Recognizing the diversity in how students define belonging: evidence of differing conceptualizations, including as a function of students’ gender and socioeconomic background
dc.contributor.author | Fernández, DP | |
dc.contributor.author | Ryan, MK | |
dc.contributor.author | Begeny, CT | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2023-05-18T09:32:14Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2023-01-27 | |
dc.date.updated | 2023-05-18T07:37:52Z | |
dc.description.abstract | Sense of belonging is a fundamental human motivation and, in higher education settings, has been associated with students’ motivation and academic outcomes. However, less is known about the nuances of how students define belonging within a university context, and how their gendered and socio-economic identity-based experiences inform these definitions. Using a qualitative approach, we interviewed 36 UK university students to better understand (1) students’ definitions of belonging to university, and (2) how these conceptualizations are shaped by their experiences in terms of their gender, their socioeconomic status, and the intersection of these two identities. Interviews showed that students defined belonging in terms of social belonging. These definitions were shaped by their (a) cultural capital about university, (b) socioeconomic or gender identity experiences and (c) perceived similarity with other students. Indeed, despite the fact that students’ definitions of belonging were associated with how they have experienced belonging to university, identity-based experiences were mostly mentioned when they perceived they did not belong, which was framed as a “sense of anti-belonging”. Otherwise, students defined belonging as (a) being authentic, considering—for example—gender identity-based experiences of acceptance in university, or (b) sharing similar experiences with others, considering the importance of perceiving similarity with other students to feel they belong and, in some cases, being necessary to learn about university culture to perceive similarity with others. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in terms of how belonging conceptualisations are bound up in identity and context, opening questions about the consequences of inclusion and diversity policies in higher education. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | European Union Horizon 2020 | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Published online 27 January 2023 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-023-09761-7 | |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | 725128 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | 72200022 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/133184 | |
dc.identifier | ORCID: 0000-0003-4734-8840 (Begeny, Christopher T) | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Springer | en_GB |
dc.rights | © The Author(s) 2023. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. | en_GB |
dc.subject | Authenticity | en_GB |
dc.subject | Intersectionality | en_GB |
dc.subject | Multiple social identities | en_GB |
dc.subject | Sense of belonging | en_GB |
dc.subject | Social identity | en_GB |
dc.title | Recognizing the diversity in how students define belonging: evidence of differing conceptualizations, including as a function of students’ gender and socioeconomic background | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2023-05-18T09:32:14Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1381-2890 | |
dc.description | This is the final version. Available on open access from Springer via the DOI in this record. | en_GB |
dc.description | The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.eissn | 1573-1928 | |
dc.identifier.journal | Social Psychology of Education | en_GB |
dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | en_GB |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2023-01-09 | |
rioxxterms.version | VoR | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2023-01-09 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2023-05-18T09:23:35Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | VoR | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2023-05-18T09:32:15Z | |
refterms.panel | A | en_GB |
refterms.depositException | publishedGoldOA | |
refterms.dateFirstOnline | 2023-01-27 |
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