Public high school branding initiatives and their association to a student’s sense of belonging

Cirrincione, Christopher J

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124305 Copy

Description

Title

Public high school branding initiatives and their association to a student’s sense of belonging

Author(s)

Cirrincione, Christopher J

Issue Date

2024-04-18

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Hinze-Pifer, Rebecca

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Roegman, Rachel

Committee Member(s)

• Hermann, Mary
• Leiby, Justin

Department of Study

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ed.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• sense of belonging
• school branding
• brand' edvertising

Abstract

Since the 1990s a greater amount of research has been conducted to examine a student’s sense of belonging, specifically examining what factor(s) inhibit or promote a sense of belonging at the high school level (Allen et al., 2016; Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Goodenow, 1993; O'Neel & Fuligni, 2013; Walton & Cohen, 2007). Within the field of education, school branding has traditionally been used by universities and choice schools to market their institution and attract students. In the last ten years, public schools and their administrators have increasingly engaged in branding initiatives, but their work has outpaced research. This comparative quantitative study sought to examine the state of public-school branding initiatives at three public high schools in the suburbs and examined the relationship between the branding initiatives at a student’s sense of belonging. Specifically, this study used a survey design to gather feedback from students regarding their sense of belonging and their connection to their school’s brand. Additionally, this study used informational interviews to interview current school and district administrators to provide a narrative of current branding work at each research site. The findings of this study suggest that students with a greater connection to their school brand tended to have a higher sense of belonging (research question one). Furthermore, for the total sample, the calculation shows that the combination of school branding scores and demographic variables (race, gender, and extracurricular participation) significantly predicted a sense of belonging (research question two). When the demographic variables interacted with the branding score, the association between branding and sense of belonging was stronger for students who did not participate in extracurriculars than it was for students who participated in many extracurriculars. It was also stronger for non-white students than it was for white students (research question three). In summary, this study showed that many students are aware of their school brand. Further, when students are aware of their school brand, they tend to have a higher sense of belonging. This study is not a casual design, but rather examines the association between branding and belonging and discusses the implications of branding for current administrators.

Graduation Semester

2024-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2024 Christopher Cirrincione

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