School belonging: Listening to the voices of secondary school students who have undergone managed moves

Abstract

A sense of school belonging has a powerful effect on students’ emotional, motivational, and academic functioning, yet there have been few attempts to listen to students’ views on school belonging, or to seek their opinions on how best to promote it. Managed move protocols to facilitate a move to an alternative school were developed in the UK as a positive alternative to permanently excluding (expelling) students whose place at the school is no longer considered viable by school management. However, the ‘success’ of these protocols has been defined in a manner which does not take full account of their affective impact on this vulnerable group of children and young people (CYP). Previous research has identified a need for greater personalization of the managed move transition process and fuller incorporation of CYP views. This study sought to understand how secondary school students who have undergone a managed move experience school belonging. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). A sense of school belonging resulted from positive relationships with peers and an attendant sense of safety, security, and acceptance. Participants expressed both the desirability and perceived difficulty of forging relationships in a new school and acknowledged the value of sensitive and subtle support.