Support self-concept fit through asset-based and culturally sustaining pedagogies, identity-connection assignments, and affinity spaces¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 review), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The review recommends that teachers and institutions foster belonging by supporting self-concept fit: asset-based and culturally sustaining pedagogies that "explicitly include and highlight the value of the kinds of knowledge students bring from their home cultures" have repeatedly been shown to support ethnic-racial identity and school belonging among Black and Latinx students. Concrete practices include assigning students to notice connections between their identity and course content, publicly discussing socioeconomic diversity during school transitions, and providing institutional support for affinity spaces such as Black student unions and LGBTQIA+ student organizations.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Teachers and institutions must include course materials and assignments that enable students to draw on their racial or cultural experiences

Constraints¶

• The article states further research is needed to identify which specific elements of affinity spaces and which resources are most beneficial for which students, especially considering intersecting identities

Target Learners¶

• Black and Latinx students
• first-generation and lower SES students
• racial and sexual minority students

Target Learning Goals¶

• self-concept fit
• sense of belonging at school
• academic performance

Affordances¶

• Four Fit Model School Belonging

Claims¶

• Qualitative research shows marginalized students' sense of belonging depends on maintaining connections to their valued identities at school (self-concept fit) [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Recommendations for culturally responsive school belonging research: broader cross-cultural sampling, stronger methodologies, multilevel theorizing, and qualitative/mixed methods

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Alexander S. Browman. (2025). Centering Social Fit, Self-Concept Fit, Goal Fit, and Resource Fit as Core Elements of Students' Experiences of Belonging at School. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10009-3