Sense of belonging in education has been linked to many aspects of students’ overall success in their educational path. It is associated with academic achievement and well-being related to studies (Finn & Zimmer 2012; Ulmanen et al. 2016; Pedler et al. 2022). Sense of belonging is also among humans’ basic psychological needs (Maslow 1943; Wenger 1998; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Gender, socioeconomic status, migrant status, and educational context has been linked with the variation in the sense of belonging (OECD, 2017), but the research has not been systematic or conclusive. While research often focuses on individual dimensions of inequalities, the effects of sociodemographic factors are intertwined and an intersectional approach is required in order broaden the view (e.g., Codiroli Mcmaster & Cook, 2019). The present study takes an intersectional view on the sense of belonging along the educational path. Interconnections between sociodemographic and contextual aspects are explored. The data consists of large, cross-national datasets, namely TIMSS, PIRLS, PISA, and Eurostudent, reflecting different educational stages, namely primary, secondary and tertiary education. The datasets have been harmonized for comparability across educational stages (see Kroezen & Alieva, 2022). Gender and socioeconomic and migrant statuses have been used to reflect intersectional inequalities, and macro-level indicators have been used in exploring associations between the educational context and inequalities. These include the Tracking index, UNESCO’s Female percentage of the graduation ratio from ISCED 6/7 in tertiary education, and the Migrant Integration and Policy Index. The findings show that the dynamics that play behind the sense of belonging vary in different stages of educational path. While girls perceive stronger belonging in education in primary level compared with boys, the socioeconomic and migrant statuses become more essential in inequalities in the sense of belonging in secondary and tertiary levels. Associations between educational context and intersectional inequalities in the sense of belonging are complex and even counterintuitive. While tracking seems to have little effect on intersectional inequalities, the analyses revealed mixed effects regarding the proportion of female graduates and inclusiveness towards immigrants. The measures that are intended for equalizers may even be counterproductive or they can benefit unintended groups. The findings indicate that individuals’ sense of belonging is not stable in different educational contexts, but rather a variety of individual and contextual factors are related to it.

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