The Effect Of Perceived Feedback On School Belonging

School belonging refers to students’ sense of being accepted, respected, and supported in their school environment.

It is crucial for students’ academic motivation, engagement, and success, as well as their overall well-being and development.

Fostering a strong sense of school belonging is particularly important during adolescence, as it can help students navigate the challenges and transitions associated with this developmental stage.

Li, X., Kuo, Y. L., & Huggins, T. J. (2024). The Effect of Perceived Feedback on School Belonging: The Mediating Role of Subjective Well-Being. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1450788. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1450788

Key Points

• Perceived Feedback (PF) from teachers significantly influences students’ Sense of Belonging to School (SBS) and Subjective Well-Being (SWB).
• SWB partially mediates the relationship between PF and SBS among Chinese secondary school students.
• This study used data from the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) for four regions in China: Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Shanghai, and Beijing.
• The research has limitations such as using cross-sectional data from 2018 and only focusing on four regions in China.
• The findings emphasize the importance of positive teacher feedback and promoting students’ well-being to foster a strong sense of school belonging.

Rationale

School belonging is a crucial factor in students’ academic success and overall development, particularly during the challenging period of adolescence (ACT, 2008; Csikszentmihalyi, 2024).

Research has shown that teacher feedback plays a significant role in shaping students’ sense of belonging and well-being (Suldo et al., 2009; Qin & Wan, 2015).

However, the interplay between perceived feedback, subjective well-being, and school belonging has not been thoroughly examined among Chinese secondary school students.

This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the mediating role of subjective well-being in the relationship between perceived feedback and school belonging using data from the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) for four regions in China.

Method

This study employed a quantitative approach, utilizing data from the 2018 PISA for four regions in China: Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Shanghai, and Beijing.

The PISA is an ongoing program initiated by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that assesses 15-year-old students’ knowledge and skills in reading, mathematics, and science every three years.

Procedure

Participants were randomly selected from middle schools in the four regions using a two-stage stratified sampling method.

The sample included 12,058 students (5,775 females; 6,283 males) from 361 different schools, with an average age of 15.75 years old (SD = 0.30).

Sample

After data weighting and eliminating invalid responses, the final sample consisted of 11,584 participants (96.07% effective rate), with 6,025 (52%) male students and 5,559 (48%) female students.

The total number of participants after data weighting was 950,908.

Measures

The study used three questionnaires from the PISA 2018 Student Background Questionnaire:

1. Perceived Feedback (PF): Three questions on a four-point scale (Cronbach’s α = 0.73).
2. Subjective Well-Being (SWB): Nine items measuring positive and negative emotions on a four-point scale (Cronbach’s α = 0.83).
3. Sense of Belonging to School (SBS): Six questions on a four-point scale, divided into positive and negative feelings (Cronbach’s α = 0.83).

Statistical measures

Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 for descriptive statistics and correlation analysis.

The PROCESS plugin for SPSS was used for mediation model analysis, employing the Bootstrap method to test the mediating effect of SWB between PF and SBS.

Results

1. Perceived Feedback (PF) significantly and positively predicts Sense of Belonging to School (SBS) (β = 0.26, p < 0.01), indicating that students who receive more positive feedback from teachers have a stronger sense of belonging to their school.
2. Perceived Feedback (PF) significantly and positively predicts Subjective Well-Being (SWB) (β = 0.21, p < 0.01), suggesting that students who receive more positive feedback from teachers experience higher levels of subjective well-being.
3. Subjective Well-Being (SWB) partially mediates the relationship between Perceived Feedback (PF) and Sense of Belonging to School (SBS) (β = 0.47, p < 0.01), with an intermediate effect of 38%. This finding indicates that positive teacher feedback enhances students’ sense of belonging to school both directly and indirectly by increasing their subjective well-being.
4. The results also showed that PF directly influences students’ SWB (β = 0.16, p < 0.01) and indirectly influences SBS via mediation by SWB (β = 0.47, p < 0.01).

Insight

This study highlights the critical role of positive teacher feedback in fostering students’ sense of belonging to school and subjective well-being.

The findings extend previous research by revealing the mediating effect of subjective well-being in the relationship between perceived feedback and school belonging among Chinese secondary school students.

The results suggest that teachers should focus on providing specific, positive feedback and targeted instruction to create a supportive academic environment that promotes student engagement and development.

Additionally, the study emphasizes the importance of monitoring and supporting students’ well-being to maximize the benefits of positive teacher-student interactions.

Future research should consider longitudinal data, a broader range of mental health indicators, and different cultural contexts to further understand the interplay between these variables.

Strengths

The study had several methodological strengths, including:

1. Using a large, representative sample from the PISA 2018 dataset.
2. Employing a rigorous two-stage stratified sampling method.
3. Utilizing well-established questionnaires with good internal consistency.
4. Applying appropriate statistical analyses, such as the Bootstrap method, for testing mediation effects.

Limitations

The study has some limitations that should be considered when interpreting the results:

1. The data used were cross-sectional, which limits the ability to make causal inferences.
2. The study focused on only four regions in China, limiting the generalizability of the findings to the entire country.
3. The data were collected in 2018, and the results may not fully represent the current situation in 2024.

Implications

The results of this study have significant implications for educational practice and policy.

The findings underscore the importance of promoting positive teacher feedback and supporting students’ well-being to foster a strong sense of school belonging.

Educators, school administrators, and policymakers should prioritize the development of supportive school environments that encourage positive teacher-student interactions and address students’ mental health needs.

This may involve providing dedicated training and incentives for teachers to use effective feedback strategies, implementing student satisfaction monitoring, and offering targeted support services and programs aimed at promoting students’ well-being.

By addressing these factors, educational institutions can enhance students’ academic and developmental outcomes, particularly during the critical period of adolescence.

References

Primary reference

Li, X., Kuo, Y. L., & Huggins, T. J. (2024). The Effect of Perceived Feedback on School Belonging: The Mediating Role of Subjective Well-Being. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1450788. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1450788

Other references

ACT. (2008). The forgotten middle: Ensuring that all students are on target for college and career readiness before high school. Iowa City, IA: ACT.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2024). Adolescence. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/adolescence

Qin, Y., & Wan, X. (2015). Review of school belonging. Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Social Science and Technology Education.

Suldo, S. M., Friedrich, A. A., White, T., Farmer, J., Minch, D., & Michalowski, J. (2009). Teacher support and adolescents’ subjective well-being: A mixed-methods investigation. School psychology review, 38(1), 67-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2009.12087850

Keep Learning

1. How can teachers effectively balance providing positive feedback and constructive criticism to support students’ growth and well-being?
2. What specific strategies can schools implement to monitor and address students’ mental health needs, particularly in the context of promoting a sense of belonging?
3. How might cultural differences influence the relationship between perceived feedback, subjective well-being, and school belonging, and what adaptations might be necessary when applying these findings to different educational settings?
4. What role can technology play in facilitating positive teacher-student interactions and providing targeted support for students’ well-being and sense of belonging?