Investigating sense of community in primary schools.

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Title: Investigating sense of community in primary schools.
Authors: Sayer, Ed, Beaven, Alexandra, Stringer, Phil, Hermena, Ehab
Source: Educational & Child Psychology. 2013, Vol. 30 Issue 1, p9-25. 17p. 8 Charts.
Subjects: Social networks, Needs assessment, Mental health, Primary schools, Age groups, Hypothesis
Abstract: The desire to be a part of a wider social network is a basic human need and research has found that possessing a strong 'sense of community' is associated with a range of positive outcomes, both in terms of physical and mental health. In adults and adolescents alike, it has been argued that four factors contribute to an individual's sense of community, namely; membership, influence, shared emotional connection, and reinforcement of need (McMillan & Chavis, 1986). Given that pupils' sense of community in primary school has been relatively neglected by the literature, a new measure of the construct was developed for this age group. The impact of pupils' gender and year group on sense of community was also explored. A focus group with Year 5 and 6 pupils was used to develop the Sense of Community Index-Primary (SCI-P) and following piloting, 452 Year 5 and Year 6 pupils completed the measure in school. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor model of sense of community, which represents a departure from McMillan and Chavis's (1986) framework. A significant main effect of gender was found, while a year group hypothesis was only partially supported. Practical applications and limitations of this research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Educational & Child Psychology is the property of British Psychological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Investigating sense of community in primary schools.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sayer%2C+Ed%22">Sayer, Ed</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Beaven%2C+Alexandra%22">Beaven, Alexandra</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Stringer%2C+Phil%22">Stringer, Phil</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hermena%2C+Ehab%22">Hermena, Ehab</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Educational+%26+Child+Psychology%22">Educational & Child Psychology</searchLink>. 2013, Vol. 30 Issue 1, p9-25. 17p. 8 Charts.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+networks%22">Social networks</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Needs+assessment%22">Needs assessment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+health%22">Mental health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Primary+schools%22">Primary schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Age+groups%22">Age groups</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hypothesis%22">Hypothesis</searchLink>
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  Data: The desire to be a part of a wider social network is a basic human need and research has found that possessing a strong 'sense of community' is associated with a range of positive outcomes, both in terms of physical and mental health. In adults and adolescents alike, it has been argued that four factors contribute to an individual's sense of community, namely; membership, influence, shared emotional connection, and reinforcement of need (McMillan & Chavis, 1986). Given that pupils' sense of community in primary school has been relatively neglected by the literature, a new measure of the construct was developed for this age group. The impact of pupils' gender and year group on sense of community was also explored. A focus group with Year 5 and 6 pupils was used to develop the Sense of Community Index-Primary (SCI-P) and following piloting, 452 Year 5 and Year 6 pupils completed the measure in school. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor model of sense of community, which represents a departure from McMillan and Chavis's (1986) framework. A significant main effect of gender was found, while a year group hypothesis was only partially supported. Practical applications and limitations of this research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Educational & Child Psychology is the property of British Psychological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.53841/bpsecp.2013.30.1.9
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 17
        StartPage: 9
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      – SubjectFull: Social networks
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Needs assessment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mental health
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Primary schools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Age groups
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      – SubjectFull: Hypothesis
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              M: 03
              Text: 2013
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            – TitleFull: Educational & Child Psychology
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