Contents
- School belonging in Canada statistics: what TIMSS measured
- How provincial results compared
- Alberta, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador
- Ontario and Quebec: more students in the middle category
- Canada and the TIMSS international comparison
- What these school belonging statistics can and cannot tell us
- Sources
School belonging in Canada statistics: what TIMSS measured
A sense of belonging at school can shape how students experience their day-to-day learning environment. The 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) offers one snapshot of that experience for Canadian Grade 8 students: it classifies participating students as having a high, some, or little sense of school belonging.
The measure was based on students’ responses to five school-related statements. The results are survey classifications, not a count of every student in Canada and not a measure of belonging among students of all ages. They describe the participating TIMSS Grade 8 population in 2019. Canadian Results from TIMSS 2019, Figure 2.22.
| Sense of belonging | Participating Canadian students |
|---|---|
| High | 53% |
| Some | 37% |
| Little | 10% |
The three categories sum to 100% in the published figures. A little over half of participating students fell into the high-belonging category, while the remaining 47% were categorized as having some or little belonging. These categories describe responses to the study’s measure; they should not be read as clinical assessments or as proof that a student is either thriving or struggling in every part of school life. Canadian Results from TIMSS 2019, Figure 2.22.
How provincial results compared
The report’s provincial figures show variation in the share of students classified as having high belonging. Among the provinces in the supplied comparison, Alberta had the highest share at 61%, and Quebec the lowest at 47%. The difference between those reported shares is 14 percentage points. That is a descriptive comparison of TIMSS 2019 results; it does not establish why the values differ.
| Province | High belonging | Some belonging | Little belonging |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | 61% | 32% | 8% |
| Manitoba | 56% | 35% | 10% |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 57% | 34% | 9% |
| Ontario | 53% | 37% | 10% |
| Quebec | 47% | 41% | 12% |
The province rows are rounded percentages, so their displayed categories may not total exactly 100%. For example, Alberta’s reported values add to 101%. This is a rounding effect in the published table, not evidence of an additional category. The figures cover participating TIMSS Grade 8 students in each listed province. Canadian Results from TIMSS 2019, Figure 2.22.
Alberta, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador
Alberta stands out on the high-belonging measure: 61% of participating students were in that category, compared with 32% in the some-belonging category and 8% in the little-belonging category. The report identifies Alberta as having the highest provincial share in the high category. The 8% figure is the smallest little-belonging share among the five provincial rows presented here.
Manitoba’s profile was 56% high, 35% some and 10% little. Newfoundland and Labrador showed 57% high, 34% some and 9% little. Their high-belonging shares were close to each other, differing by one percentage point. Because these are rounded estimates, that small gap should be treated as a descriptive difference in the report rather than a precise ranking of students’ experiences.
These figures can help readers see how categories were distributed in the participating provincial samples. They do not identify whether school practices, community conditions, student characteristics or other factors account for the observed pattern. The report’s table supplies the percentages; the values alone cannot support a causal explanation. Canadian Results from TIMSS 2019, Figure 2.22 and accompanying discussion.
Ontario and Quebec: more students in the middle category
Ontario’s percentages match the Canadian row in the published figure: 53% high, 37% some and 10% little. Quebec had the lowest provincial share in the high category, at 47%, and the highest of the five listed provinces in the some category, at 41%. Its little-belonging share was 12%.
The Quebec distribution suggests that the distinction between “high” and “some” matters when interpreting school belonging statistics. A student counted in the some category is not counted in either the high or little group, so a province’s lower high share does not mean that the same proportion is classified as having little belonging. In Quebec, the 47% high figure sits alongside 41% some and 12% little. Taken together, the categories give a fuller picture than a single headline percentage. Canadian Results from TIMSS 2019, Figure 2.22.
Canada and the TIMSS international comparison
In the TIMSS international comparison, 58% of participating students were classified as having high belonging, 34% as having some belonging, and 8% as having little belonging. For Canada, the corresponding values were 53%, 37% and 10%.
The international high-belonging share was five percentage points above Canada’s reported share, while Canada’s some and little shares were three and two points higher, respectively. This comparison uses the international row shown in the TIMSS figure; it is not a separate estimate for all students worldwide. It should also be kept distinct from the Canadian provincial results, which describe participating Grade 8 students in the listed provinces. Canadian Results from TIMSS 2019, Figure 2.22.
What these school belonging statistics can and cannot tell us
TIMSS 2019 provides a useful reference point for school belonging among participating Canadian Grade 8 students. The national distribution shows that 53% were in the high category, while 37% were in the some category and 10% in the little category. Provincial results show a range in the high category, from 47% in Quebec to 61% in Alberta among the provinces reported here.
These figures are specific to the study, its participating students, its five-statement measure and the 2019 survey period. They do not describe current conditions, every grade, or every student in Canada. Nor do the provincial percentages explain what drives students’ sense of belonging. They are best used as a dated survey snapshot that makes the distribution of reported belonging categories visible, with those limits kept in view. Canadian Results from TIMSS 2019, Figure 2.22.