Brennan De Vine, Nastassja;
(2022)
Exploring how a sense of belonging is constructed in the accounts of autistic girls who attend mainstream school in England.
Doctoral thesis (D.Ed.Psy), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Autistic girls’ social motivation and associated desire to fit in, suggests that feeling a sense of belonging is important for the girls. This may be particularly relevant during adolescence, as this period is marked by uncertainty and loneliness due to increasing independence and development of identity. There is evidence that feeling a sense of belonging provides pupils social acceptance and is a protective factor against harmful psychological outcomes. Despite this, limited research has considered autistic girls belonging experiences in mainstream schools and what needs to change to facilitate belonging. Further, the historical underdiagnoses of autistic girls has entailed that their personal stories are mostly absent from autism research. This research prioritises autistic girls’ voices by exploring the girls’ constructs of belonging, including the facilitators of and barriers to feeling a sense of belonging, and the impact on wellbeing. This study included the autistic community in the research process in various ways. An autism advisory group provided consultation on pre-study considerations, data collection and data analysis. Personal constructs and lived experiences of school belonging were explored using semi-structured interviews and personalised activities (e.g. drawings and poetry) with eighteen adolescent autistic girls. Participants were involved in the data analysis process as they commented on emerging codes and themes. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and five themes were identified: (I) autistic girl’s want to be seen and heard, (II) the joys and pains of mutuality, (III) losing myself under the mask, (IV) marginalisation links with invalidation, (V) sensory fatigue. The autistic girls defined belonging from a relational perspective, as they want to be externally valued, heard, and involved in the school community. However, aspects of masking, stigma and sensory experiences limit the girls belonging in school. Implications for schools and Educational Psychologists are discussed using an experience sensitive framework of wellbeing.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Ed.Psy |
| Title: | Exploring how a sense of belonging is constructed in the accounts of autistic girls who attend mainstream school in England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2022. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Psychology and Human Development UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10153696 |
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