Background

The development of a sense of belonging to university can have positive impacts for the student experience. For example, belonging has been repeatedly linked to increased persistence (Tinto, 2017), motivation (Albloushi et al., 2019), engagement (Kahu, 2011), feelings of inclusion, and academic achievement (Edwards et al., 2022). Studies have also demonstrated that developing a sense of belonging to university may help reduce psychological distress and increase wellbeing (Bork & Mondisa, 2019). 

While empirical evidence strongly indicates that belonging is important in the university context, today’s students face various barriers to developing this sense of belonging (Crawford, 2024), including increasingly diverse peer cohorts, heavier reliance on online learning, and dwindling campus attendance. There is also inconsistency in understandings of what ‘belonging’ to university actually means. 

Purpose of the Study

This aim of this study is to develop a better understanding of what a sense of belonging to university means to students and shed light on strategies that universities can develop to foster students’ sense of belonging to university. 

The research questions guiding this study are:

  1. How do students understand a ‘sense of belonging to university’?
  2. Is students’ sense of belonging to university primarily reliant on institutional affiliation, inter-personal relationships, or academic experiences?
  3. What are the distinct barriers and challenges that students from different backgrounds face in forming a sense of belonging at university?

Approach

This large-scale qualitative study involved interviewing N = 200 diverse students enrolled in coursework degrees from 22 Australian universities (i.e. 50% of all Australian Universities) during 2023 and 2024. Student participants were from a range of diverse disciplines and backgrounds (e.g., international / domestic, non-English speaking backgrounds, low SES, first in family, regional/remote, etc.). Collecting data from this large number of students has ensured that a diverse and broad range of insights and experiences are obtained. 

References

Albloushi, M., Ferguson, L., Stamler, L., Bassendowski, S., Hellsten, L., & Kent-Wilkinson, A. (2019). Saudi female nursing student experiences of sense of belonging in the clinical settings: A qualitative study. Nurse Education in Practice, 35, 69-74. 

Bork, S. J., & Mondisa, J. (2019, June), Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Graduate Student Mental Health: Insights from the Healthy Minds Network Dataset. Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Tampa, Florida. 

Crawford, J. (2024). Belonging during university. Department of Education. https://www.education.gov.au/download/18232/accord-report-literature-review-belonging/37659/document/pdf

Edwards, J.D., Barthelemy, R. S., & Frey, R. F. (2022). Relationship between course-level social belonging (sense of belonging and belonging uncertainty) and academic performance in General Chemistry 1. Journal of Chemical Education, 99, 1, 71–82. 

Kahu, E. R. (2011). Framing student engagement in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 38(5), 758–773. 

Tinto, V.  (2017).  Reflections on Student Persistence. Student Success, 8(2), 1-8.