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SENSE OF BELONGING |
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 Firstly,
belonging means awareness of your own identity,
which is built and shaped starting from the ‘I’.
The personal dimension of ‘self-consideration’,
always present in the individual’s life, occurs
before the social dimension of ‘belonging’,
which is expressed in relation to the environment
and to the subjects forming the community of reference.
Secondly, belonging means feeling part of
a group and consists of sharing behaviours, ways
of thinking, and attitudes to the group itself.
In general, the sense of belonging is based on a
process of identification in which the ‘I’ sphere
identifies with the ‘Us’. Such a process leads the
individual to identify and be identified as a member
of the group, also through the assumption of some
distinguishing marks. The individual becomes aware
of his/her belonging to a group by reflecting on
his/her own identity, on his/her values, and on
those shared with the groups he/she belongs to.
The awareness of one’s own roots, history and culture
lays the foundations for a sense of belonging, which
is also the capacity to recognise those who are
different and to be open towards others.
Each person belongs to various groups that define
the individual and social dimension of his/her identity.
(Among them we can mention religious, national,
political, family, gender and sports groups.) For
example, we can say that in order to stimulate the
sense of belonging, it may be useful to work with
the children on their personal histories, on their
own and their families’ biographies, and also on
their traditions, cultures, religions, etc. Reflection
on their own language "…as a cultural object having
its own dimensions in historic time, geographical
space and its own social significance…" can also
have great potential. |
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