TY - JOUR

T1 - Students’ sense of belonging and their socio-economic status in higher education: a quantitative approach

AU - Ahn, Mi Young

AU - Davis, Howard

PY - 2023/2

Y1 - 2023/2

N2 - This study aims to explore the main aspects of sense of belonging, including academic and social engagement, life satisfaction, thoughts of leaving university, demographic characteristics and socio-economic status by applying quantitative measurement. Having considered the concepts of disadvantaged or non-traditional groups deployed in previous studies, a survey questionnaire was designed to investigate how certain factors are related to students’ belonging. Statistical analysis of data from 380 participants reveals that students’ sense of belonging and retention are crucially influenced by both academic engagement and social engagement, but independently. This study also addresses a lack of research about how the critical factors for disadvantage operate to determine belonging and retention in higher education. The findings should prompt a re-evaluation what we consider to be the sources of ‘disadvantage’, such as social class, age and ethnicity.

AB - This study aims to explore the main aspects of sense of belonging, including academic and social engagement, life satisfaction, thoughts of leaving university, demographic characteristics and socio-economic status by applying quantitative measurement. Having considered the concepts of disadvantaged or non-traditional groups deployed in previous studies, a survey questionnaire was designed to investigate how certain factors are related to students’ belonging. Statistical analysis of data from 380 participants reveals that students’ sense of belonging and retention are crucially influenced by both academic engagement and social engagement, but independently. This study also addresses a lack of research about how the critical factors for disadvantage operate to determine belonging and retention in higher education. The findings should prompt a re-evaluation what we consider to be the sources of ‘disadvantage’, such as social class, age and ethnicity.

KW - Sense of belonging

KW - disadvantage

KW - engagement

KW - higher education

KW - questionnaire

KW - retention

U2 - 10.1080/13562517.2020.1778664

DO - 10.1080/13562517.2020.1778664

M3 - Article

VL - 28

SP - 136

EP - 149

JO - Teaching in Higher Education

JF - Teaching in Higher Education

SN - 1356-2517

IS - 1

ER -