Creating a sense of belonging for your students
When students feel a sense of belonging, it can affect their motivation, academic success and well-being. This guide provides some tips to help you improve BAME students sense of belonging at MyAV·¶.
27 April 2020
Goodenow (1993a) defines belonging in educational environments as:
âstudentsâ sense of being accepted, valued, included and encouraged by others (teacher and peers) in the academic classroom setting and of feeling oneself to be an important part of the life and activity of the class. More than simple perceived liking or warmth, it also involves support and respect for personal autonomy and for the student as an individualâ. (p.25)
Whilst belonging is defined in a number of ways, many scholars agree that a sense of belonging is critical to studentsâ academic motivation, success and well-being (Osterman 2000, Newman 1991, Goodenow 1993b).
The Race Equality Charter (REC) Student Survey (2018) found that 83% of BAME students agreed, the ethnic and racial diversity of MyAV·¶ impacts on their sense of belonging.Â
The BAME Awarding Gap Project conducted one-one interviews with students in the 2018-19 academic year. Students were asked what the concept of belonging means to them, responses included:
- âI think it means, like, being comfortable, feeling like not out of placeâ
- âBelonging for me is like identifying with a groupâŠand feeling like I can talk to the group and feeling like itâs natural, like a natural communication rather than a forced communicationâ
- "It means being accepting of difference"
See more student views in the Students perspectives section of this page.
Why is creating a sense of belonging important?
It is associated with academic success and motivationÂ
Research indicates a sense of belonging is positively associated with academic success and motivation (Freeman, Anderman and Jensen 2007).Â
Students who feel they belong are more likely to see the value of required work and have higher self-belief in their chances to succeed on their course (Verschelden 2017).Â
Becker and Luthar (2002) found this is especially important for the performance of adolescents coming from ethnic minority and lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
It affects studentsâ well-being
Empirical studies have linked perceptions of school and campus belonging to positive psychological outcomes, including positive emotions, feelings of self-worth and social acceptance (Pittman and Richmond 2007, Wilson et al. 2015).Â
More broadly, Maslow (1968) found that proper, adequate and timely satisfaction of the need for belonging leads to physical, emotional, behavioural and mental well-being.
It influences prospective students choice of university
Winter and Chapleo (2017) explored prospective students reasons for choosing one university above another.Â
They found a universityâs ability to create a sense of a belonging was critical in the decision-making process.
Tips for fostering a sense of belonging
A selection of practical tips are provided to help you improve BAME students sense of belonging at MyAV·¶.
Additional guidance, tips and resources are provided in the full PDF guide.
These include:
- Expose students to potential role models from BAME backgrounds
- Model inclusive behaviour and attitudes
- Host inclusive events from the outset
- Facilitate the development of positive teacher-student relationships
- Facilitate the development of positive peer relationships
1. Expose students to potential role models from BAME backgrounds
Research by Arday (2015) shows that a university environment with few or no BAME professors, senior leaders or academics risks isolating BAME students.Â
Research also suggests that increased staff diversity, among both academic and support staff might make BAME students more likely to engage in pastoral and academic support (Dhanda 2009).
Therefore, where possible, ensure some teaching is delivered by BAME academics. If no in-house staff are available, invite guest lecturers from a BAME background.
Example from MyAVᦉs Inclusive Curriculum Health Check: Medical Sciences and Engineering
âExtra-curricular lectures are scheduled in each term and are delivered by external industry experts and a clinician-scientist from a BAME background to provide students with positive role models.â
2. Model inclusive behaviour and attitudes
Ambrose et al. (2010) assert that âmodelling inclusiveness can provide a powerful learning experience for all studentsâ (p.183).Â
For example, avoid using idioms as these may be unfamiliar to students who do not speak English as their first language.Â
Try to use language which acknowledges different lived experiences, for example, you could say âfor those of you who have studied abroad/read âXâ author/seen âxâ documentaryâ.Â
3. Host inclusive events from the outset
Thomas et al. (2017) propose that belonging begins at induction, presenting a âlogic chainâ linking induction activities to student retention and success.
They suggest that induction activities should have âan explicit academic focusâ and âenable students to get to know each other and members of the academic teamâ (p.17).
Avoid only hosting activities which may exclude groups of students; for example, evening events such as networking over drinks maybe alienating to students who do not drink or commute long distances.
4. Facilitate the development of positive teacher-student relationships
Research indicates positive teacher-student relationships contribute to:
- studentsâ sense of belonging (Burke et al. 2016);
- motivation (Zepke and Leach, 2010);
- achievement and intellectual development (Halawah, 2006); andÂ
- commitment (Strauss and Volkwein, 2004).Â
Moreover, âthe more often students have out-of-classroom interactions (e.g. office visits) with their university teachers, the better the quality of the relationship and the more connected the students to the universityâ (Hagenauer and Volet, 2014 p.373).
However, research also shows there are differences in how students from different ethnic groups engage with their teachers.Â
Stevenson (2012) carried out study exploring the link between attainment and studentsâ views of their future possible selves.
The study found âWhite students were the most strategic and purposeful in their academic help-seeking approaches and most likely to draw on all forms of support, including from their lecturersâŠspending significant time talking to and working with their lecturersâ (p.108 -109).
In contrast, BAME students devised strategies for âgetting byâ without direct contact with lecturers, for example, by trying to cope alone or through peers.Â
Appreciate there may be cultural differences in how students perceive and act on seeking help and support.Â
Encourage all students to interact with academic staff through establishing positive norms around this behaviour from the outset (i.e. induction).Â
Also provide opportunities (in addition to office hours) for students to develop relationships with teaching staff in the faculty i.e. department coffee mornings and encourage student attendance.
5. Facilitate the development of positive peer relationships
(2012) funded several projects designed to investigate and improve student engagement, belonging, retention and success.Â
Findings showed that staff can play an important role in encouraging and facilitating the development of positive peer relationships through âintegrating social elements into academic programmesâ, for example, through:
- field trips;
- collaborative teaching and learning; andÂ
- opt-out peer mentoring (p.52).Â
This is particularly important as some students may not have opportunities to develop friendships in other settings, for example, students who spend less time on campus, like commuter students and/or students with work and family commitments.Â
Evidence from What Works? shows that strong peer relationships not only promote studentsâ sense of belonging, but also their confidence as learners, academic integration and motivation to study and succeed (p.49).
The student perspective
Views from MyAV·¶ students
âI donât feel represented at all in this university, in terms of the systems and the people that go to this university.â Challenge Consultancy, focus group
âI wouldnât apply for a job in academia or for a PhD as I donât feel I belong in the community.â MyAV·¶âs Race Equality Charter (REC) Student SurveyÂ
âContrary to the LGBT staff, who are visible and hold meetings and events. I personally do not know any BME faculty and that says something.â BAME Awarding Gap Project, focus group
âMyself and fellow minority ethnic students were engaging in a debate on terms of our own lived experiences of belonging to a social minority group and how symbolic representation mattered to us. We found it frustrating that our lecturer seemed to explain away or somewhat disregard the relevance of our perceptions.â REC Student Survey
âOdd cycle from first to third year where there are moments when you do fit in and moments when you donât and the ones where you donât are more frequent and isolating.â BAME Awarding Gap Project, focus group
Views from other students in the sector
âMy perspective is valued only because I mirror whiteness, in my mannerisms, my spoken voice and choice of words. Thatâs why people value my perspective. Because of my performance.â BME Attainment Gap Report, Bristol SU
âIn terms of feeling at home within LSE, Iâm a bit concerned... in the whole department, we all have only one African professor, someone who was born in Africa, someone who understands Africa, someone who has written about Africa.â Understanding the Attainment Gap at LSE
âI did not fully enjoy my 4 years at SOAS, it was very isolating. There seems to be a underlyingâŠrace issue that I canât pinpoint, this feeling that youâll never belong here.â Degrees of Freedom, SOAS
âOften times Iâd modify the words I use or my accent to my âwhite voiceâ to make people feel more comfortable. My parents purposefully gave me a white name at birth to give me more opportunities as an adult.â Insider-Outsider, The Role of Race in Shaping the Experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic Students at Goldsmiths
âI have only seen one black lecturer and there are only 5 black people on my course. Sometimes, I feel a bit lost because I do not see people that look like me very often⊠but if I do see a fellow black student I feel happy for some reason.â BME Attainment Gap Report, Bristol SU
Resources
A full list of resources is available in the full PDF guide.
Resources to help close the awarding gap on the project website also has many more resources and further reading.
This guide has been produced by the BAME Awarding Gap Project for the MyAV·¶ Arena Centre for Research-based Education toolkits. You are welcome to use this guide if you are from another educational facility, but you must credit the project.âŻ