Attachment, belonging and the classroom: A relational lens on behaviour

HAYLEY HEMMING, HEAD OF PSYCHOLOGY AND RESEARCH LEAD, WARWICK SCHOOL, UK This article aims to provide a perspective on attachment research in schools, proposing a practical lens through which to view behaviour. We have the potential to interrupt the ‘cascade’ of insecure attachment and support school culture, from feedback response to belonging, both in our students and with ourselves. This is not intended as a diagnostic framework or an explanation for all behaviour, but as one theoretical lens through which teachers might consider relationships, safety and belonging. Attachment mechanism We develop schemas, or templates, in our cognition to make sense of the world. How we approach everything from walking into a classroom to conflict is influenced by our experiences before that. Arguably, one of our most influential schemas is our ‘internal working model’ (Bowlby, 1982), developed through our relationship with a primary caregiver. This unconsciously influences our expectat