School climate has an impact on how students with a migration background both succeed and experience a sense of belonging at school (Schachner et al., 2019). Students with a migration background often experience a lower sense of belonging than the majority population (Borgonovi, 2018). Importantly, perceptions of a positive diversity climate buffer against personal experiences of discrimination and predict better belonging (Baysu et al, 2016; Heikamp et al., 2020). In this study, we investigate how school climate, students’ sense of belonging, and perceptions of inclusion and exclusion are perceived through the narratives of culturally diverse students in Finland. The research questions are as follows:

RQ1 How do students from diverse backgrounds perceive inclusion and exclusion at their school?

RQ2 What aspects (of identity) are related to inclusion and exclusion in the narratives of diverse students?

With a large and culturally diverse school as its research site, the research attempts to uncover and assess the pluralities of belonging among the student body. This study is a part of a larger research project, which aims to advance understanding of how to develop more inclusive education for all students, especially for those with migration backgrounds.

Being part of a group is a basic need: a sense of belonging positively affects students’ well-being (Anderson & Graham, 2016) and school success (Schachner, et al., 2019). However, studies have shown that some students, especially those with a migration background, have a lower sense of belonging than the majority population in OECD countries in general (Borgonovi, 2018), and in some countries especially if they speak a language other than the language of instruction at home (Author 1 & Author X, 2021).

Sense of belonging is related to the experience of being accepted and belonging to a group (Lambert et al. 2013). The feeling of belonging is influenced by the experience of security, for example, that it feels good to come to school (Antonsich, 2010). However, belonging can also be viewed as discourses and practices of exclusion or inclusion, influenced by the values of different communities and groups (Juutinen, 2018; Yuval-Davis, 2011). Students’ well-being and sense of equality are further supported by their perceptions regarding their possibilities to participate at school, and being respected and listened to (Anderson & Graham, 2016). Students with a migration background often experience feelings of discrimination (Saarinen & Zacheus, 2019), which may affect their experience of school and lead to a weaker engagement in learning (Heikamp, ​​et al., 2020).

 Students’ sense of well-being is associated with their perceptions of school climate (Aldridge et al., 2018). A positive school climate is safe, caring, participatory and encouraging, and it is associated with positive academic achievement (Cohen et al. 2009). Positive interactions between teachers and students promote an inclusive climate at school (Mælan, et al., 2020) and students’ well-being (Anderson & Graham, 2016). It is important that the school climate values diversity (Schachner et al., 2019), and actively challenges and works against inequalities (Freire, 1973). This is also essential for social justice (Mikander et al., 2018; Sleeter, 2014). The wellbeing of people with a migration background seems to be optimal when there are mutual positive attitudes as well as the lack of discrimination in the surrounding context (Berry, 1997). When students experience that the school climate values diversity, they have a higher sense of belonging to school, which is associated to better learning outcomes (Schachner et al., 2019). Intercultural education and education for social justice aims to promote these aforementioned issues (Deardorff & Jones, 2012; Freire, 1973; Hoskins & Sallah, 2011).

We collected data for this study through semi-structured group-interviews. The participants (N=55) were diverse students from two different schools in Finland. The participating students were approximately 15-16-years of age from diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. The participants were recruited with an open call to both students and teaching staff. The researchers visited the schools’ all lower-secondary 8th grade and upper-secondary 2nd grade classes (students approximately aged 15 or 17) and presented the study and its purpose to investigate students’ perceptions on their sense of belonging and engagement at school. Especially students who speak other languages than the language of schooling were invited to participate in the study. One of the teachers offered her English classes to be the sites of the research interviews. All the students and their guardians were informed about the study by sending them a letter including the purpose of the study, information on the interviews, the ethical procedures and the possibility either to participate or not in the study. The group-interviews were organized in autumn 2022 during the English language classes. There were 4 – 6 students and 2 interviewers in each group. The discussions were recorded and then transcribed by one of the researchers. The transcribed data were used for the content-driven thematic analysis (Krippendorff, 2012). To code the data, author 2 read the responses to gain an initial understanding of the data and identify sub-categories for coding the data. The suggested categories were then discussed among authors 1 and 2; categories were decided upon. Categories relevant to this research paper that arose from the data were 1. belonging, 2. school climate, and 3. social justice.

The preliminary analysis indicates that the school climate was experienced as highly positive but also simultaneously chaotic, and there were narratives of both inclusion and exclusion. Furthermore, in the narratives, strong presence of discrimination and bullying came up. Interestingly, the students perceived diverse ethnicity as accepted and a marker of inclusion, whereas non-binary gender identity was reported as a reason for exclusion. As an important aspect behind a sense of belonging (see e.g. Anderson & Graham, 2016), the students emphasized that in their school, everyone was accepted when it comes to ethnic position. However, students with non-binary gender identity were perceived as other (both by themselves and by students belonging to mainstream). Thus, it seems that there is a lack of social justice awareness from these marginalized students. Based on the interviews, it was clear that the students perceived that negative issues were to stay at school and students had to accommodate accordingly. However, more research is required to investigate in detail, how does the agency of students and teaching staff contribute to creating reality. The preliminary results of this study indicate that even though a school climate would value some aspects of diversity (see also Schachner et al., 2019), it does not automatically result in valuing all aspects of identities. Thus, in order to promote social justice at school, there is a need to actively challenge and works against inequalities that arise among the students (see also Freire, 1973). Although the study was conducted in Finland, the results are relevant in improving school climate in global contexts: better understanding of the aspects related to student’s experiences on inclusion and exclusion will help to build more inclusive school environments in many contexts.

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