A Longitudinal Study of School Belonging Trajectories among Native American Adolescents Attending a Tribal School

Nidia Ruedas-Gracia; Teresa LaFromboise

A Longitudinal Study of School Belonging Trajectories among Native American Adolescents Attending a Tribal School

Nidia Ruedas-Gracia
, Teresa LaFromboise

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

School belonging is strongly associated with positive educational outcomes. However, little is known about how school belonging fluctuates over time, especially among students from minoritized backgrounds. This study examines whether adolescents experience significant changes in school belonging over a period of two years. This longitudinal quantitative survey study explores possible fluctuations in school belonging among Native American reservation high school students (n = 69, 45% female) surveyed at two timepoints during their high school tenure. Among our sample, school belonging at Time 2 (M = 3.53, SD = 0.81) was significantly higher than school belonging at Time 1 (M = 3.28, SD = 0.08, t = -2.39, p < 0.05). Results suggest future empirical work should take into consideration possible longitudinal fluctuations in school belonging levels among different student populations.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	141-158
Number of pages	18
Journal	School Community Journal
Volume	35
Issue number	2
State	Published - 2025

Keywords

American Indian Students
Sense of Belonging
Tribally Controlled Education
High School Students
Adolescents
Reservation American Indians
Alaska Natives
Student Attitudes
Student Characteristics
school belonging
American Indian/Alaska Native education
minority high school students
tribal schools

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title = "A Longitudinal Study of School Belonging Trajectories among Native American Adolescents Attending a Tribal School",

abstract = "School belonging is strongly associated with positive educational outcomes. However, little is known about how school belonging fluctuates over time, especially among students from minoritized backgrounds. This study examines whether adolescents experience significant changes in school belonging over a period of two years. This longitudinal quantitative survey study explores possible fluctuations in school belonging among Native American reservation high school students (n = 69, 45\% female) surveyed at two timepoints during their high school tenure. Among our sample, school belonging at Time 2 (M = 3.53, SD = 0.81) was significantly higher than school belonging at Time 1 (M = 3.28, SD = 0.08, t = -2.39, p < 0.05). Results suggest future empirical work should take into consideration possible longitudinal fluctuations in school belonging levels among different student populations.",

keywords = "American Indian Students, Sense of Belonging, Tribally Controlled Education, High School Students, Adolescents, Reservation American Indians, Alaska Natives, Student Attitudes, Student Characteristics, school belonging, American Indian/Alaska Native education, minority high school students, tribal schools",

author = "Nidia Ruedas-Gracia and Teresa LaFromboise",

note = "The authors would like to thank students who participated in the survey and advisory teachers who administered the survey. We would also like to thank the tribal council and the tribal research committee for allowing us to conduct the study. The research reported here was supported by the Center for Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity, Stanford University, The Karr Fellowship, and the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305B140009 to the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Center for Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity, the Institute of Education Sciences, or the U.S. Department of Education.",

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language = "English (US)",

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pages = "141--158",

journal = "School Community Journal",

issn = "1059-308X",

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AU - Ruedas-Gracia, Nidia

AU - LaFromboise, Teresa

N1 - The authors would like to thank students who participated in the survey and advisory teachers who administered the survey. We would also like to thank the tribal council and the tribal research committee for allowing us to conduct the study. The research reported here was supported by the Center for Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity, Stanford University, The Karr Fellowship, and the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305B140009 to the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Center for Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity, the Institute of Education Sciences, or the U.S. Department of Education.

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N2 - School belonging is strongly associated with positive educational outcomes. However, little is known about how school belonging fluctuates over time, especially among students from minoritized backgrounds. This study examines whether adolescents experience significant changes in school belonging over a period of two years. This longitudinal quantitative survey study explores possible fluctuations in school belonging among Native American reservation high school students (n = 69, 45% female) surveyed at two timepoints during their high school tenure. Among our sample, school belonging at Time 2 (M = 3.53, SD = 0.81) was significantly higher than school belonging at Time 1 (M = 3.28, SD = 0.08, t = -2.39, p < 0.05). Results suggest future empirical work should take into consideration possible longitudinal fluctuations in school belonging levels among different student populations.

AB - School belonging is strongly associated with positive educational outcomes. However, little is known about how school belonging fluctuates over time, especially among students from minoritized backgrounds. This study examines whether adolescents experience significant changes in school belonging over a period of two years. This longitudinal quantitative survey study explores possible fluctuations in school belonging among Native American reservation high school students (n = 69, 45% female) surveyed at two timepoints during their high school tenure. Among our sample, school belonging at Time 2 (M = 3.53, SD = 0.81) was significantly higher than school belonging at Time 1 (M = 3.28, SD = 0.08, t = -2.39, p < 0.05). Results suggest future empirical work should take into consideration possible longitudinal fluctuations in school belonging levels among different student populations.

KW - American Indian Students

KW - Sense of Belonging

KW - Tribally Controlled Education

KW - High School Students

KW - Adolescents

KW - Reservation American Indians

KW - Alaska Natives

KW - Student Attitudes

KW - Student Characteristics

KW - school belonging

KW - American Indian/Alaska Native education

KW - minority high school students

KW - tribal schools

M3 - Article

SN - 1059-308X

VL - 35

SP - 141

EP - 158

JO - School Community Journal

JF - School Community Journal

IS - 2

ER -

A Longitudinal Study of School Belonging Trajectories among Native American Adolescents Attending a Tribal School

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Keywords

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