Sense of Belonging at School as a Quality Measure of Inclusion – Comparing the Inclusive Experimental School Laborschule Bielefeld with Regular Inclusive Comprehensive Schools and Investigating the Determining Factors

Abstract

Sense of belonging at school (SoBaS) is a basic requirement for every student and a major inclusivity goal for educational institutions. In the present study, we report on a self-evaluation of the Laborschule Bielefeld (LS; Germany) covering SoBaS. LS is an inclusive experimental comprehensive school with more than forty years of experience concerning a non-segregative and diversity-friendly school culture. Based on propensity score matching, the study investigated whether the SoBaS scores of the students at this inclusive experimental school (N = 115) differ from the students visiting inclusive classes in regular state-run comprehensive schools (N = 2376). Furthermore, we examined the factors in the students’ educational environment at LS that may potentially influence their SoBaS. The results indicate that the students attending the LS experienced a higher SoBaS. In addition, certain aspects of LS's teaching and interaction culture were identified as auspicious factors for accomplishing high levels of students’ SoBaS.