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Children who are excluded from school may end up being excluded from other social institutions. Yet little research has considered whether low school belonging is a risk factor for not being in education, employment, or training after graduation. Using two longitudinal cohorts from Australia (N = 14,082; 51% Boys), we explored this relationship. Controlling for a range of individual and school-level covariates, we found that low school belonging at age 15 is a consistent and practically significant predictor of not in education, employment, or training (NEET) status at ages 16 to 20. We conclude that this relationship is unlikely to be the product of low school belonging lowering the chances of students graduating high school. Rather, low school belonging had a unique association with NEET beyond graduation. Given that NEET represents a range of vulnerabilities, educational policy and practice must find ways for schools to create opportunities for all students to feel included, valued, and accepted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
