www.le.ac.uk

What makes students feel they belong at University?

University of Leicester Student Retention and Success Project

Craig BartleKine Dorum

Martin Pennington

Workshop plan1. Background2. What does ‘belonging’ mean?3. Overview of research data so far4. Discussion in context of own

institutions5. Finish

Background to the project at Leicester• Leicester has a high retention rate, a high

widening participation rate, and consistently high scores in the NSS

• Students feel ‘a belonging to the institution and/or department’ and place importance on ‘the intimacy of the institution and its staff’

• The project aims to identify what lies behind these statements, and to explore and evaluate the practices that might foster these responses

Methodology used• Questionnaire survey of 1st Year students

in two contrasting colleges: oMedicine, Biological Sciences and

PsychologyoArts, Humanities and Law

• In-depth follow-up interviews with students from both colleges

• Examining data from a Student Experience Project based on students’ own video diaries

What is ‘belonging’?• That which is connected with a principal or

greater thing; an appendage; an appurtenance

(Websters, 1913) • Acceptance as a natural member or part

(The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2009)

• Happiness felt in a secure relationship (‘…with his classmates he felt a sense of belonging…’)

(Wordnet, Princeton, 2010)

What do you think?• Think of three words that you would

associate with belonging in the context of students and higher education

• Discuss these with your neighbour• Between you, agree on two words to share

with the rest of the group

Some important concepts• Persistence

Student-initiated decisions to stay (background; interaction within institution; environment; attitudes; intentions)

• RetentionReporting or tracking indicator from institutional perspective (student interaction with institution’s organisational, academic and social systems)

• EngagementTime and effort students put into study and other activities (educational, philosophical and pedagogical perspectives)

Quantitative analyses• 1st year survey (N = 370)• Four parts

i) Importance of various factorsii) Attitudes iii) Satisfaction with choiceiv) Sense of belonging

• Demographic data and social/academic background

‘Sense of Belonging’?• Starting point

- What does it mean as a construct?- Pragmatic approach/definition- Based on previous scales (e.g. Hagerty & Patusky, 1995)

• Scale from 0 – 7

Emerging findings• Three main groups of factors rated as

important:1. Social factors (e.g. friends, family)2. Academic factors (e.g. department, staff)3. External factors (e.g. facilities, events)

• Complex pattern of relationships and interactions between the different factors- direct effects- directional relationships (prediction)

Layered model• Importance factors

(social, academic, external)• Satisfaction

Attitudes (social, academic)

• Sense of belonging

Predictions about sense of belonging can be made based on students’ attitudes to social and academic aspects, and also what they view as the most important aspects of university life

‘Feeding’ into the modelExternal variables• Background

(social, academic, cultural)• Demographic details

(age group, sex, disability)• Academic

(college, department, mode of study)• Social/peer groups

(friends from home/university, clubs, online friends, housemates)

• Other personal details (finances, dependants, working hours/patterns, living arrangements)

Persistence

Success

Example: effects and predictions

Starting point:White 1st year student

Socio-economic status

High: emphasises social aspects

Low: emphasises external aspects

Lives on campus

Lives off campus

Satisfaction with choice of course/university

Attitudes to social and academic aspectsSense of belonging

“I’d looked round a few medical schools and when I came to Leicester it had what I can only refer to as a real family feel... Everybody I spoke to was very open and saying how great the University was. Lots of people were talking about the great social life and at the same time I could see that in the league table listings it was relatively high. It was a combination of all those things that made Leicester my first choice”

 (First year student interviewee)

Social

Asp

ects

Academ

ic & Cou

rse R

elate

d

Accom

modat

ion

Exte

rnal

Support

Support f

rom U

niversi

ty0%

10%20%30%40%50% 46%

28%

12% 12%2%

What factors, people or influences have enabled you to feel settled (or otherwise) at the University of

Leicester? (n=633)

Series1

Influential Areas

Perc

enta

ge o

f Res

pons

es

Social Aspects • Making Friends‘Having a good circle of friends is absolutely crucial to settling in at the

University. In a strange environment away from home it helps you to feel less isolated and makes the transition away from home so much easier’

(Questionnaire Respondent)

• Socialising‘Socialising was the key because it helped me make friends and feel

more comfortable in Leicester’ (Questionnaire Respondent)

• Taking part in activities, events, clubs and societies‘I had a lot of trouble fitting in during the first term going between

social groups. There was nobody here I actually liked or got on with. I found a kind of reject society that was kind of like me which made all the difference’

(Discussion with Video Diary Participant, Biological Sciences)

Academic and course-related• Staff and tutors‘Some of the academic staff are fantastic. One lecturer said if you have

any problems email me or if you want group tuition or even one to one tuition I’m happy to come in and organise a session... That level of commitment is fantastic’ (First year student interviewee)

• Course structure and content‘The amount of structure on my course is very good. The learning

resources are very good. One of my lecturers even records his lectures and podcasts them. When it comes to revision there are loads of resources to pull on’

(First year student interviewee)

• Induction processes‘The first few introductory lectures really helped me to settle into what

was going on. Fresher’s week was more the social side of things, dividing people into clubs they’re going to enjoy’ (First year student interviewee)

0%

10%

20%

30% 28%

17%

5% 3% 2% 2% 2%

13%8%

1%8%

0%6%

0%

Please list up to 3 things you like and 3 things you don't like about the University of Leicester (n=1439)

Like Dislike

Areas referred to by comments

Perc

enta

ge o

f Res

pons

es

Staff and Tutors Course structure and content

Resources0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

19%

24% 25%

3%

24%

4%

What students like and dislike about academic and course related issues (n=580)

Like Dislike

Perc

enta

ge o

f res

pons

es

There are multiple factors influencing students’ satisfaction with university life which in turn influence their self-reported sense of belonging

‘I like having a separation between home and campus so I can go home to relax. I like the fact that the campus is quite small so it’s easy to get around wherever you need to be and I like the big green bit by the Fielding Johnson building’

‘If I’m having any problems I can email the lecturers and they will get back to me the same day which is really helpful and if they can’t help they will forward the email on to someone who can’

‘The big information book you are sent about the University before starting details every aspect you need to know about coming’

‘I doubt my work group would have come together if we hadn’t been put together as we are very different characters so there’s a weird dynamic there but the forced environment works and that’s really nice’

So what?• A more complex relationship between

contributory factors and ‘belonging’ than might be assumed

• Not all interventions will work with all students - different strokes for different folks

• Which interventions have the greatest impact?

• Which are still worth doing for other reasons e.g. equality?

What works in your institution?In groups of about four, discuss:1. What might be the implications of this

research for your own institution?2. What does your institution already do to

encourage a sense of belonging in its students?

3. Be prepared to share one or two of the ideas from 2. with the whole group.

More information about the project• Project website:http://www.le.ac.uk/offices/ssds/projects/student-retention-project

• Project blog:http://studentretention.wordpress.com

Thank you