How School Racial Climate Creates Opportunity Structures for Belonging: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Abstract School belonging is a fundamental need that describes how much one feels they fit in, are valued, and accepted within a school (Goodenow, Psychology in the Schools 30:79–90, 1993). In this paper, we explore how racialization and racism contribute to opportunity structures for belonging (Gray et al., Educational Psychologist 53:97–113, 2018) through school racial climate and report on a meta-analysis of the associations between dimensions of school racial climate and school belonging in primary, secondary, and postsecondary settings around the world. A literature search resulted in 6396 citations, with a final sample of 77 studies and 276 effect sizes. Most (83%) of the studies were conducted in the USA, with 45% in primary/secondary schools and 55% in postsecondary settings. Analyses consisted of three-level random-effects models with tests of moderating effects of country, marginalized group membership, school level, and publication type and showed significant correlations between belonging and discrimination—personally experienced, general negative interactions, equal status/positive interactions, cultural socialization, intercultural competence socialization, critical consciousness socialization, mainstream socialization, positive interaction socialization, commitment to diversity, general socialization, and general racial climate. There was not a significant association for color-evasive socialization. In the discussion, we note the need for more longitudinal research, more research outside of the USA, and more ethnic-racial socialization research in higher education. We conclude by discussing challenges in the measurement of school racial climate and call for more nuanced investigations on belonging as a product of students’ embeddedness within racialized systems.