A synthesis of key concepts and literature
A sense of belonging (SoB) is a recognised and valued concept in education, associated with increased student attainment, improved learner satisfaction and lowered attrition rates (O’Keefe, 2013). Widely accepted as a key indicator of and contributing factor to successful social integration within educational contexts (Tinto, 1993), a ‘sense of belonging’ is supported and developed through perceived and experienced feelings of social support, connectedness, and ‘mattering’ (Strayhorn, 2012). Some scholars, including the aforementioned, assert that learners are unable to fulfil to their full personal potential the academic and wider developmental opportunities offered through higher education without acquiring a SoB early in their engagement. Learners with a SoB are usually more motivated, more engaged with their studies and, reflecting the link between belonging and identity, have a strong belief that they can and will achieve (Matheson & Sutcliffe, 2017; Meehan & Howells, 2018). It is widely accepted nowadays that a SoB should be generated purposefully in order to address learners’ well-documented feelings of isolation, marginalisation, alienation and loneliness. Researchers (especially those in the US, such as Ostermann (2000), and Freeman et al. (2007)), have reported findings for campus-based learners confirming a link between SoB and improved academic engagement and achievement, heightened self-confidence and self-efficacy.
These outcomes may also be the experience of learners in any online learning environment, and indeed are desirable for them. However, online learning differs significantly from traditional classroom-based learning. The digital learning space is not contained within walls, and defined seating arrangements are replaced by informal discussion fora brought electronically to the learners’ personal spaces. Academic staff are not always present in person, with inputs now commonly offered as pre-recorded inputs on video. Enrolment, course choice and assignments are all processed digitally. In particular, the formal and informal face-to-face contacts with peers and tutors, which have been found to contribute so much to the development of relationships on campus on which a sense of belonging is founded (Simpson, 2003; Strayhorn, 2012; Tinto, 1993;), are rare and not as naturally occurring online. This raises a critical issue concerning the availability and facilitation of equivalent kinds of formal and informal interactions in the online context (Martinez, 2003; Muse, 2003; Thomas et al, 2014). Thus online learning, especially in the initial stages, calls upon learners (and particularly those new to online study) to be orientated towards and prepared for handling academic procedure and forms of engagement with peers, tutors and resources in new ways, including learning to study online and understanding the nature and challenges of ‘being’ and ‘belonging’ online.6. References
Carruthers Thomas, K. (2019) Rethinking Student Belonging in Higher Education: From Bourdieu to Borderlands. London: Routledge
Freeman, T., Anderman, L. & Jensen, J. (2007) ‘Sense of Belonging in College Freshmen at the Classroom and Campus Levels’, The Journal of Experimental Education, 75(3): 203-220, DOI: 10.3200/JEXE.75.3.203-220
Garrison, D. R. (2011). E-learning in the 21st century: A Community of Inquiry framework for research and practice (2nd Ed.). New York: Routledge
- (2017). E-learning in the 21st century: A Community of Inquiry framework for research and practice (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge
Garrison is rightly regarded as the guru of Community of Inquiry learning online. The content of his writings contains more than that, and almost implicitly assumes that online learners should have a sense of belonging. We recommend both editions of his seminal work.
Goodenow (1993a) ‘Classroom Belonging among Early Adolescent Students: Relationships to Motivation and Achievement’. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 13(1), 21–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431693013001002
- (1993b) ‘The psychological sense of school membership among adolescents: Scale development and educational correlates’. Psychology in the Schools, 30(1): 79-90. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6807
Greenland, S. J., & Moore, C. (2014). Patterns of Student Enrolment and Attrition in Australian Open Access Online Education: A Preliminary Case Study. Open Praxis, 6(1), 45-54.
Hausmann, L., Ye, F., Schofield, J., & Woods, R.(2009) ‘Sense of belonging and persistence in white and African American first-year students’. Research in Higher Education, 50(7), 649-669.
Significant work in the United States, exploring the importance of SoB for students who perceive themselves as marginal to campus life, such as learners who are non-traditional according to class, race, ethnicity, sexual identity, income and disability.
Hoffman, M., Richmond, J., Morrow, J., & Salomone, K. (2002-2003). ‘Investigating “Sense of belonging” in first-year college students’. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 4(3), 227-256.
Hurtado, S. & Carter, D. (1997) ‘Effects of College Transition and Perceptions of the Campus Racial Climate on Latino College Students' Sense of Belonging’, Sociology of Education, 70(4): 324-345.
Johnson, D., Alvarez, P., Longerbeam, S., Soldner, M., Inkelas, K., Leonard, J., & Rowan-Kenyon, H. (2007) ‘Examining sense of belonging among first-year undergraduates from different racial/ethnic groups’. Journal of College Student Development, 48(5): 525-542.
Locks, A., Hurtado, S., Bowman, N., Oseguera, L. (2008) ‘Extending Notions of Campus Climate and Diversity to Students' Transition to College’, Review of Higher Education, 31(3):257-285.
Maestas, R., Vaquera, G. S., & Zehr, L. M. (2007). Factors Impacting Sense of Belonging at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 6(3), 237–256. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192707302801
Maslow (1962) Toward a psychology of being Princeton, NJ, US: D Van Nostrand
Matheson, R. & Sutcliffe, M. (2017) ‘Creating belonging and transformation through the adoption of flexible pedagogies in masters level international business management students’, Teaching in Higher Education, 22(1): 15-29, DOI: 10.1080/13562517.2016.1221807
Meehan, C. & Howells, K. (2018) In search of the feeling of ‘belonging’ in higher education: undergraduate students transition into higher education, Journal of Further and Higher Education, DOI: 10.1080/0309877X.2018.1490702
Martinez, M. (2003) High attrition rates in e-learning: challenges, predictors, and solutions. The E-learning Developers Journal, July 14th issue, 1-9.
Muse Jr., H.E. (2003) The web-based community college student: an examination of factors that lead to success and risk. Internet and Higher Education, 6(3), 241 - 261.
Moore, C., & Greenland, S. (2017) Employment-driven online student attrition and the
assessment policy divide: An Australian open-access higher education perspective. Journal
of Open, Flexible and Distance Learning, 21(1), 52–62.
O'Keeffe, P. (2013) A sense of belonging: Improving student retention, College Student Journal, 47(4), 605-613.
Osterman, K. (2000). ‘Students' need for belonging in the school community’. Review of Educational Research, 70(3), 323-367.
Significant work in the United States, exploring the importance of SoB for students who perceive themselves as marginal to campus life, such as learners who are non-traditional according to class, race, ethnicity, sexual identity, income and disability
Palloff, R.M. & Pratt, K. (2003) The virtual student: a profile and guide to working with online learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Rovai, A.P., (2003) In search of higher persistence rates in distance education online programs, Internet and Higher Education, 6(1), 1-16.
Simpson, O. (2003). Student retention in online, open and distance learning. London: Kogan Page.
Strayhorn, T. (2012). College students' sense of belonging: A key to educational success for all students. Oxford: Routledge.
Thomas, L. (2012a) Building student engagement and belonging in Higher Education at a time of change: final report from the What Works? Student Retention & Success programme (Phase 1). York: Higher Education Academy. Available at: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/what_works_final_report.pdf
- (2012b) Building student engagement and belonging in Higher Education at a time of change: a summary of findings and recommendations from the What Works? Student Retention & Success programme (Phase 1). York: Higher Education Academy. Available at:
The UK What Works programme has been highly influential in our understanding of Sense of Belonging. As Carruthers Thomas states, this work “broke new ground in moving the focus away from the individual student and towards universities’ obligations to their students” (2019, p.12). There were two phases to the project with these initial phases concluding that institutions have an ethical obligation to support all learners to succeed and that retention programmes are for all rather than being targeted at specific groups. In addition, institutions should “nurture a sense of belonging in order to maximise student retention and success” (2012, p.70).
Thomas, L., Herbert, J., and Teras, M. (2014) ‘A sense of belonging to enhance, participation, success and retention in online programs’. The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education. 5(2), 69-80.
From this research, based upon 50 interviews and six focus groups, Thomas and colleagues provide some useful insights into the tutor and student perspective of sense of belonging and online learning. From the tutors’ perspective, it was acknowledged that fostering a SoB was a challenging task especially when trying to encourage learners to become part of a community through online discussions. It was generally felt that, when tutors adapted their programme and reviewed aspects of their teaching to promote learner SoB through the course structure, student satisfaction increased. Such changes included embedding collaboration into assessment since it encouraged social interactions and SoB. Virtual classrooms through Adobe Connect or Blackboard Collaborate were also valued by learners in the promotion of Sense of Belonging.
Thomas, L., Hill, M., O' Mahony, J., Yorke, M. (2017) Supporting student success: strategies for institutional change. What Works? Student Retention & Success programme- Phase 2 Final Report. York: Higher Education Academy. Available at: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/hub/download/what_works_2_-_summary_report.pdf
Tinto, V. (1993) Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition. Second Edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Tovar, E. & Simon, M. (2010) ‘Factorial Structure and Invariance Analysis of the Sense of Belonging Scales’ Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 43(3): 199-217. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0748175610384811
Vaccaro, A., Daly-Cano, M., & Newman, B. M. (2015). ‘A sense of belonging among college students with disabilities: An emergent theoretical model’. Journal of College Student Development, 56(7).
Significant work in the United States, exploring the importance of SoB for students who perceive themselves as marginal to campus life, such as learners who are non-traditional according to class, race, ethnicity, sexual identity, income and disability
Vaccaro, A. & Newman, B.M. (2017) ‘A sense of belonging through the eyes of first-year LGBPQ students’. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 54(2): 137-149. DOI: 10.1080/19496591.2016.1211533
Whittaker, A. (2015). Effects of Team-Based Learning on Self-Regulated Online Learning. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 12 (1), 1 – 10: DOIi:10.1515/ijnes-2014-0046.
Yoo, S. & Huang, W. (2013) ‘Engaging Online Adult Learners in Higher Education: Motivational Factors Impacted by Gender, Age, and Prior Experiences’, The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 61:3: 151-164, DOI: 10.1080/07377363.2013.836823