Growing as an Individual: Community and Belonging

By Catriona Fraser

“The programme has helped me grow as an individual. It has also helped me interact in a way that others see me as a good role model and a great support role.”

– Year 12 student

The pupil quoted above took part in Oppidan’s Peer Mentor Training programme. In the programme, Year 12 pupils are trained in mentoring techniques and are then paired with peers in Year 7 who are struggling with the transition to secondary school. In the quote, the pupil makes a curious link between self-growth – ‘grow as an individual’ – and supporting others – ‘a good role model and a great support role’. Oppidan’s Growing as an Individual trilogy will entail a series of three articles, of which this is the first, that explore the link between self-growth and community by analysing qualitative data from Oppidan’s programmes, alongside survey data from: a) 1,200 pupils about to begin the peer-mentoring journey, and b) a case study of 70 pupils who have completed the PMT programme in Spring Term 2023. The articles will suggest the development of a strong school community is catalysed by - and enables - higher pupil self-esteem and self-concept clarity, feeding into research of the self as relational and formed through interactions with others (Becht et al 2017; Lamb et al 2021). The articles will then explore what positive peer interaction looks like (‘[the programme] helped me interact in a way’) through data on empathy, listening, and ‘opening-up’. Finally, the articles will consider the place of pupil agency in developing stronger school communities. Ultimately, the articles should provide insight into the importance of school communities and how schools can effectively harness them through peer-mentoring.  

The importance of developing a strong school community has been explored by academics analysing the influence of pupils’ sense of belonging on their engagement with learning. Belonging has been linked to improved attainment, prosocial behaviour, well-being, motivation, and other positive outcomes (Allen et al 2018; Riley et al 2020). Belonging ensures pupils feel safe in their identity at school and enhances pupils’ agency, encouraging pupils to believe they can make a difference in their school community and beyond (Riley et al 2020). The vital importance of belonging to the human psyche is reflected in its inclusion in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, wherein the author highlights the importance of ‘friendships, family, intimacy, and a sense of connection’ in creating self-esteem and self-actualization, leading to greater motivation (Maslow 1943; in Riley 2019). Research on belonging thus centres on a fascinating paradox: agency and autonomy depend upon and grow through supportive relationships with others. This notion has been touched on by The Oxford Character Project (OCP), whose research on ethical leadership has informed much of Oppidan’s ethos. The OCP notes how “character development never occurs in isolation. We inevitably shape and are shaped by the culture and community around us” (Lamb et al 2021). According to the OCP, friends provide a ‘mirror that helps [one] see [oneself] in a new light’. While the OCP focuses on university students, the connection between community and the self is similarly applicable in schools. As pupils move through adolescence, they undergo a period of ‘identity formation, shifting social relationships’ away from parents and towards peers, ‘changing priorities and expectations, and the need to navigate the transition from childhood to adulthood’ (Allen et al 2018; see also Becht et al 2017). The influence of the school community on students’ ‘grow[th] as an individual’ is thus vital during this period of transition.  

Worryingly, however, pupils’ sense of school community is declining. One in four pupils in OECD countries feel as though they do not belong to their school. Underserved pupils are twice as likely to feel this (Riley 2019). Other sub-groups at risk of low belonging include low attaining pupils, boys, and marginalised ethnic groups (Allen et al 2020). The pandemic has exacerbated these existing inequalities: schools are struggling to regain a sense of community following the disruption to in-person learning during lockdowns (OFSTED 2022). A sense of not belonging to school is linked to poor mental health, particularly in relation to anxiety and depression, and low school engagement (Allen et al 2018). Further, globalisation and increasing inequality are creating a world characterised by uncertainty and change, where pupils are more at risk of feeling excluded and ‘left behind’ (Riley 2019; Bauman 2006). Schools, as microcosms of society, are therefore tasked with finding ways to undo such divisions to create places of harmony and cohesion, spaces where pupils feel ‘at home’.  

Figure 1: Sense of community

Oppidan’s peer-mentoring transition journey increases pupils’ sense of school community by training Year 12s in mentoring techniques, and then pairing those pupils with younger peers. Oppidan measures changes in both the mentors’ and mentees’ sense of belonging over the course of the programme through behavioural questions from scales such as the Harvard-Panorama Student Perception Survey scale on Sense of Belonging (Gehlbach, 2015) and Yorke’s (2016) sense of belonging in higher education scale, alongside bespoke questions on changes in the number of cross-year interactions and the strength of the pupils’ relationships with their peers. In our most recent programme case study from Spring Term 2023, we found an 10% increase in Year 7 pupils’ sense of school community (figure 1) and a rise from 18% to 35% of Year 12 pupils giving ‘lots of support’ to younger peers (figure 2). Growth in the school community is similarly reflected in qualitative feedback. In the words of one Year 12 pupil:  

“My favourite part of the programme is that it dismantles the hierarchy and makes our house feel more connected. I probably wouldn’t have talked to anyone in the younger years but now it feels like I do.”

Figure 2: Pupils who gave 'lots of support'

Other Year 12 mentors stated, “interacting with younger students […] adds as sense of community throughout the mentoring sessions’, and ‘my favourite part of the programme is making a connection with other pupils’. The references to a growing sense of school cohesion are echoed by the younger mentees. As one Year 7 mentee put it, ‘I have someone to talk to who understands’.

Figure 3: Correlation between sense of community and speaking skills

It is curious to note that pupils’ articulations of the school community are constructed through references to communication. For example, in the above quotes, pupils highlight ‘talking’ to younger years, or having ‘someone to talk to’. The link between community and communication echoes the Latinate etymological route of both terms: communis, to share. The qualitative feedback points towards a sense of belonging growing from the verbal sharing of ideas and emotions between peers. A shared sense of space (community) is catalysed through the dialogic sharing of feelings and thoughts (communication). The connection between communication and community is echoed in our quantitative data, where we see a positive correlation between pupils’ sense of belonging and their social confidence (figure 3). Pupils with better communication skills generally feel a greater sense of belonging and mattering to others in the school.  

This opening article from Oppidan’s Growing as an Individual research trilogy has explored the importance of community in schools, and has outlined concerning trends in pupils’ declining sense of belonging across OECD countries, particularly for marginalised pupils and underserved populations. Oppidan’s data suggests peer-mentoring helps harness a stronger school community by increasing positive peer interactions and dialogue. Our next Growing as an Individual article will analyse those interactions in more detail. It will explore what positive peer-interactions entail and how pupils can engage in effective communication to establish stronger and more cohesive school communities  

References 

 Becht et al 2017, “Clear Self, Better Relationships: Adolescents’ Self-Concept Clarity and Relationship Quality with Parents and Peers Across 5 Years”, in Child Development.  

 Allen et al 2018, “What Schools Need to Know About Fostering Belonging: a Meta-Analysis”. In Educational Psychology Review. 

 Riley et al 2020, “Place and Belonging in Schools: Why it Matters Today”. The Art of Possibilities & UCL, Institute of Education.  

 Riley 2019, “Agency and Belonging: What transformative actions can schools take to help create a sense of place and belonging?”, Journal of Educational & Child Psychology.  

 Lamb et al 2021, “How is Virtue Cultivated?: Seven Strategies for Postgraduate Character Development”, in Journal of Character Education.  

 Allen et al 2020, “Belonging, Behaviour and Inclusion in Schools: What does Research Tell Us”. The Art of Possibilities & UCL, Institute of Education.  

 OFSTED 2022, “Securing Good Attendance and Tackling Persistent Absence”. In Gov.UK < https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/securing-good-attendance-and-tackling-persistent-absence/securing-good-attendance-and-tackling-persistent-absence>