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Providing a sense of belonging to students in our international school communities is probably the most important task we have, in terms of ensuring student well-being and academic success.

Maithreyi Gopalan, assistant professor of education at Penn State College of Education in the US, has been involved in many studies looking at students’ sense of belonging. She says: “ that, in certain contexts, a student’s sense of belonging improves academic outcomes, increases continuing enrolment and is protective for mental health.

“In some of the studies presented, these correlations were still present beyond the time frame of the analysis, suggesting that belonging might have a longitudinal effect.”

Providing that sense of belonging has many different aspects to it, one of which is ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion in our school communities.

University counselling: Does it meet students’ needs?

I am currently part of a small team in my school that is focusing on inclusivity in the classroom. As a result, I recently sent out a Google survey to our Grade 11 and 12 (Year 12 and 13) students, asking for feedback on how inclusive they felt I was in terms of my role as their university and career counsellor. I focused on three main inclusivity areas:

1. Knowledge of and correct use of pronouns

2. Using inclusive language in all discussions

3. Individualised teaching, catering to all needs.

While I scored more than 50 per cent in consistently meeting points one and two, I scored less than 50 per cent in consistently meeting the areas that fell within point three.

Looking more closely into the feedback, I discovered that the students felt that the only option presented to them for post-school life was university. They wanted to see more careers advice and discussion of options such as gap years and apprenticeships.

They also felt that this information should be shared earlier in Grade 10 (Year 11) or at the very beginning of Grade 11 (Year 12). And they asked for mandatory one-to-one meetings (currently they’re optional) so that I knew each of them better and could tailor my information and lessons more individually.

Opening up future pathways

While reflecting on this feedback, I remembered a recent LinkedIn post shared by Jane Larsson, executive director of the Council of International Schools (CIS). The post discussed the fact that many CIS member schools were choosing to rename their university counsellors as future-pathways advisers.

This became my number-one action point: write a proposal to school leadership suggesting that we change the name of the university and career department to the future-pathways department, and all its members’ titles from university and careers counsellors to future-pathways advisers.

Such a simple thing to do, but the message that the change in language conveys is huge. Immediately it makes students and parents curious about what future pathways there are. Immediately it opens up questions about other pathways that might be different from university. And, perhaps most importantly, it provides a sense of belonging to those students in the community who don’t want to go to university and who, in the past, have felt excluded during our university (soon to be future-pathways) curriculum lessons.

This is not to say that, as a future-pathways adviser, I would be neglecting the needs of our students who do want to apply to universities. Indeed, by being a future-pathways adviser I am also respecting these students and their families – going to university is, after all, one future pathway.

Regardless of whether my students want to go to university or not, my job is to listen, guide and support to the best of my ability in an empathetic way in order to authentically follow the diversity, equity and inclusion policy of my school. This policy says: “An inclusive school promotes and sustains a sense of belonging; it values and practises respect for the talents, beliefs, backgrounds and ways of living of all of its members.” I could add: whatever future pathway they want to follow.