The Sense of Classroom Belonging Among Pre-Service Teachers: Testing a Theoretical Model

Yıl 2019, Cilt: 8 Sayı: 1, 87 - 97, 15.01.2019

Sıdıka Gizir

https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.8.1.87

Öz

The purpose of the present study is to test a hypothetical model in order to examine the association between students’ sense of classroom belonging along with four other university class-level variables including faculty-student relationships, connected classroom climate referring peer relationships, loneliness and classroom identity. It is intended to draw attention of teacher educators to the importance of creating sense of community at classroom level through this study in order to improve the quality of teacher education. With this aim, pre-service teachers attending the faculty of education were selected as sample of the study (N= 1425). Each measures used in this study was adapted for college-level students through confirmatory factor analysis in order to test specific predictions concerning each measure’s structure and the results revealed that  all measures have adequate psychometric properties. The model examined with structural equation modeling was an excellent fit with the data, and the results indicated that the fitted model explained 50% of the variance in classroom identity; 47% of the variance in sense of classroom belonging; 14% of the variance in classroom climate; and 9% of the variance in loneliness. Results and implications are discussed.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Classroom belonging, classroom climate, classroom identity, faculty-student relationship, loneliness

Kaynakça

• Acarbay, F. Y. (2006). Kapsamli Okul Iklimini Degerlendirme Olcegi’nin (ogrenci formu) Turkce dilsel esdegerlik guvenirlik ve gecerlik calismasi [Turkish linguistic equivalence reliability and validity study of Comprehensive School Climate Survey] (Unpublished Master’s Thesis). Yeditepe University, Istanbul.
• Allen, K., Kern, M., Vella-Brodrick, D., Hattie, J., & Waters, L. (2018). What schools need to know about fostering school belonging: a meta-analysis. Educational Psychological Review, 30, 1–34. Doi: 10.1007/s10648-016-9389-8
• Anderman, L. H. (2003). Academic and social perceptions as predictors of change in middle school students' sense of school belonging. The Journal of Experimental Education, 72(1), 5-22. doi: 10.1080/00220970309600877
• Ashforth, B. E., & Mael, F. (1989). Social identity theory and the organization. The Academy of Management Review, 14(1), 20–39.
• Becker, T. E. (1992). Foci and bases of commitment: Are they distinctions worth making. Academy of Management Journal, 35, 232-244.
• Booker, K.C. (2008). The role of instructors and peers in establishing classroom community. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 35(1), 12-16.
• Bollen, K. A., & Hoyle, R. H. (1990). Perceived cohesion: A conceptual and empirical examination. Social Forces, 69(2), 479–504.
• Burden, P. R. (2003). Classroom management: Creating a successful learning community. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
• Byrne, B. N. (2001). Structural equation modeling with Amos: basic concepts, applications, and programming. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Cangelosi, J. S. (2004). Classroom management strategies: Gaining and maintaining students’ cooperation. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
• Chickering, A. W. (1969). Education and identity. San Fransisco, CA: Josey-Bass.
• Chickering, A. W., & Reisser, L. (1993). Education and identity (2nd Ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Chipuer, H. M. (2001). Dyadic attachments and community connectedness: Links with youths’ loneliness experiences. Journal of Community Psychology, 29(4), 429–446.
• Cortina, K.S., Arel, S. & Smith-Darden, J.P. (2017). School belonging in different cultures: The effects of individualism and power distance. Frontiers in Educations, 2, 1-11. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2017.00056
• Cotton, S. R., & Wilson, B. (2006). Student–faculty interactions: Dynamics and determinants. Higher Education, 51, 487–519.
• Cox, A., Duncheon, N., & McDavid, L. (2009). Peers and teachers as sources of relatedness perceptions, motivation, and affective responses physical education. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 80, 765-773.
• Demir, A. (1989). UCLA Yalnizlik olceginin gecerlik ve guvenirligi [Reliability and validity studies of UCLA Loneliness Scale]. Psikoloji Dergisi, 6(22), 1- 6.
• Duru, E. (2008). The predictive analysis of adjustment difficulties from loneliness, social support, and social connectedness. Kuram ve Uygulamada Egitim Bilimleri / Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 8(3), 849-856.
• Dwyer, K. K., Bingham, S. G., Carlson, R. E., Prisbell, M., Cruz, A. M., & Fus, D. A. (2004). Communication and connectedness in the classroom: Development of the connected classroom climate inventory. Communication Research Reports, 21(4), 264-272.
• Edwards, M. R. (2005). Organizational identification: A conceptual and operational review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 7(4), 207–230.
• Fassinger, P. A. (1995). Professors’ and students’ perceptions of why students participate in class. Teaching Sociology, 24, 25-33.
• Fassinger, P. A. (1997). Classes are groups. College Teaching, 45(1), 22-26.
• Finn, J. D. (1989). Withdrawing from school. Review of Educational Research, 59(2), 117-142.
• Freeman, T. M. (2005). Sense of belonging in higher education: Relations to instructor practices, motivation, and achievement (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. University of Kentucky, Kentucky, USA). Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/304995173/fulltextPDF/8C959628EFB94D7BPQ/1?accountid=12398
• Freeman, M. T., Anderman, H. L., & Jensen, J. M. (2007). Sense of belonging in college freshmen at the classroom and campus levels. The Journal of Experimental Education, 75(3), 203–220.
• Glasser, W. (1999). Okulda kaliteli egitim (Trans. Kaplan, U.). Istanbul: Beyaz Yayinlari.
• Halawah, I. (2006). The impact of student-faculty informal interpersonal relationships on intellectual and personal development. College Student Journal, 40(3).
• Hirschy, A. E., & Wilson, M. E. (2002). The sociology of the classroom and its influence on student learning. Peabody Journal of Education, 77(3), 85–100.
• Hoffman, E.M. (2014). Faculty and student relationships: Context matters. College Teaching, 62(1), 13-19.
• Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Hoyle, R. H. (1995). Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Jennings, P. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (2009). The prosocial classroom: Teacher social and emotional competence in relation to students and classroom outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 79(1), 491-525.
• Johnson, L. S. (2009). School contexts and student belonging: A mixed methods study of an innovative high school. The School Community Journal, 19(1), 99-118.
• Jones, V. F., & Jones, L. S. (1998). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
• Joreskog, K., & Sorbom, D. (1999). LISREL 8.30. Chicago: Scientific Software International Inc.
• Juvonen, J. (2009). Reforming middle schools: Focus on continuity, social connectedness, and engagement. Educational Psychologist, 42(4), 197–208.
• Lam, U. F., Chen, W. W., Zhang, J., & Liang, T. (2015). It feels good to learn where I belong: School belonging, academic emotions, and academic achievement in adolescents. Social Psychology International, 36(4), 393-409.
• Lamport, M. A. (1993). Student–faculty informal interaction and the effects on college student outcomes: A review of the literature. Adolescence, 28(112), 971–990.
• Lee, R. M., & Robbins, S. B. (1998). The relationship between social connectedness and anxiety, self- esteem, and social identity. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 45(3), 338-345.
• Lunenberg, M., F. Korthagen., & A. Swennen. (2007). The teacher educator as a role model. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(5), 586-600.
• Mael, F. A., & Ashforth, B. E. (1992). Alumni and their alma mater: A partial test of the reformulated model of organizational identification. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13(2), 103–123.
• Meyers, S.A. (2009). Do your students care whether you care about them? College Teaching, 57(4), 205-210.
• Newman, B. M., Lohman, B. J., & Newman, P. R. (2007). Peer group membership and a sense of belonging: Their relationship to adolescent behavior problems. Adolescence, 42(166), 241-263.
• Osterman, K. F. (2000). Students' need for belonging in the school community. Review of Educational Research, 70(3), 323-367.
• Pascarella, E., & Terenzini, P. (1980). Student–faculty and student–peer relationships as mediators of the structural effects of undergraduate residence arrangement. Journal of Educational Research, 73(6), 344–353.
• Pittman, L. D., & Richmond, A. (2008). University belonging, friendship quality, and psychological adjustment during the transition to college. The Journal of Experimental Education, 76(4), 343–361.
• Russell, D., Peplau, L. A., & Ferguson, M. (1978). Developing a measure of loneliness. Journal of Personality Assessment, 42, 290-294.
• Ryan, A. M. (2001). The peer group as a context for the development of young adolescents’ motivation and achievement. Child Development, 72, 1135-1150.
• Scanlon, L., Rowling, L., & Weber, Z. (2007). You don’t have like an identity... you are just lost in a crowd: Forming a student identity in the first-year transition to university. Journal of Youth Studies, 10(2), 223-241.
• Schumacker, R. E., & Lomax, R. G. (1996). A beginner’s guide to structural equation modeling. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Pub.
• Schoon, I., Sacker, A., & Bartley, M. (2003). Socio-economic adversity and psychosocial adjustment: A developmental-contextual perspective. Social Science and Medicine, 57, 1001-1015.
• Sidelinger, R. J., & Booth-Butterfield, M. B. (2010). Co-constructing student involvement: An examination of teacher confirmation and student-to-student connectedness in the college classroom. Communication Education, 59(2), 165-184.
• Sulava, K. (2010). At the crossroads of identity, belonging and the myth of return: A case study of Georgian internally displaced persons of 1992-93. (Unpublished Research Paper). Masters of Arts in Development Studies, International Institute of Social Studies, Graduate School of Development Studies, The Netherlands. Retrieved from https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/8657/
• Spears, R. (2011). Group identities: The social identity perspective. In Schwartz, S. J., Luyckx, K. & Vignoles, V. L. (Eds.) Handbook of Identity Theory and Research (pp. 201-224). London: Springer.
• Stoeckli, G. (2010). The role of individual and social factors in classroom loneliness. The Journal of Educational Research, 103(1), 28-39.
• Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (1996). Using multivariate statistics. Northridge: Harper Collins College Pub.
• Tinto, V. (1997). Classroom as communities: Exploring the educational character of student persistence. Journal of Higher Education, 68(6), 599-623.
• Tuhanioglu-Sevinc, S. (2016). Universite birinci sinif ogrencilerinin universite yasamina uyumlarina katki saglayan bireysel ve cevresel faktorlerin incelenmesi [An investigation of individual and environmental factors contributing to the adjustment levels of freshman university students] (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation). Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey.
• Uslu, F., & Gizir, S. (2017). School belonging of adolescents: The role of teacher–student relationships, peer relationships and family involvement. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 17, 63‒82. doi: 10.12738/ estp.2017.1.0104
• Uslu-Gulsen, F. (2017). Yuksekogretimde okul terkinin degerlendirilmesi [Dropout of in higher education] (Unpuslished Doctorate Dissertation). Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey.
• van Dick, R. (2001). Identification in organizational contexts: Linking theory and research from social and organization psychology. International Journal of Management Reviews, 3(4), 265–283.
• van Knippenberg, D., & Sleebos, E. (2006). Organizational identifications versus organizational commitment: Self-definition, social exchange, and job attitudes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(5), 571-584.
• Voelkl, K. E. (1997). Identification with school. American Journal of Education, 105(3), 294–317.
• Wideen, M.F., Mayer-Smith, J., & Moon, B. (1998). A critical analysis of the research on learning to teach: Making the case for an ecological perspective on inquiry. Review of Educational Research, 68(2), 130-178.
• Wood, J. K. (1984). The psychological aspects of loneliness experienced by college students (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Western Michigan University, Michigan, USA). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/303310154/fulltextPDF/42647AC7C7F14F97PQ/4?accountid=12398
• Wortham, S. (2004). From good student to outcast: The emergence of a classroom identity. Ethos, 32(2), 164-187.