Abstracts Psychology

Increasing sense of school belonging in special education students

by Gabrielle Abrams

Abrams, Gabrielle The purpose of this project is to improve sense of school belongingness among students in special education. Using a peer-reviewed survey with a 5-point Likert scale, 6 middle school students (3 with IEPs, 3 without IEPs) will answer 10 questions designed to measure their sense of school belongingness before and after participating in social circles. This social intervention is intended to create a low-stakes environment for students to have the opportunity to connect and learn from one another. The hope is that students with IEPs will experience an increased sense of school belongingness after participating in the social circles for five weeks.