Belonging Matters: A Call for a Systemic Approach to Supporting Students, Faculty and Staff, and Our Institutions

Eight years ago, our oldest son was deciding which of the two main high schools in our town to attend. Both schools were highly rated, but in reviewing their pros and cons, what emerged as a key difference could be summed up in their mottos. One was “Education for Excellence,” the other “A Place for Everyone.” For all their similarities in student body, curricular and extracurricular offerings, and student success, each school demonstrated a commitment to a different central mission: performance or belonging. These were (and are) not mutually exclusive, but the difference in emphasis was striking, even to our then-14-year-old son. Research on belonging suggests that the most effective approaches lead with belonging and then integrate it into a systems view of institutional practices and change.