This study investigated the role of students’ sense of belonging to the university in college student retention. Sense of belonging is defined as a psychological sense that one is a valued member of the community. The authors examined whether or not sense of belonging predicted students’ intentions to persist and the effects of an intervention that was specifically designed to improve students’ sense of belonging. Sense of belonging was found to predict students’ intentions to persist, but intentions to persist declined throughout the academic year. The decline in sense of belonging, however, was smaller for students who received the intervention.
Important indicators of students’ abilities to persist include integrating socially and academically at an institution, a sense of commitment to the institution, a goal of obtaining a college degree, having a good institutional fit, having support from friends and family, and student involvement in campus activities. This study was conducted at a large, public, mid-Atlantic predominately white university.
On average, students reported a small, but statistically significant decline in sense of belonging over the academic year. This decline was associated with academic integration and parental support. Students who felt they were more academically integrated experienced an increased sense of belonging. And students who reported more parental support reported a faster decline in sense of belonging over time. This may be due to students feeling more tied to their parents and their home lives than their college experience. No individual student background characteristics were associated with institutional commitment. That being said, though, the initial status of institutional commitment was associated with peer-group interactions, peer and parental support, and sense of belonging.
In the study, African Americans and Whites who had more parental support felt a greater sense of belonging at the beginning of the academic year, but the pattern was more pronounced for African Americans. And having more peer support was associated with an increase in sense of belonging over time for African American students. Overall, students who reported more peer-group interactions, interactions with faculty, peer support, and parental support also initially felt a greater sense of belonging. The authors found it interesting that the variables associated with sense of belonging at the beginning of the year were all very social. This suggests that the early social experiences students have when they first come to college and the social support they receive during that time of transition are likely to be better indicators of initial feelings of sense of belonging than demographic characteristics or academic experiences. The study also found that how well a student adjusts to the academic environment is closely tied to their developing a sense of belonging to the college over time.
In terms of the intervention, students who received mailings and gifts that emphasized the idea that they are a valued member of the campus community experienced a less rapid decline in their sense of belonging compared to students who received no gifts or mailings.
Hausmann, L., Schofield, J., & Woods, R. (2007). Sense of belonging as a predictor of intentions to persist among african american and white first-year college students. Research In Higher Education, 48(7), 803-839.
