Migrant Students’ Sense of Belonging and the Covid‐19 Pandemic: Implications for Educational Inclusion

• Szelei, Nikolett ^[1] ; Devlieger, Ines ^[1] ; Verelst, An ^[1] ; Spaas, Caroline ^[2] ; Jervelund, Signe Smith ^[3] ; Primdahl, Nina Langer ^[3] ; Skovdal, Morten ^[3] ; Opaas, Marianne ^[6] ; Durbeej, Natalie ^[4] ; Osman, Fatumo ^[7] ; Soye, Emma ^[5] ; Colpin, Hilde ^[2] ; De Haene, Lucia ^[2] ; Aalto, Sanni ^[8] ; Kankaanpää, Reeta ^[8] ; Peltonen, Kirsi ^[9] ; Andersen, Arnfinn J. ^[6] ; Hilden, Per Kristian ^[6] ; Watters, Charles ^[5] ; Derluyn, Ilse ^[1]
  1. [1] Ghent University

     Ghent University

     Arrondissement Gent, Bélgica

     
  2. [2] KU Leuven

     KU Leuven

     Arrondissement Leuven, Bélgica

     
  3. [3] University of Copenhagen

     University of Copenhagen

     Dinamarca

     
  4. [4] Uppsala University

     Uppsala University

     Uppsala domkyrkoförs., Suecia

     
  5. [5] University of Sussex

     University of Sussex

     Reino Unido

     
  6. [6] Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Norway
  7. [7] Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden / School of Health and Welfare, Dalarna University, Sweden
  8. [8] Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Finland
  9. [9] Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Finland / Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Turku, Finland / INVEST Research Flagship Center, University of Turku, Finland

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• Localización: Social Inclusion, ISSN-e 2183-2803, Vol. 10, Nº. 2, 2, 2022 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Educational Inclusion of Vulnerable Children and Young People After Covid-19), págs. 172-184
• Idioma: inglés
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  • This article investigates school belonging among migrant students and how this changed during the Covid‐19 pandemic. Drawing on quantitative data gathered from 751 migrant students in secondary schools in six European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the UK), we examined the impact of Covid‐19 school closures, social support, and post‐traumatic stress symptoms on changes in school belonging. Linear regression showed a non‐significant decrease in school belonging, and none of the studied variables had a significant effect on this change in our whole sample. However, sensitivity analysis on a subsample from three countries (Denmark, Finland, and the UK) showed a small but significant negative effect of increasing post‐traumatic stress symptoms on school belonging during Covid‐19 school closures. Given that scholarship on school belonging during Covid‐19 is emergent, this study delineates some key areas for future research on the relationship between wellbeing, school belonging, and inclusion.