Boosting School Belonging
Practical Strategies to Help Adolescents Feel Like They Belong at School

With rising rates of youth mental illness, disconnection and social isolation, strategies are needed that can help stem the tide. A sense of belonging to one?s school is associated with good school performance, physical and psychological wellbeing, and offers a quintessential solution to help address many of the issues faced by young people today.

Grounded in theory, research, and practical experience, Boosting School Belonging provides 48 activities for practitioners and teachers to use with classes, groups, or individuals to help secondary students develop a sense of school belonging. Through six modules, readers will understand the evidence underlying each module, identify fun and practical tools to use with young people, and develop strategies for helping young people connect with teachers, parents, peers, themselves, learning, and help.

The evidence-based strategies and concepts make it an invaluable resource for teachers, psychologists and counsellors looking to help foster a sense of school belonging amongst students.

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Module 1: Connecting with Teachers

Module 2: Connecting with Parents

Module 3: Connecting with Peers

Module 4: Connecting with Oneself

Module 5: Connecting with Learning

Module 6: Connecting with Help

Conclusion: Becoming A Belonger

Further Reading

Glossary

About the Authors

Appendix

Index

Dr Kelly-Ann Allen is an endorsed Educational and Developmental Psychologist, senior lecturer at Monash University and Fellow of the College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists. Dr Allen is also an honorary fellow of the Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, the University of Melbourne. She is nationally and internationally recognised both as a researcher and practitioner in social connectedness, belonging, and social and emotional learning, and for her translation of this expertise within educational contexts as a consultant and school psychologist, and provides professional supervision to psychologists at different stages of career in private practice and schools. Dr Allen has contributed numerous publications and has presented at national and international conferences. Dr Allen’s professional standing is verified by her full membership of the Australian Psychological Society and College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists, where she is currently treasurer of the national committee. You can find out more about Dr Allen’s work at www.drkellyallen.com.

Dr Peggy (Margaret) Kern is an associate professor at the Centre for Positive Psychology at the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education. Dr Kern received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Arizona State University, a Masters and PhD in social/personality psychology from the University of California, Riverside, and postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania. She has published two books and over 80 peer-reviewed articles and chapters. Her research is collaborative in nature and draws on a variety of methodologies to examine questions around who thrives in life and why, including: (a) understanding and measuring healthy functioning, (b) identifying individual and social factors impacting life trajectories, and (c) systems informed approaches to wellbeing. You can find out more about Dr Kern’s work at www.peggyker