On the measurement of social belonging and its connection to migration background

Social belonging is a central human need, and one’s immigration background is an important factor when considering how we make sense of the measurement of social belonging. Using the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), I situate the measurement of social belonging in schools within an international comparative context. Through multi-method Differential Item Functioning (DIF) studies, and the use of a multi-level validation processes, the evidence presented here suggests that individual-level characteristics of immigration background and country-level characteristics such as national multicultural integration policy are valuable explanatory variables to understand the ecological validity of social belonging in schools. By reading the data through a “diffractive” methodology, traditional psychometric evidence can be taken up as a part of contemporary, situative theories of education. These findings have important implications for the fields of educational measurement, political science, and immigration studies alike. These (inter-)disciplinary contributions likewise advance a novel approach to measurement that ties psychometrics to an agenda of democratic liberalism in an age of deep diversity.Education, Faculty ofEducational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department ofGraduat