School Connectedness and Adolescent Development
Summary
School connectedness refers to the sense of belonging and attachment adolescents feel towards their school environment, encompassing relationships with peers, teachers and the broader school community. This feeling of connection influences psychological well-being, academic engagement and social competence throughout the formative teenage years. Within adolescent development, strong school connectedness supports identity formation, resilience to stress and the acquisition of socio-emotional skills such as self-regulation and empathy. Conversely, weak connectedness is linked to disengagement, heightened risk of mental health problems including depression and anxiety, and poorer educational outcomes. Research across diverse cultural settings emphasises the modifiable nature of school connectedness, guiding interventions that strengthen student–teacher relationships, foster inclusive school climates and promote collaborative learning. By reinforcing the social and emotional foundations of schooling, enhancing connectedness offers a practical route to support healthy developmental trajectories and improve long-term academic and life success.
Research from Nature Portfolio
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School Connectedness and Adolescent Development publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in school connectedness and adolescent development across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
School connectedness: The sense of belonging and supportive relationships a student perceives within the school setting.
School belonging: A component of connectedness referring to the extent to which students feel accepted, respected and included in the school community.
Intrinsic academic motivation: The internal drive to engage in learning for personal interest and satisfaction rather than external rewards.
Academic self-efficacy: An individual’s belief in their capacity to perform academic tasks successfully and achieve desired learning outcomes.
Social and emotional competencies: A set of skills—including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship building and responsible decision-making—that support healthy emotional and social functioning in educational contexts.
References
- A systematic review of the association between social and emotional competencies and student engagement in youth. Educational Research Review (2023).
- Navigating school belonging in Qatari schools: A mixed‐methods study of student perspectives. European Journal of Education (2024).
- Navigating the school transition: Within- and between-person associations between adolescents' academic self-efficacy, school relatedness, and intrinsic academic motivation. Journal of School Psychology (2024).
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