School Belonging in Online Instruction: Cross-Sectional and Prospective Relationships with Academic Adjustment in Higher Education Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The study aimed to analyse changes in school belonging in higher education students during online instruction and to verify its cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships with academic adjustment in the first and higher years of study. The research sample consisted of 169 higher education students (90.5% women, M = 21.71;SD = 2.63) in the first measurement (end of the winter term), and 77 respondents (96% women, M = 21.38;SD = 2.03) in the second measurement (end of the summer term). Self-report methods were used. Results showed a decline in school belonging among first-year students. School belonging significantly predicted academic adjustment, and the relationship with internal motivation persisted even four months later. The findings support the key role and need for facilitating school belonging in higher education students in the online environment. © 2023, Adam Marszalek Publishing House. All rights reserved.

The effects of online learning on school connectedness and school belonging and its relationship to at-risk adolescent subjective well-being during COVID-19

This study examines the impact of instructional modality and the relationship between school connectedness, school belonging and adolescent subjective well-being in an alternative high school setting. We seek to determine if instructional modality in a high school environment has a negative or positive effect on school connectedness and school belonging and how that mediates subjective well-being. The importance of assessing the effects of instructional modality on subjective well-being from the perspective of the at-risk adolescents and tailoring suitable programs, supports and interventions to address mental health will be addressed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Evaluation of a universal internet-based mental health prevention class to enhance protective factors and decrease symptomatology of college students: A closer look at Asian international students

Entering college is an important life stage and often stressful transition for young adults. This stress is compounded for international students, who are typically studying in an unfamiliar country and burdened with the additional stressors of adjusting to cultural differences and navigating higher education in the United States. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these existing stressors, placing international students who study in the United States at an even greater disadvantage. A review of literature indicates an increased risk of mental health issues among college students and highlights these unique stressors as a critical determinant of Asian international college students' well-being. With the pressing need to ensure a sustainable impact on the greatest number of Asian international college students in the United States, there is a need for universities to provide universal preventive intervention in addressing key psychological factors associated with these unique stressors to promote positive transitions and adjustment of Asian international college students to university life. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a 10-week internet-based mental health prevention class (titled "Resilience and Wellness for College and Beyond" - RWCB) with supervised skill practice that focuses on reducing psychological distress, improving resilience, increasing a sense of belonging, and promoting overall well-being. The sample consists of 153 U.S. and 46 Asian international college students from a public research university in the Pacific Northwest. The study results of RWCB class are associated with higher post-class sense of belonging and subjective well-being for overall sample immediately following the class but demonstrated mixed results for Asian American and Asian international students. Interestingly, the results of hierarchal linear regression suggested that supervised skill coaching was found to contribute to the success of predicting subjective well-being for the Asian international students. In addition, post-class sense of belonging was found to have a unique effect on acculturative stress. Despite this study's limitations, the current findings illustrate the importance of further investigation into the integration of mental health prevention programming into their coursework. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive lens for institutions to better understand the challenges impacting college students' mental health and discuss the importance of collaboration across university systems to establishing meaningful and sustainable programming to students in coping with their adjustment to college. Future research is also needed for the university to adequately develop culturally appropriate practices for supporting the mental health and wellbeing of Asian international students on university campuses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Migrant Students' Sense of Belonging and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Implications for Educational Inclusion

This article investigates school belonging among migrant students and how this changed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing on quantitative data gathered from 751 migrant students in secondary schools in six European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the UK), we examined the impact of Covid-19 school closures, social support, and post-traumatic stress symptoms on changes in school belonging. Linear regression showed a non-significant decrease in school belonging, and none of the studied variables had a significant effect on this change in our whole sample. However, sensitivity analysis on a subsample from three countries (Denmark, Finland, and the UK) showed a small but significant negative effect of increasing post-traumatic stress symptoms on school belonging during Covid-19 school closures. Given that scholarship on school belonging during Covid-19 is emergent, this study delineates some key areas for future research on the relationship between wellbeing, school belonging, and inclusion.

Strength-Based Parenting and Academic Motivation in Adolescents Returning to School After COVID-19 School Closure: Exploring the Effect of School Belonging and Strength Use.

The present study aimed to examine whether the level of strength-based parenting a student receives during remote learning affects their levels of academic motivation once returning to school. Additionally, the study sought to explore whether school belonging mediated the association between strength-based parenting and academic motivation and whether student strength use moderated this mediating relationship. The sample comprised of secondary school students who had recently returned back to campus, following a period of COVID-19 enforced remote learning (n = 404; age range: 11 to 18 years; M = 14.75, SD = 1.59; 50.2% female, and 3% non-/other gendered or declined to answer). Strength-based parenting had a significant predictive effect on student academic motivation with school belonging mediating the association between strength-based parenting and academic motivation. The mediating effect of school belonging on the association between strength-based parenting and academic motivation was moderated by strength use during remote learning. The results of the study are discussed using a positive education lens with implications for improving skills and strategies to foster positive student functioning in times of remote learning and crisis.

Impact of Face-Recognition-Based Access Control System on College Students' Sense of School Identity and Belonging During COVID-19 Pandemic.

In the context of coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the face-recognition-based access control system (FACS) has been intensively adopted to protect students' and teachers' health and safety in school. However, the impact of FACS, as a new technology, on students' attitude toward accepting FACS has remained unknown from the psychological halo effect. Drawn on "halo effect" theory where psychological effects affect the sense of social identity and belonging, the present study explored college students' sense of school identity and belonging in using FACS during COVID-19 based on the technology acceptance model (TAM). Data collected from 391 college students was analyzed using SEM to verify the relationship among perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), intention to use (IU), school identity, and school belonging. The results show that PU and PEU can positively predict IU, and consequentially can positively predict school identity and school belonging. Our study expands the application of halo effect theory to study FACS acceptance based on TAM, and provides strong evidence to support the effect of school FACS during the pandemic. The findings of this study also suggest that FACS acceptance can enhance students' sense of school identity and belonging.

Problem Technology Use, Academic Performance, and School Connectedness among Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the association between problem technology use in adolescents and school-related outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of problem technology use and examine its association with academic performance and school connectedness in a sample of students across Ontario, Canada. METHODS: Self-reported data from a sample of 4837 students in grades 9 to 12 (mean age: 15.9 years; 49.5% females) were cross-sectionally analyzed. Ordered logistic regression models were adjusted for important covariates. RESULTS: We found that 35.8% of students used their screen device for at least 5 h a day and about 18.6% had moderate-to-serious symptoms of problem technology use, a prevalence that was higher in females (22.4%) than males (14.9%). Heavy technology use was differentially associated with lower academic performance and lower levels of school connectedness in males and females. Having moderate-to-serious symptoms of problem technology use was associated with lower academic performance among males (AOR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.53-0.87) and females (AOR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.52-0.84). It was also associated with less school connectedness in both males (AOR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.50-0.86) and females (AOR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.51-0.78). CONCLUSION: Excessive use and problem technology use are highly prevalent among secondary school students, and they are associated with lower academic performance and lower levels of school connectedness.

The Role of School Connectedness in Supporting the Health and Well-Being of Youth: Recommendations for School Nurses.

The importance of students feeling connected in school cannot be overstated, as this perception is crucial to support their health and well-being. A lack of school connectedness can lead to adverse physical and mental health outcomes, including bully victimization. Numerous factors, including individual, social, and environmental, influence students' perceived sense of school connectedness. School nurses are well positioned to establish and maintain school connectedness due to their knowledge, accessibility to students, and familiarity with the school environment. This article details the importance of school connectedness and describes the associations between school connectedness, bullying, and mental health. In addition, we offer recommendations geared toward school nurses regarding strengthening school connectedness and promoting a culture of care and inclusivity within school environments, especially salient in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Depression and anxiety symptoms are associated with problematic smartphone use under the COVID-19 epidemic: The mediation models.

COVID-19 epidemic has brought wide psychological impacts on the young adults. To investigate the depression and anxiety symptoms and their associations with problematic smartphone use under the COVID-19 epidemic, a total of 847 Chinese undergraduate students joined in this study and were measured with their levels of depression and anxiety symptoms, resilience, perceived social support, the sense of school belonging and problematic smartphone use. Results showed that among the Chinese undergraduate students, the disorder rates of depression and anxiety symptoms were 29.16% and 46.64% respectively, and their symptoms ranged from mild to extreme severe. Depression and anxiety symptoms both positively predicted problematic smartphone use. Resilience, perceived social support and the sense of school belonging partially mediated both associations; resilience and the sense of school belonging exerted buffering effects, while perceived social support exacerbated the impacts. The current study advanced our understanding of the COVID-19 impacts and furthermore, suggested the protective factors for mitigating these impacts.