College Students' Sense of Belonging: A National Perspective

In a nationally representative sample, first-year U.S. college students "somewhat agree," on average, that they feel like they belong at their school. However, belonging varies by key institutional and student characteristics; of note, racialethnic minority and first-generation students re...

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Published in:Educational researcher Vol. 49; no. 2; pp. 134 - 137
Main Authors: Gopalan, Maithreyi, Brady, Shannon T.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publishing 01.03.2020
SAGE Publications
American Educational Research Association
Subjects:
Academic Persistence
BRIEFS
College Freshmen
College students
Educational psychology
Ethnicity
First Generation College Students
Institutional Characteristics
Longitudinal Studies
Mental Health
Minority Group Students
Race
Sense of Community
Student Attitudes
Student Characteristics
Student School Relationship
Two Year College Students
disparities
underrepresented racial-ethnic minority students
regression analyses
ethnicity
race
first-generation students
mental health
college persistence
secondary data analysis
student behavior/attitude
campus engagement
belonging
descriptive analysis
postsecondary education
social context
ISSN:0013-189X, 1935-102X
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In a nationally representative sample, first-year U.S. college students "somewhat agree," on average, that they feel like they belong at their school. However, belonging varies by key institutional and student characteristics; of note, racialethnic minority and first-generation students report lower belonging than peers at 4-year schools, while the opposite is true at 2-year schools. Further, at 4-year schools, belonging predicts better persistence, engagement, and mental health even after extensive covariate adjustment. Although descriptive, these patterns highlight the need to better measure and understand belonging and related psychological factors that may promote college students' success and well-being.
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Other Authors: Shannon T. Brady, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University
Equal authorship
ISSN:0013-189X
1935-102X
DOI:10.3102/0013189x19897622