Browsing by Subject "sense of belonging"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    The Benefits of Low-Income Students’ Participation in Living Learning Leadership Programs
    (University of Minnesota, 2021) Soria, Krista M.; Roberts, Brayden J.
    Scholars have illuminated significant disparities in higher education degree attainment between college students from low-income and upper-income backgrounds. Instead of increasing social mobility of college students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, structural barriers prohibit many low-income and working-class students from entering into higher education and graduating (Soria, 2015). Sixty percent of students from high socioeconomic status backgrounds earned a bachelor’s degree or higher within eight years compared with 14% of those from low socioeconomic backgrounds (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015). While the extant research on the benefits of living in residence halls substantiates the vital role residential life plays in students’ success (Astin, 1993; Blimling, 1989, 1993; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005), the scholarship base about the benefits of on-campus living among students from lower-income backgrounds is underdeveloped (Lopez Turley & Wodkte, 2010), as is research around the impact specifically of living and learning leadership programs. Research on the identities of students from lower-income backgrounds is also relatively absent in living and learning leadership literature, and most scholars fail to take into account the self-selection biases of students who participate in living-learning leadership communities. The purpose of our study is to examine whether participating in a living and learning leadership program might be associated with low-income students’ resilience and sense of belonging. Students’ resilience and belonging are factors commonly associated with low-income students’ persistence and degree attainment in higher education.
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    “A Boulder Being Lifted”: A Post-Intentional Phenomenological Exploration Of Sense Of Belonging For Rural Students At A Large, Urban University
    (2019-04) Yenney-Henderson, Caolfionn
    Rural students comprise an under-served and marginalized population in U.S. Higher Education. Little is known about the experiences of these students in college, particularly regarding the ways in which these students experience sense of belonging—a phenomenon which has been linked to myriad positive outcomes for college students. Utilizing a post-intentional phenomenological framework, this qualitative study seeks to explore how the phenomenon of belonging may take shape for rural students at a large, urban university. Secondary research questions explore conceptualizations of rurality and rural identity, as well as the ways in which university sponsored programs, student services, or departments impact the phenomenon of belonging for rural students. Interviews with ten self-identified rural students were explored in connection with researcher post-reflexion and thinking with theory to produce new understandings of rurality, rural identity, and the phenomenon of belonging. Based on this new knowledge production, recommendations and opportunities for research, policy, and practice are provided.
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    Exploring a Cultural Intervention's Influence on Sense of Belonging: Bringing Dakota Story into 6th and 10th Grade Social Studies Classrooms
    (2015-06) Peterson, Teresa
    Research has determined the importance of sense of belonging on one's health and well-being. Furthermore, sense of belonging has been correlated to academic success. The persistent academic achievement gap in the American Indian student population afflicts both educational policy makers and classroom teachers. This community-based participatory action research project drew upon the recommendations of the American Indian community to establish partnerships with American Indian communities and the inclusion of American Indian representation in curricula. This project utilized a mixed methodology to investigate the pilot of a cultural intervention (i.e., a culturally-based curriculum built upon storytelling) in sixth and tenth grade social studies classrooms and explored its influence on American Indian student's sense of belonging. The results also assisted in improving the curriculum and effectively meeting the state's new mandate that calls for the inclusion of American Indian contributions in curricula.
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    Living On Campus: Benefits for First-Generation Students from Low-Income Backgrounds
    (University of Minnesota, 2020) Soria, Krista M.; Roberts, Brayden J.
    The results of this research suggest that first-generation students from low-income backgrounds may experience some benefits from living on campus during their first year of enrollment. Specifically, we found that living on campus is positively associated with students’ feelings of belonging on campus and their resilience. We also found that living on campus was associated with a reduction in students’ beliefs that their campus was discriminatory, hostile, or unwelcoming.
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    Reaching out, connecting within: Community service participation and sense of belonging among college students
    (Higher Education in Review, 2003-06-03) Soria, Krista; Troisi, Jordan; Stebleton, Michael
    This study examined the relationship between students’ participation in community service and their sense of belonging on campus. Furthermore, the study explored whether the ways in which students become involved in community service yield different associations with their sense of belonging. Using the Student Experience in the Research University survey administered to students at 12 large, public research universities in 2010, it was discovered that general participation in service and becoming involved in service through student organizations, fraternities or sororities, and university departments are positively associated with students’ sense of belonging; finding service opportunities on one’s own is negatively associated with sense of belonging.
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    What Matters for Black Students? A Question of Sense of Belonging, Campus Climate, Perceived Discrimination, Gender, and Institutional Satisfaction
    (2015-07) Dade, Shari
    In an effort to understand what matters for Black students attending predominately White educational institutions, the purpose of this study was to predict relationships among psychosocial factors, person factors, and environmental factors, and institutional satisfaction within this population. I hypothesized that Black students' sense of belonging, perceptions of campus climate for diversity and diverse perceptions, witnessed discrimination, experienced discrimination, and gender would be predictive of their institutional satisfaction. Additionally, I hypothesized there would be significant differences in Black students' sense of belonging, perceptions of campus climate, witnessed discrimination, experienced discrimination, and institutional satisfaction as a function of gender. Participants in this study were comprised of 228 Black undergraduate students who were representative of students at various stages of their undergraduate careers ranging from 1st semester (incoming) first year to 2nd semester (graduating) senior, from a Midwestern public research university. Of the participants, 43.8% (n = 74) were male, and 56.2% (n = 95) were female, with ages ranging from 18-54, and with a mean age of 21.22. Data consisted of a secondary analysis of an archival dataset. Procedures used to collect the data that were analyzed are described in this section. Data regarding social belonging, perceptions of campus climate, students' witnessed discrimination, students' experience of discrimination, and students' institutional satisfaction were measured by scales from the Diverse Learning Environments (DLE) Core Survey created by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI; http://www.heri.ucla.edu/dleoverview.php) at the University of California, Los Angeles (Hurtado & Guillermo-Wann, 2013). Results of a standard multiple regression suggested that 55% of the variance in institutional satisfaction was predicted by sense of belonging, perceptions of campus climate, witnessed discrimination, experienced discrimination, and gender; with campus climate shown to have the strongest relationship to institutional satisfaction. Results of a one-way multivariate analysis of variance revealed no significant differences in sense of belonging, perceptions of campus climate, witnessed discrimination, experienced discrimination, and institutional satisfaction by gender. In discussing and describing needed interventions, critical race theory was utilized to highlight the role race and racism plays in the experiences and perceptions of Black college students within the educational system. Limitations, implications, and recommendations for future research and practice are also outlined.