A Scale Development Study for the Determination of Students’ Sense of Belonging to Place

This study developed a scale to measure adolescents’ sense of belonging to place, a construct shaping identity, cohesion, and well-being while fostering resilience and responsibility. Data were collected from eighth-grade students, 398 for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and 250 for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The final scale comprises 26 items across three dimensions: local belonging (14 items), national belonging (6 items), and global belonging (6 items). Cronbach’s alpha values ranged from 0.93 to 0.94, demonstrating high reliability. Findings confirm the scale’s validity, offering a robust instrument to investigate adolescents’ multilevel belonging in education research.