A synthesis of key concepts and literature

5. In summary

The nature of sense of belonging is well established, as are the links to student well-being and social integration, effective engagement, achievement, persistence and retention, and identifying with both their institution and identifying with and as part of their course cohort and community of peers.  The challenges of supporting and fostering a sense of belonging for online learners and in online learning contexts are beginning to be  understood, with a modest number of researchers and practitioners offering practical guidance and evidence-based recommendations relating to structured opportunities for peer-peer interaction and engagement including group work, and the need to support learners in ‘learning to learn online’.  A significant amount of work has been undertaken into online Communities of Inquiry based upon the research and writings of Garrison, and a further exploration of Garrison’s recommendations on how to “establish a feeling of belonging to the critical community that must develop over time” (Garrison 2011, p.32) is to be recommended.

As established, Thomas et al. (2014) offer useful insights into the tutor and learner perspective of online learning and SoB. This work emphasises the importance of SoB in relation to greater engagement and satisfaction with online learning, and the need for collaboration with peers to foster “a sense of camaraderie that diffused some of the isolation” (p.76) associated with online learning, to reduce anxiety, and to help students to develop and share their knowledge and ideas as part of their online community.  In the other parts of this Toolkit, particularly the case studies and also the videos, you can gain insights into how a sense of belonging was fostered and supported in a number of different discipline areas and online learning contexts. In the readings that follow, including the work cited in this short synthesis of key concepts and literature, you will find a number of sources worth exploring further if you are seeking to deepen your knowledge in relation to sense of belonging and the implications of this for higher education contexts including online learning.