LIU Mei Hui1*, YONG Lai Cheng2, and CHNG Shu Sin3
1Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Science (FOS)
2Department of Mathematics, FOS
3Science Dean’s Office, FOS
Liu, M. H., Yong, L. C., & Chng, S. S. (2024). A sense of belonging – What it means to Science students [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Conference in Singapore (HECS) 2024, 3 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecs/hecs2024-liu-et-al/
SUB-THEME
Opportunities from Wellbeing
KEYWORDS
Belonging, community, mentorship
CATEGORY
Paper Presentation
INTRODUCTION
Learning environments within the university can facilitate social interactions and collaborations, and that formal and informal interactions in such spaces are related to an increased sense of belonging (Peacock & Cowan, 2019). A greater sense of belonging also correlates to better wellbeing and mental health outcomes (Gopalan et al., 2022). While there are several definitions to what a sense of belonging is, Van Ryzin’s (2011) concept of belonging as the perception of support students receive from their peers and teachers highlights the importance of meaningful interactions in a student’s education experience.
Despite the value, understanding what affects a student’s sense of belonging, especially in the Asian context (Tambyah & Mukhopadhyay, 2018), is limited. Students spend the majority of their time at the university to learn in spaces where they also interact with teachers and faculty staff. However, we are unclear how different types of interactions in these spaces may influence a student’s sense of belonging. Therefore, our research questions are as follows:
- What are the types of student-teacher/staff interactions within the faculty that may contribute to students’ sense of belonging?
- What are other factors that contribute to students’ sense of belonging to the faculty?
METHODOLOGY
In 2022, graduating students from the Faculty of Science (FOS) were invited to participate in an exit survey. The graduating cohort were students who underwent in-person learning in Years 1 and 2 (pre-COVID) and online/hybrid learning in Years 3 and 4 (COVID). The exit survey consists of a series of questions related to their experience in the university, and the questions analysed here are a subset of questions in the whole survey. Both quantitative and qualitative data relevant to our research question were analysed. A total of 125 unique respondents were collected and this represents 12.9% of the graduating cohort. There were respondents representing every department and programme in FOS.
RESULTS
Students were asked to rate, on a scale of 1 to 5, their sense of belonging to their Department. Among the respondents, 82 (64.6%) of the respondents rated their sense of belonging to be 3 and above. Next, all respondents were categorised into five groups according to their response to this question and further differentiated according to their response to three additional questions related to student-teacher interaction (Table 1). Their responses were counted and reported as a percentage within each group. In all groups, there was a high percentage of students (77-100%) who reported to have at least one person at NUS who made them excited about learning. However, less than 50% of students who rated 1 or 2 for their sense of belonging reported that they had someone who provided “value-add” beyond the classroom or have a mentor to guide them.
Table 1
Percentage of student responses to three statements within each subgroup of students who rated, from a scale of 1 to 5, for a sense of belonging. Red fonts represent percentages below 50% for ‘Yes”
Students were further asked to explain their rating for the question on sense of belonging. When the responses of low raters and high raters were compared, several themes with contrasting comments between the two groups of raters were identified (Table 2).
Table 2
Thematic analysis of student qualitative response
CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE
Our quantitative results suggest that having good teachers in the classroom may not be sufficient for students to have a sense of belonging with their learning spaces. Meaningful forms of interactions beyond the classroom are required to further cultivate this belonging. Our qualitative data further show that students look for a supportive environment of peers and teachers where they can feel connected and a belonging to a part of a community. Students also recognised the impact of the COVID pandemic on their sense of belonging. Students’ sense of belonging to their learning environment can be influenced by a number of factors, including student-teacher interactions or circumstantial changes like COVID-19 (Dost & Smith, 2023). Understanding the factors which affects the sense of belonging for our students can inform future strategies to enhance this quality, beyond only relying on resources that directly improve wellbeing.
REFERENCES
Gopalan, M., Linden-Carmichael, A., & Lanza, S. (2022). College students’ sense of belonging and mental health amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Adolescent Health 70(2): 228–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.10.010
Dost, G., & Smith, L M. (2023). Understanding higher education students’ sense of belonging: A qualitative meta-ethnographic analysis. Journal of Further and Higher Education 47(6), 822-849. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2023.2191176
Tambyah, S. K., & Mukhopadhyay, K. (2018). Belonging, engagement and growth: Evaluating learning outcomes of a residential college in the Asian context. Asian Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 8(2), 201-222. https://ctlt.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/pdf_pastissuenov2018_article3_tambyah-kankana-1.pdf
Peacock, S., & Cowan, J. (2019). Promoting sense of belonging in online learning communities of inquiry in accredited courses. Online Learning, 23(2), 67–81. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i2.1488
Van Ryzin, M. J. (2011). Protective factors at school: Reciprocal effects among adolescents’ perceptions of the school environment, engagement in learning, and hope. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(12), 1568–1580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9637-7