Connected Belonging: A relational and identity-based approach to schools' role in promoting child wellbeing

With levels of mental health difficulties among young people rising and policymakers focusing on the state's role in promoting young people's wellbeing, educational institutions have become positioned on the front line as key sites to identify and implement wellbeing interventions. This paper draws on a series of policy analyses and qualitative studies with young people and educators, leading to recognition for the importance of a relational approach to wellbeing. We outline the case for an identity-based approach to school wellbeing support, arguing that this reflects a novel point of departure from the largely individualistic approach reflected in the prevailing policy positions of many countries in the Global North, including the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. The paper advances an original relational approach, which we call Connected Belonging, that links identity-building and affirmation to wellbeing through strengthening students' sense of belonging across the different arenas of their daily lives: school, social life, local community and wider society. Connected Belonging's focus on building connection across these social domains provides young people with identity resources such as trust and validation, ultimately generating a meaningful sense of belonging. We argue that policymakers need to find ways to adapt current strategies and schooling regimes to ensure that school leaders have space and opportunity to engage with wellbeing policy and practice. Given the clear links between students' wellbeing, their engagement with school life and educational achievement, we highlight, as a priority, policy directions that counter the impetus towards competition and academic results and instead foster collaboration and broader notions of success.