A new study found that a group of predominantly Black and Latino sixth-graders reported they were more likely to pay attention, work hard and participate in class discussions when they felt a greater sense of belonging in those classes. The findings support a series of strategies researchers proposed to help educators boost belonging for students who face […]

When students feel a sense of belonging in the classroom, it can increase their educational success and motivational outcomes in multiple ways, and teachers can help create this feeling of belonging by building connections between classroom and community, according to DeLeon Gray, Ph.D. Gray, an associate professor of educational psychology and equity in the NC State College […]

DeLeon Gray, Ph.D., learned as a graduate student that the concept of student belonging is closely linked to motivation and achievement. He has since spent years questioning what belonging means for students of different ethnic groups. It was this line of questioning that led him and his research partners to write “Black and Belonging at […]