Schools as Places of Belonging or Exclusion

Building on previous themes, the focus of this chapter is the role that schools play in either creating a sense of belonging or exclusion and how they may, inadvertently, disengage from communities, families and students through their systems, structures, curriculum, pedagogy and ethos, leading to student disaffection, a central argument in this book. The chapter forwards a perspective based on the centrality of a sense of belonging to school and unconditional positive regard as underpinning relationships within the school.