Date of Award

Fall 12-2011

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Leadership and School Counseling

Committee Chair

Rose M. McNeese

Committee Chair Department

Educational Leadership and School Counseling

Committee Member 2

Kyna Shelley

Committee Member 2 Department

Educational Studies and Research

Committee Member 3

Joe Olmi

Committee Member 3 Department

Psychology

Committee Member 4

David E. Lee

Committee Member 4 Department

Educational Leadership and School Counseling

Abstract

This study examined correlations among student sense of school belonging and the classroom learning climate, previous academic achievement, frequency of disciplinary sanctions, and participation in extracurricular activities. During August of the 2011-2012 school year, the Middle School Student Sense of Belonging Questionnaire was completed by a sample of 264 eighth grade students enrolled in three middle schools from three different school districts located in the coastal south. The sample.s mean school belonging score was 3.56 with a standard deviation of 0.81. Findings of this study suggest statistically significant positive correlations exist among student sense of school belonging and the learning climate scale, self-reported final grades in both reading and math, and participation in extracurricular activities. In regard to extracurricular activities, the findings of this study indicate statistically significant positive correlations exist among sense of school belonging and the total number of activities in which students participate, the amount of time spent involved in both school-sponsored and out-of-school activities, and the type of activity in which students participate. In addition, findings indicate a statistically significant negative correlation exists between sense of school belonging and frequency of discipline sanctions.

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