I have mixed feelings about the whole concept of belonging. I speak here from the perspective of always feeling like the outsider (probably not actually an outsider, but I digress...). And it's that sort of feeling that motivated my work on 'groups versus networks', which argues that building 'belonging' in groups can create real harms. And I question in what sense "the feeling of belonging has been identified as an important factor in education." Is it 'those who belong do the best'? Or do the feelings - of being safe, of being valued - influence learning outcomes? Is is true that (as one of these papers says) "the need to belong is a basic human motivator?" Or is it just a theoretical construct with no real empirical support outside the theory? Maybe 'belonging' is just shorthand for 'socially advantaged'.
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