Perceptions of belonging and school climate in diverse Finnish secondary schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51815/fjsr.144754Abstract
We investigate how students in culturally diverse lower secondary schools experience belonging and school climate. The data consist of group interviews with 55 students (14–16 years old). Regarding a sense of belonging, the students discussed inclusion, exclusion and discrimination. The school climate was experienced as highly positive but simultaneously chaotic. The students perceived ethnic diversity as accepted and a marker of inclusion, whereas non-binary gender identity was reported as a reason for exclusion, which may be related to this specific school context. To construct a positive school climate for diversity, more detailed attention must be paid to diverse identities.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Jenni Alisaari, Keith O'Neill, Anna Kuusela, Aleksi Seger, Anuleena Kimanen, Svenja Hammer, Kara Viesca, Samaneh Khalili
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
When submitting the final (accepted) version of their manuscript to Finnish Journal of Social Research, authors agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in Finnish Journal of Social Research.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in Finnish Journal of Social Research.
These terms are in effect from September 2020. For articles published before this time, copyright is shared between the journal and the authors.
