Gender studies

Engineering

Sociology

Aerospace engineering

Psychology

Interpersonal communication

Set (abstract data type)

Pedagogy

Programming language

Computer science

Intersection (aeronautics)

Belongingness

Race (biology)

Social psychology

Interpersonal relationship

Educational Psychologist

This article is guided by two goals: (a) to consider how race-based perspectives can serve as theoretical tools for investigating Black adolescents’ opportunities to belong at school, and (b) to describe cultural and political aspects of schooling that can support a sense of belongingness among Black adolescents. We discuss support for the belonging of Black adolescents in terms of interpersonal, instructional, and institutional opportunity structures. We provide a set of guiding questions for scholars seeking to advance educational psychology research at the intersection of race, belonging, and motivation. We end by describing specific research directions for an inclusive examination of school belonging, along with strategies to accomplish this goal.

Black and Belonging at School: A Case for Interpersonal, Instructional, and Institutional Opportunity Structures