Why does a child feel connected to a school, or not? It is a place where they spend many hours of their lives, yet they may click or not. Research into this question already exists, but remarkably, many of those studies focus on adolescents or older pupils. A new study in the British Educational Research Journal, therefore, attempted to do something relatively simple: listen to what primary school children themselves say about what makes them feel connected to school.

Researchers Hoenig and Cumming organised focus groups with 50 Australian pupils aged 8 to 12 from 5 schools. It is therefore a qualitative study, not using questionnaires with scores or statistical models, but through conversations, drawing assignments, and open questions about when children feel connected to school and when they do not.

The answers are, in some ways, surprisingly simple. The study shows that, for children, connectedness rarely revolves around a single element or isolated measure. Rather, it arises from a combination of opportunities, relationships, and school culture.

A first factor was the researchers’ “breadth of opportunities”: a wide range of activities and opportunities to participate. Children consistently referred to sports, music, school musicals, STEM activities, debate, camps, school parties, and other joint activities. Not only because these are fun, but because they create social experiences. They make friends there, work together, represent their school, and get opportunities to be proud of something.

That “representing the school” came up remarkably often. Children spoke about how they felt connected when they played in a concert, participated in a sports competition, or represented their school during activities. Not necessarily because they won, but because they were part of something.

In addition, relationships were crucial. Friends, of course, but also with teachers. Children spoke remarkably often about teachers who listen, help, explain calmly, are honest, or simply remain available when things are difficult. That might sound trivial, but precisely these kinds of daily interactions were strongly correlated with their sense of connectedness.

Interestingly, students spoke not only about “enjoyable lessons,” but also about collaboration. Reading together, solving problems together, playing sports together, performing together. Connectedness, therefore, seems to revolve not only around individual motivation, but also around the feeling that you are part of something together with others.

At the same time, the study contains an implicit warning against overly simplistic solutions. The authors explicitly emphasise that connectedness is unlikely to arise through a single separate well-being program or a single new intervention. Rather, they advocate for a broader school culture in which relationships, activities, traditions, and support come together.

This may also be relevant in broader discussions about education policy. In many countries, the emphasis is increasingly placed strongly on performance, tests, and measurability. The study explicitly refers to research suggesting that an excessive focus on performance and accountability can undermine connectedness. Not because learning or performance are unimportant, but because children apparently also need experiences in which they feel seen, supported, and part of a community.

At the same time, we must be careful not to romanticise this. More activities or more group work do not automatically lead to greater connectedness. Sport can also create competition and exclusion. Group work can be frustrating. School cultures can connect people, but also exclude them.

Be aware, however, that this concerns a relatively small qualitative study in independent Australian schools. We should therefore not simply generalise the results to all contexts. But at the same time, it remains interesting that children themselves often mention remarkably consistent things. Not spectacular innovations. Not technology. Or not one magic method. Rather, getting opportunities to participate, experiencing positive relationships, building something together, and having adults who remain available when things get difficult.