Straker, Mike; (2024) A community of possibilities: using bibliotherapy to understand the facilitators, barriers and interventions that promote school belonging. Doctoral thesis (D.Ed.Psy), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Sense of school belonging and its benefits have been well-researched but the applicability of this into the classroom can be difficult to establish. Increasing levels of anxiety, lower sense of school belonging (SOSB) and greater pressures on school staff mean that developing an understanding of ‘belonging’ in a school context and strategies to develop this are particularly pertinent. Currently, there is a scarcity of cost-effective, time-efficient universal interventions. Bibliotherapy, the use of texts to explore emotions and situations in a safe environment, is an intervention designed to support educators working with children experiencing social, emotional and mental health difficulties. A systematic literature review explored pupils’ experiences of facilitators and barriers that contributed to a greater (or lesser) SOSB. Findings from the 13 reviewed studies suggested six key themes that impact on students’ sense of school belonging: adult-pupil relationships, peer relationships, parental involvement, perceived control, community (membership) and curriculum and (extra) curricular activities. The empirical paper utilised a mixed-methods approach to consider the effectiveness of a whole-class bibliotherapy intervention on reducing anxiety and increasing SOSB from pupils’ and educators’ perspectives. This occurred in two phases. Firstly, 112 lower key stage two participants (intervention N= 57) completed anxiety and SOSB measures whilst staff completed wellbeing measures. Secondly, the views of six pupils, who accessed the intervention, were gathered through an in-person focus group. Views of the staff (interventionists) were accessed via an online focus group. Quantitative findings suggested no significant impact of the intervention on anxiety or SOSB, although a trend suggested anxiety reduction. Qualitative findings suggested that pupils and staff enjoyed the intervention with the exploration of key texts allowing them to explore emotions in a safe way. Participants highlighted strategies learnt through the intervention as helpful to deploy in coping situations. Recommendations for professional practice and future research are considered.

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