobody expects people from families like mine to do well at school.
… doing well at school won’t matter for my chances of doing well in life.
… my parents don’t feel comfortable meeting my teachers.
These concerns especially affect some groups of students, such as those from low-income households. By measuring these psychological barriers and mapping them to administrative data such as household income and attendance, schools can glean insights into how a sense of belonging (or lack of it) is playing out in their school.
For example, the data might show that students from low-income households feel that the school doesn’t treat people from families like theirs the same as everyone else, and that this is associated with lower attendance. One possible reason, among many, might be that teachers, under pressure to deliver a packed curriculum, understandably tend to choose the—often more articulate—middle-class children to answer questions in class, inadvertently creating a sense of exclusion for others over time. Probing the data in ways like this can help school leaders identify the pinch points and generate ideas about how to address them, ranging from quick wins to multi-year initiatives.
Turning Data Into Action—and Results
A lot of psychological research supports these ideas, including a recent study of our own. We worked with two secondary schools to identify and address two barriers faced by their students from low-income families and their Black students. These groups reported feeling that there were negative stereotypes about some groups of students and that their teachers came from different backgrounds.
Data analysis showed that these perceptions were associated with lower attendance and behavioral problems. We designed a brief intervention consisting of a short writing exercise known as values affirmation (aimed at reducing the impact of negative stereotypes), and an exercise that revealed hidden similarities between teachers and students (aimed at improving teacher-student relationships).
The intervention was virtually zero-cost but, since it was precisely targeted, it reduced the gap in attendance between students from low-income households and their peers by a remarkable 60% and halved the amount of time that Black students spent in detention. Other targeted benefits went in the right direction but didn’t reach statistical significance.
Three stages to a more inclusive school
3 stages to a more inclusive school First, Combine survey & administrative data to discover any psychological barriers contributing to inequalities in pupils attendance, behavior, attainment. Second, In an interactive workshop with school’s senior leadership team, deepen understanding of these barriers and devise ideas for practical actions to target them. Third, Develop a concrete action plan using ideas generated in the workshop. Allocate resources to deliver and evaluate this plan over an extended period.
In partnership with a small number of local government departments in the UK, we’re working with school leaders in primary and secondary schools to further develop this approach. We work with each school in three stages (see Figure ). Each school is unique, with different groups of students facing different barriers.
As the schools we’re working with use research to develop creative ways to address these, we’re developing a practical toolkit of options for more schools to use in the future. Creating an environment where all students feel like they belong can be a demanding, perhaps even seemingly overwhelming, challenge. But, armed with robust data, an understanding of the relevant psychological principles and tools, and a commitment to change, school leaders can take important steps to bringing it closer to a reality. It’s nothing less than their students deserve.
For Further Reading
Hadden, I. R., Harris, P. R., & Easterbrook, M. J. (2025). Context matters: Diagnosing and targeting local barriers to success at school. Journal of School Psychology, 108, 101401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2024.101401
Easterbrook, M. J., Doyle, L., & Talbot, D. (2025). Using social psychology to create inclusive education. British Journal of Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12867
Easterbrook, M. J., & Hadden, I. R. (2021). Tackling Educational Inequalities with Social Psychology: Identities, Contexts, and Interventions. Social Issues and Policy Review, 15(1), 180–236. https://doi.org/10.1111/sipr.12070
Goudeau, S., & Croizet, J.-C. (2017). Hidden Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Class: How Classroom Settings Reproduce Social Inequality by Staging Unfair Comparison. Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616676600
Ian Hadden is a visiting researcher and delivery lead for the School Inclusion Group at the University of Sussex, UK. He helps school leaders use insights from social psychology to understand and address the barriers to learning that some groups of their students might be facing.
Matt Easterbrook is a Reader in Social Psychology and Director of Research at the School Inclusion Group at the University of Sussex, UK. His research aims to use social psychology to increase people’s understanding of, and ability to reduce, educational, economic, and political inequalities.