How (do) school experiences contribute to students’ sense of belonging?

Figures & data

Table 1. Variables included in the analysis.

Variables	Variable label	Definition and metrics
Dependent variable
Students’ Sense of School Belonging	BSBGSSB	Scale based on seven variables regarding students’ feelings toward their school and connectedness with the school community
Student-level variables
Female	ITSEX	Male=0, Female=1
Student Achievement in Mathematics	BSMMAT01	First plausible value of achievement in mathematics
Home Educational Resources	BSBGHER	Scale based on students’ answers regarding number of books in the home, number of home study supports, and highest level of education of either parent
Being Bullied	BSBGSB	Scale based on students’ response to how often they experienced nine bullying behaviours
Liking Learning Mathematics	BSBGSLM	Scale based on students’ level of agreement with nine statements about learning mathematics
School-level variables
Urban	BCBG05B	Non-urban=0, Urban=1
School Emphasis on Academic Success	BCBGEAS	Scale based on principals’ responses on thirteen questions regarding school emphasis on academic success
Disciplined Schools	BCBGDAS	Scale based on principals’ responses concerning eleven potential school problems
School Mean Class Size	Generated variable	The average number of students per classroom
School Mean Student Achievement in Mathematics	Generated variable	The average of math achievement in each school
School Mean Student Home Educational Resources	Generated variable	The average of students’ home educational resources in each school

Table 2. Descriptive statistics.

Variables	Hong Kong		Japan		Korea		Singapore		Taiwan		US		Canada
	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Mean	SD
Sense of Belonging	9.36	1.94	9.34	1.89	9.33	1.70	9.79	1.93	9.40	1.66	9.57	1.97	10.06	1.90
Student-level
Student Achievement in Math	589.90	77.68	585.40	88.24	603.30	84.99	614.90	83.04	601.30	96.32	517.60	81.51	534.50	68.21
Female	.47	.50	.51	.50	.49	.50	.49	.50	.49	.50	.51	.50	.51	.50
Home Educational Resources (HER)	10.09	1.63	10.97	1.49	11.58	1.60	10.29	1.59	10.37	1.65	10.80	1.68	11.21	1.43
Being Bullied	5.63	1.75	4.36	1.80	4.16	1.72	5.56	1.75	3.92	1.73	5.26	1.95	5.15	1.85
Liking Learning Math	9.49	1.94	9.21	1.66	9.13	1.69	10.13	1.88	9.25	1.85	9.54	2.06	9.85	1.89
School-level
Urban	.49	.50	.17	.37	.37	.48	1.00	0.00	.28	.45	.22	.41	.37	.48
School Mean Class Size	30.12	5.48	32.91	4.35	31.95	4.17	18.30	.67	31.23	7.40	21.79	5.02	23.69	5.32
School Mean Math Score	589.90	57.16	585.40	39.41	603.30	28.90	614.90	60.78	601.30	48.79	517.60	49.52	534.50	35.37
School Mean HER	10.09	.84	10.97	.54	11.58	.62	10.29	.73	10.37	.80	10.80	.86	11.21	.61
Academic Emphasis	9.61	1.77	9.79	1.56	11.17	1.85	10.62	1.69	10.07	1.97	10.01	2.08	10.83	2.31
Disciplined Schools	11.35	1.45	10.47	1.78	10.97	2.04	11.57	1.55	11.18	1.67	10.11	1.46	10.72	1.60

Table 3. Intraclass correlation coefficients for unconditional models.

	Hong Kong	Japan	Korea	Singapore	Taiwan	US	Canada
Unconditional Model ICC	.123	.075	.074	.106	.069	.099	.123

Table 4. Relationship between students achievement in math and sense of belonging, by country (model B).

Variables	Hong Kong		Japan		Korea		Singapore		Taiwan		US		Canada
	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.
Student Achievement in Math	.150***	.000	.110***	.000	.134***	.000	.116***	.000	.142***	.000	.187***	.000	.147***	.000

*p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001.

Table 5. Effects of student-level variables on sense of belonging, by country (model C).

Variables	Hong Kong		Japan		Korea		Singapore		Taiwan		US		Canada
	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.
Student Achievement in Math	.035	−.001	.002	.000	.016	.000	−.039 *	.000	−.016	.000	.028*	.000	−.019	.000
Female	.081***	−.062	−.016	.052	−.049 **	.050	−.017	.048	.106***	.041	.010	.036	.046***	.037
Home Educational Resources (HER)	.042**	−.019	.022	.019	.046**	.015	.048***	.016	.072***	.014	.086***	.012	.046***	.014
Being Bullied	−.119***	−.017	−.231***	.015	−.176***	.013	−.219***	.013	−.158***	.012	−.246***	.009	−.275***	.010
Like Learning Math	.272***	−.016	.287***	.017	.262***	.014	.310***	.013	.280***	.012	.354***	.009	.350***	.011

*p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001.

Table 6. Comparison of hierarchical linear models estimating students’ sense of school belonging (full model).

Variables	Hong Kong		Japan		Korea		Singapore		Taiwan		US		Canada
	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.	β	S.E.
Student-level
Student Achievement in Math	−.056*	.001	−.010	.000	.011	.000	−.085***	.000	−.022	.000	.007	.000	−.030*	.000
Female	.066***	.061	−.017	.052	−.050**	.050	−.021	.048	.107***	.041	.009	.035	.045***	.037
Home Educational Resources (HER)	.018	.020	.025	.019	.044**	.015	.034**	.016	.067***	.015	.073***	.013	.041***	.014
Being Bullied	−.122***	.017	−.228***	.015	−.176***	.013	−.217***	.013	−.158***	.012	−.246***	.009	−.273***	.010
Liking Learning Math	.292***	.016	.287***	.017	.263***	.014	.317***	.013	.282***	.012	.358***	.009	.353***	.011
School-level
Urban	.044	.089	−.004	.113	.055*	.083	-	-	−.006	.083	.004	.083	−.004	.080
School Mean Class Size	−.011	.009	−.068**	.009	−.036	.010	−.042*	.062	.025	.007	.001	.007	.040*	.007
School Mean Math Score	.214***	.001	.116***	.002	.066	.002	.060	.001	.019	.001	.055*	.001	.033	.001
School Mean HER	.065	.080	−.055	.114	−.012	.096	.127**	.107	.033	.077	.061*	.062	.051*	.074
Academic Emphasis	−.031	.037	−.012	.032	−.017	.026	.036	.032	−.037	.021	.029	.021	−.034	.021
Disciplined Schools	.062*	.035	.035	.024	.055*	.021	.024	.033	−.003	.020	.044*	.027	.083***	.027
Unconditional Model ICC	.123		.075		.074		.106		.069		.099		.123
Within	.101		.136		.111		.158		.122		.213		.220
Between	.721		.482		.344		.526		.337		.550		.448

*p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001.