Fostering the Sense of Security and Comfort in compulsory education: Emotional anchoring in peer and teacher relationships

BACKGROUND: The Sense of Security and Comfort (SSC) is a socially constructed emotion characterized by trust, contentment, and inner safety. It is increasingly recognized as a foundational condition for learning, motivation and self-regulation in compulsory education. However, little is known about the configurations through which SSC is actively fostered in everyday school life. AIMS: This study investigates (1) which core domains of school and classroom life characterize contexts that support SSC, and (2) how these domains combine into recurring relational patterns through which SSC is co-constructed. SAMPLE(S): This paper reports a qualitative study in which 40 teachers were purposively selected based on their students' SSC scores from a preceding quantitative survey of the Austrian compulsory school system (1462 students). METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were analysed using content structuring qualitative content analysis. Deductive categories were combined with inductively generated subcategories. A cross-pattern analysis reconstructed recurring constellations across domains to identify relational and pedagogical configurations through which SSC is stabilized or undermined. RESULTS: Six domains were central to fostering SSC: teachers' professionalism and relational practice, peer belonging, students' family background, emotional experiences, learning requirements and structural features of schooling. Four relational patterns emerged, each reflecting the dynamic interplay through which SSC is co-constructed across ecological layers of school life. CONCLUSIONS: SSC arises when peer belonging, relational attunement, structural predictability and developmental grounding converge. Implications include strengthening teachers' socio-emotional competence, aligning school practices with family-based relational resources, and systematically implementing regular social-learning lessons in compulsory education.