Life on the Fringe: Private School Students' Racial Identity & Sense of Belonging

The purpose of this case study was to gather private school students' experiences with their racial identity and sense of belonging. This study sought to answer the research questions: 1. 2. This study focused on the former students of a private, Pre-K through grade 12 school located in the Intermountain West of the United States. This study was conducted through 31 survey responses, 14 one-on-one interviews, and a researcher's journal. The findings resulted in the participants revealing a low sense of belonging based on their racial identity, being able to separate their negative social life from their academic endeavors, and a racial pecking order that existed in the student body. These findings accentuate the detrimental effects of low school attachment in relation to one's racial identity and the associated negative ramifications such as microaggressions and leading an inauthentic life.