Individual and Contextual Factors Associated With School Connectedness in the Context of Counseling in Schools

Yanhong Liu, Hyunhee Kim, Jo Lynn V. Carney, Kyung Sun Chung, Richard J. Hazler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

School connectedness refers to students' beliefs that their peers and adults at school care about their learning and themselves as individuals. School connectedness has been widely documented as a significant predictor for positive student outcomes, yet little is known about factors associated with it as an outcome variable. Guided by the advocating student-within-environment framework situated with the social development model, this study explored individual and contextual factors associated with school connectedness among 1,201 students in Grades 4 to 8. Gender, ethnicity, grade level, and social skills were found to be significant individual factors, whereas school support for learning and acceptance of diversity were significant contextual factors. Together, the individual and contextual factors explained 47% of the variance in school connectedness. Our findings also revealed grade-related variability concerning associations between the factors and school connectedness. These findings provide further insights into fostering connectedness in the context of counseling in schools with consideration to students' developmental needs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)391-401
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Counseling and Development
Volume98
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2020

Keywords

  • advocating student-within-environment
  • contextual factors
  • individual factors
  • school connectedness
  • social development model

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Applied Psychology

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