Browsing by Author "Uuksulainen, Anniina"

The aim of this master`s thesis was to study which kind of experiences of a sense of belonging, students with special needs have in their school. The students studies take place both within a special education classroom, as well integrated to basic education classrooms. The subject of the study is approached with the next questions: 1. How do student`s relationships to teachers and to students, create experiences of a sense of belonging, 2. Which things prevent the student from experiencing a sense of belonging, 3. How does the school climate influence the student`s satisfaction of being at school. The previous studies show that student`s relationship to their teacher, relationship to other students, and behaviour modification, create experiences which deliver a sense of belonging to students with special needs (Juvonen 2006). Studies have also found that an inclusive school climate, can affect positively to the sense of belonging of students with special needs. This is a qualitative phenomenological research. For this study, five secondary school students with special needs were interviewed on their experiences regarding a sense of belonging. The data was collected by semi-structured theme interviews. The collected data was analysed with theory-based content analysis, which was mainly based on Juvonen`s (2006) theory about a sense of belonging. The results of this study show that all the students with special needs, who participated, experienced a sense of belonging for their school. The results were similar to previous studies which show that the positive experiences of the teachers, assistants and students, created experiences of a sense of belonging to the student with special needs. The results of this study suggest that the school where these five students with special needs study, was inclusive. This is convergent with previous studies, which show that inclusive school climates can affect positively on the sense of belonging of the students with special needs.