Helping Those that Don’t Fit: Impacts, Causes, and Solutions for Students Who Don’t Feel Like They Belong at School

Abstract

Research shows that sizable minorities of adolescents around the globe report feeling isolated at school, with many school students identifying as feeling lonely, especially when faced with adversity. The OECD sets the global average for this at 16% with sizeable variations between countries. This chapter discusses the importance of school belonging for students and what it is that seems to hinder strong feelings of belonging for many young people. Society is becoming increasingly fragmented, but school will, for the foreseeable future, continue to be an experience which can shape how young people go onto influence society whether it be positively or negatively.