Who is in? Who is out? Exploring primary school students’ sense of belonging using Photovoice

Abstract

This article describes an exploratory qualitative study undertaken to gain insights into the perceptions of primary-grade students about their sense of belonging (SB) by capturing student voice. The key question that guided the study was what contributes to the student's sense of belonging in the primary schools of Bangladesh.

Twenty-nine grade-four students from two purposively selected schools participated in the photovoice study. To represent voice, students took photos of their school in response to the guiding prompts about what, where, and with whom they felt more connected. Group discussions, related to photos taken by students unpacked the stories behind each photo and allowed for the exploration of their sense of belonging. Photo analysis was undertaken at two levels:the denotation level to determine what or who is depicted, and the connotation level that explored what each object or person represents.

The study found three factors, i.e., place, people and practice contributing to students’ sense of belonging. Key findings indicate that students felt a strong sense of belonging when they felt safe and supported in school spaces like the playground, library, and classroom; had reciprocal friendships with the same gender peers; and experienced kindness, fairness, leniency, and consideration from their teachers. Conversely, students lacked a sense of belonging when they faced isolation and bullying based on gender, academic performance, disability, and unhygienic places and practices at their school.

The study recommends fostering respectful teacher-student relationships, using cooperative peer teaching, improving hygienic practices in schools, enriching school environments, and increasing peer mentoring to nurture students' sense of belonging.