Author Information
Jayamini Ratnayake, American College of Higher Education, Sri LankaStephanie Perera, American College of Higher Education, Sri Lanka
Abstract
Various psychological and social factors shape student learning, with a sense of belonging emerging as an influential factor in academic engagement and achievement. Sri Lanka is a multiethnic and multicultural nation, comprising major ethnic groups such as the Sinhalese, Tamils, and Muslims. Sri Lanka’s diverse classroom settings pose distinct challenges and offer valuable opportunities for fostering student belonging. Using Goodenow’s Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) framework, this study investigates how students from diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds perceive their inclusion in the classroom and explores the relation between these perceptions and their academic performance. The study involved a mixed method of data collection where a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection was employed. Questionnaires were given out to 200 students at the American College of Higher Education, (a pioneer higher educational institution in Sri Lanka) in all 03 official languages: Sinhala, Tamil and English Language. The data gathered were analyzed using both IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0.1 for quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative insights. To enhance the analysis of academic outcomes, student attendance records and overall GPA were utilized as objective measures of academic engagement and achievement. By analyzing student perceptions through the PSSM framework alongside objective academic metrics (GPA, attendance), this study demonstrates that inclusive educational environments directly enhance belonging and performance. The findings contribute to global discussions on educational equity, stressing the importance of multilingual instruction to strengthen teacher-student relationships, reduce dropout rates, and boost academic success in diverse societies like Sri Lanka.
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