School Connectedness

Indicator #31: School Connectedness Rate

Indicator 31: Percentage of BC students in grades 7–12 who report a high level of school connectedness, as determined by the BC Adolescent Health Survey “School Connectedness” scale.

Jump to Figure Notes and Sources

Key Messages

• School connectedness is a general term used to describe a sense of belonging, where students feel they are a part of the school. Students who feel connected to their school are characterized as feeling happy, liking school, feeling engaged and safe, and feeling accepted and valued. They also participate in school activities, feel that teachers are fair and care about them, and have good relationships with other students.^1,2
• Studies have found that school connectedness is associated with lower levels of adolescent emotional distress, suicide, violence, and substance use (such as alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana), and is also associated with later onset of sexual activity.^1,3
• School connectedness has had a consistent relationship with positive academic and health outcomes, even for sub-populations of youth who experience other challenges. For example, although lesbian, gay, and bisexual students report lower levels of school connectedness compared to their heterosexual peers, when they have high levels of school connectedness, they are less likely to have substance use problems.^4,5
• Similarly, youth in government care struggle to stay in school and have higher levels of health challenges overall; however, BC youth in government care with higher levels of school connectedness report better physical and mental health, are less likely to engage in health-compromising behaviours, and are more likely to have post-secondary education plans.⁶
• In the BC Adolescent Health Survey and the figures presented for this indicator, school connectedness is measured on a scale composed of three items: students feel they are part of their school, are happy at their school, and feel safe at school. The score presented reflects the mean of these three items, and ranges from 0 to 10, with a higher score indicating a greater sense of school connectedness.
• Figure 31.1 shows that between 2003 and 2013, the mean scores of school connectedness among students improved, particularly from 2003 to 2008.
• While there was only modest improvement in the scores of school belonging, even small improvements across an entire population are meaningful, since it takes improvement over a large number of young people in most schools to create a noticeable change. Figure 31.1 also reveals that in 2003, male students in grades 7–12 reported a lower level of school connectedness than their female counterparts; however, in 2013, the score for males surpassed that of females.

Figure Notes and Sources