Conclusion: Young People Negotiating Belonging in Changing Times

Abstract

At a time when young people are frequently negotiating their relationships with people and place, often in relation to the shifting and fractured emotions involved in belonging, the concluding chapter emphasises the significance of researching young people’s conceptions of identities and belongings. The chapter brings together the main themes in the belonging literature in order to understand how belonging is being conceptualized, what scholars are still hashing out, and also the limitations of belonging when considered as a conceptual tool to understand the experiences and agency of young people. This concluding chapter draws together the themes from the book that connect the young people across the globe, while positioning the collection within the recent developments in youth studies scholarship, and furthermore making observations about the way belonging and (un) belonging are operational globally.