School assistants’ experiences of belonging

Abstract

Providing quality education for all pupils requires cooperation from members of the entire school community. One group of professionals is school assistants, who, together with teachers, play an important role in supporting pupils and inclusive education. Due to pupils’ diverse needs, the responsibilities of school assistants in schools have broadened; yet, their role in the school community has rarely been studied. This study focuses on school assistants’ experiences and addresses the following research question: How is belonging argumented in school assistants’ narratives at their work? The data comprise free writings (N = 52) and interviews (N = 9) of school assistants’ work. The narratives are analysed using categorical-content analysis. The results yield three experiences of belonging: stories of belonging, stories between belonging and non-belonging and stories of non-belonging. The study data reveal how a school as an institution can be based on conventional practices, where relationships are often formed through hierarchies, old-fashioned work roles and exclusive meeting policies. The study’s conclusion encourages the recognition of structural inequalities in school communities.