Schools can and do make a difference in how students develop as citizens and as whole people. Students who feel connected to their school perform better academically and are less likely to engage in problem behaviors, such as drug use and violence, than their counterparts who feel disconnected from their school.

Here’s what educators and researchers are saying:

Children thrive in caring school communities.

When students are in caring communities, they are more likely to like school, trust and respect their teachers, enjoy challenging learning activities, be concerned about and help others, and resolve conflicts without force.1

Children learn when their basic needs are met.

Students have basic psychological needs for autonomy, belonging, and competence. When children are in a school that fulfills these three needs, they will be intrinsically motivated to learn. Likewise, children’s motivation is undermined to the degree to which any of these conditions is not met.2

Students’ connection to school affects their behavior.

Examining data from a longitudinal study on adolescent health, Michael Resnick and his colleagues found that students’ sense of connectedness to school (and family) was linked to a decrease in a range of problem behaviors, including the use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana; violent behavior; emotional distress; suicidal thoughts and behaviors; and early sexual activity.3

Competitive situations make learning more difficult.

Children don’t perform well in highly competitive situations, especially when they estimate their ability to be normatively below that of their peers. 4

Children seek social support to learn the skills of their culture.

Children look to their teachers for guidance in informal and formal learning situations.5

Notes

1. Victor Battistich, Daniel Solomon, Dong-il Kim, Marilyn Watson, and Eric Schaps, “Schools as Communities, Poverty Levels of Student Populations, and Students’ Attitudes, Motives, and Performance: A Multilevel Analysis,” American Educational Research Journal 32, no 3 (1995): 627–658.
2. Edward L. Deci, Robert J. Vallerand, Luc G. Pelletier, and Richard M. Ryan, “Motivation and Education: The Self-Determination Perspective,” Educational Psychologist 26 (3&4) (1991): 325–346.
3. Michael D. Resnick, Peter S. Bearman, Robert Wm. Blum, Karl E. Bauman, Kathleen M. Harris, Jo Jones, Joyce Tabor, T. Beuhring, R. E. Sieving, M. Shew, M. Ireland, L.H. Bearinger, and J.R. Udry, “Protecting Adolescents from Harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health,” Journal of the American Medical Association 278 (1997): 823–32.
4. John G. Nicholls, The Competitive Ethos and Democratic Education (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1989).
5. Barbara Rogoff, Apprenticeship in Thinking: Cognitive Development in Social Context (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990).