Reflecting on Belonging, Space, and Marginalised Young People

This chapter extends the arguments presented in the preceding chapters of Part III. It recognises that belonging is multi-dimensional and multi-faceted and proposes that a sense of belonging can have both productive and counterproductive impacts for marginalised young people. Three spatial lenses are useful. First, the lens of physical space highlights that place-based education approaches and the material configuration of classrooms impact on belonging. Second, the pedagogical space points to resources for belonging such as keeping learning environments small and drawing on students’ knowledges and interests. Finally, the relational space refers to care and the analogy of ‘family’ to describe educational settings where students feel they belong.