Building School Belonging in Vietnamese Secondary Students: Teacher Perspectives

ABSTRACT Research has demonstrated the importance of secondary students' sense of belonging to school and its impacts on a range of outcomes, including wellbeing and academic success. However, a large percentage of secondary students worldwide lack a strong sense of school belonging, and this remains an important area for intervention. Although the teacher–student relationship is one of the most significant factors affecting students' sense of belonging, little is known about how teachers can assist their students in this area. This study aims to address this gap by exploring teachers' perspectives regarding the facilitators and challenges associated with building students' sense of belonging in the context of secondary schools in Vietnam. Semi‐structured interviews with seven teachers in the urban and suburban areas of Hanoi, Vietnam, revealed that teachers prioritised the establishment of caring and sympathetic learning environments for students and did their best to set up effective support for students despite challenges in relation to workplace pressures and a lack of support. This study contributes to the field of wellbeing research in education and identifies several recommendations for building secondary teachers' capacity to support students' sense of school belonging.