Place Meaning, Sense of Belonging, and Personalization Among University Students in Turkey

‘To learn about X, observe what happens to the system when X is removed.’ What happens to the higher education student experience when, during a pandemic, so many of the avenues for building a sense of belonging are radically and fundamentally disrupted? How should we respond as individuals, a collective and a sector, to redress this? The national student survey data in Australia has highlighted a significant drop in learner engagement and their sense of belonging as a result of the pandemic. Indeed, the pandemic has been a significant point of anxiety for students, educators, and universities globally. We see the pandemic as a unique opportunity to critically examine belongingness among university students in a climate where their normal avenues to feel they belong need to establish a new kind of normal. In this article, we seek to articulate what can be learned from the pandemic experience about student belongingness and what instructors can do to improve it, even under difficult circumstances. We found opportunities to strengthen a students’ sense of belonging in online environments, when necessary, and how responses within the constraints of lockdown and emergency remote teaching can still support student success.

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A qualitative exploration of young female Muslims’ perspectives of abortion and belonging following the 2018 Irish Abortion Referendum

10.31234/osf.io/s5xhu ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yumna Agha ◽

Keith Gaynor

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Sense Of Belonging ◽

Religious Beliefs ◽

Minority Groups ◽

Young Female ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Religious Minority ◽

Open Questions ◽

National Debate ◽

The Impact

Background: In 2018, Ireland conducted a referendum, ultimately supporting the legalisation of abortion. Views of religious minority groups can go unheard “by an insensitive majority” in national cultural debates. This study explores female Muslim university students’ perspectives on abortion and the impact of the national debate on their sense of belonging within Ireland. Methodology: Ten female Muslim university students completed semi-structured interviews. The interview comprised seven open questions examining perspectives on abortion and sense of belonging. A thematic analysis was carried out on the data.Results: Seven major themes emerged: (1) Particular Circumstances, (2) Islam, (3) Family, (4) Misuse of new laws, (5) Sense of belonging, (6) Consequences of traditional laws, and (7) Premarital sex. Participants were largely supportive of the legal changes, as it was in-line with their religious beliefs. Participants indicated that sense of belonging would have been affected if their religious beliefs had conflicted with the referendum outcome. Conclusions: Participants were largely supportive of the legalising of abortion in Ireland provided that the new laws were in line with their Islamic beliefs. Despite an increasingly liberal outcome of the 2018 Irish referendum, it was found that young Muslim women’s sense of belonging to Ireland was not affected

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Young People in the Age of Crisis. Discovering Patterns of Change in Cosmopolitanism and Attitudes towards Europe/European Union among University Students in Southern Italy

Youth and Globalization ◽

10.1163/25895745-00101007 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 138-165

Author(s):

Massimo Pendenza ◽

Dario Verderame

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Young People ◽

University Students ◽

Sense Of Belonging ◽

Southern Italy ◽

The European Union ◽

The Social ◽

European Crisis ◽

The Eu

Since 2008, the European crisis, in its many forms, has brought about an increase in inequality and has loosened the social bonds between EU citizens. It is the young who have been hit hardest by the consequences of the crisis, as much in the short term as in the long term. One would reasonably expect the European crisis to have affected young people’s sense of belonging to Europe and to the EU. We will deal with this issue from the perspective of cosmopolitanism. In particular, this article, based on data from two surveys conducted in 2014 and 2018 among young university students in southern Italy, will attempt to ascertain whether the crisis is the background for young people’s changed ‘cosmopolitan openness’ (their sense of belonging and attitude to other people), their ideas about Europe, and the depth and manner of their support for the EU; it looks at those dimensions, both jointly and separately, bringing out the finer points. While cosmopolitan feelings and support for the EU do not seem to have changed to any great extent among the young people interviewed, they are far from presenting a homogeneous group as regards their views on diversity, Europe, and their support for the European Union.

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Examining associations between university students' mobile social media use, online self-presentation, social support and sense of belonging

Aslib Journal of Information Management ◽

10.1108/ajim-08-2019-0202 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 72 (3) ◽

pp. 321-338 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Hua Pang

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Social Media ◽

University Students ◽

Psychosocial Development ◽

Sense Of Belonging ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Self Presentation ◽

Content Type ◽

Social Use ◽

Recreational Use

PurposeThe primary objectives of the article are to systematically investigate the effects of differentiated functions of WeChat use (social use and recreational use) on university students' online self-presentation, social support and sense of belonging.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from a web-based survey on a sample of 485 university students in mainland China. Correlation analyses and structural equation modeling (SEM) were implemented to address the corresponding hypotheses.FindingsThe results demonstrate that the social use of WeChat is positively related to online self-presentation, whereas recreational use is unrelated to such behavior. Additionally, the findings verify that online self-presentation is a significant predictor of both social support and sense of belonging. Furthermore, online self-presentation could mediate the influence of social use of WeChat on social support and sense of belonging.Research limitations/implicationsTheoretically, the study represents an initial effort to elucidate the joint impact of differentiated functions of WeChat use and online self-presentation on social support and sense of belonging. Practically, these findings identify the crucial mediation role of online self-presentation in assisting individuals to acquire social support and promote sense of belonging.Originality/valueAlthough mobile social media has brought dramatic revolutions in interaction and interpersonal behaviors, the empirically studies regarding the potential influences of its utilization are equivocal. These outcomes may shed meaningful light on the comprehending of unique characteristics of WeChat communication and how it could impact people's psychosocial development in the digital era.

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Evaluation of a Questionnaire Measuring University Students’ Sense of Belonging to and Involvement in a Biology Department

CBE—Life Sciences Education ◽

10.1187/cbe.19-09-0166 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. ar27

Author(s):

Eva Knekta ◽

Kyriaki Chatzikyriakidou ◽

Melissa McCartney

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Sense Of Belonging ◽

Validity Evidence ◽

Biology Department ◽

Instrument Measuring ◽

Home Department

The article presents an instrument measuring university students’ sense of belonging to and involvement in their "home" department (biology), as well as initial validity evidence supporting the proposed use of the instrument.

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On the Mathematical Narration by Trans-Spectrum University Students

Teaching and Learning Excellence through Scholarship ◽

10.52938/tales.v1i1.1359 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Cody J. Cassiday

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Sense Of Belonging ◽

Lived Experiences ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Gender Binary ◽

Math Attitudes ◽

Dichotomous Variable ◽

Affective Variables ◽

Narrative Methodology ◽

Gender Specific

More than 80 years of literature support the idea that math attitudes and experiences differ by gender. However, such research treats gender as a simple and dichotomous variable, which it is not. As such, our understandings of math affective variables are completely dominated by a cisgender narrative and a false gender binary. In particular, I argue that it is important to research the lived experiences in the math classroom and the sense of belonging felt by trans-spectrum students. This qualitative study has employed a narrative methodology to analyze the semi-structured interviews of 6 participants who identify as trans-spectrum university students in order to explore the tactile lived experiences in the math classroom as it relates to gender, when gender is considered holistically. Overall, the participants indicated that while mathematics as a discipline is not gender-specific, the participants face discrimination and microaggressions around mathematics that help create a chilly atmosphere. The participants, then, narrate their sense of belonging in regard to a separation between mathematics as a discipline and mathematical activities. Collectively, all participants presented stories that highlight conflicts within various social binaries, such as male/female or private/public school.

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STUDENTS’ AND STUDENT TEACHERS’ SENSE OF BELONGING TO SCIENCE: WHAT DO WE KNOW SO FAR?

Journal of Baltic Science Education ◽

10.33225/jbse/21.20.340 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 340-343

Author(s):

Markus Sebastian Feser

Keyword(s):

Teacher Education ◽

Science Education ◽

Identity Development ◽

University Students ◽

Science Teacher ◽

Student Teachers ◽

Sense Of Belonging ◽

Science Teacher Education ◽

Future Research ◽

Research Findings

Forming a sense of belonging to others is a fundamental need of humans as social beings (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Meeting this fundamental need crucially influences individuals’ intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000) and identity development (Wenger, 1999). Given this, a growing number of studies have investigated the extent to which university students’ success and wellbeing in science education is related to their sense of belonging to science. This research has brought greater clarity to university students’ development in science education; however, numerous aspects of university students’ sense of belonging to science remain understudied. In particular, there has been insufficient research on how sense of belonging to science might moderate or influence initial science teacher education. Therefore, this editorial aims to provide an overview of the major research findings that address students’ and student teachers’ sense of belonging to science and to inspire future research in science (teacher) education.

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Dingle & Han 2021 The Effect of COVID-19 on Australian University Students' Mental Health

10.31234/osf.io/amhvx ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Genevieve Dingle

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

University Students ◽

Sense Of Belonging ◽

First Year ◽

Risky Drinking ◽

Summary Report ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

The University ◽

First Year University ◽

Detrimental Impact

This is a summary report of survey data from two cohorts of first year university students at a metropolitan university in Australia: 2019 (i.e., pre-COVID-19) and in 2020 (during the first wave of COVID-19). The results show clear detrimental impact of COVID-19 on multiple measures of stress, mental health and wellbeing, loneliness. The only measure that did not worsen was risky drinking. A sense of belonging to the university and the use of coping strategies were associated with better mental health.

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