Review of Sense of Belonging Relevant Concepts in STEM Higher Education

Xiaoye Yang; Hsien-Yuan Hsu; Yanfen Li

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM) Technical Session 10
Tagged Division: Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM)
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47949

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Paper Authors

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Xiaoye Yang University of Massachusetts, Lowell

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Xiaoye yang is a Ph.D. student majoring in Research and Evaluation in Education at UMass Lowell. For over a decade, she has been involved in the language and education field holding various roles such as student, teacher, and researcher. She is a research assistant working at the center for program evaluation to conduct research on program evaluation methods as well as to offer evaluation planning, consulting, training, and services for the university, regional, and global community. Her research interest includes STEM education, sense of belonging, and program evaluation. She is working on measuring college students’ sense of belonging, especially in the engineering field, facilitating school leaders' and educators’ work in promoting engineering students’ success and broadening participation in engineering.

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Hsien-Yuan Hsu University of Massachusetts, Lowell orcid.org/0000-0003-2155-2093

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Dr. Hsien-Yuan Hsu is an Assistant Professor in Research and Evaluation in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Dr. Hsu received his PhD in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University and has a background of statistics

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Yanfen Li University of Massachusetts, Lowell orcid.org/0000-0002-9465-7147

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Yanfen Li is an Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. She received her PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Her current research is in engineering education with a focus on curriculu

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Abstract

The work-in-progress paper reviews concepts relevant to the Sense of Belonging (SB) in STEM higher education. SB is both an affective and psychological factor influencing learning and students’ outcomes, encompassing participation in STEM, academic and social accomplishments, as well as persistence and retention. In our previous work centered on instruments measuring SB (Anonymous, 2023), we discerned that within the college context, SB’s nature — whether singular or multifaceted — hinges on the underlying theoretical framework. This nature might intersect with other concepts such as “university connectedness” (Wilson & Gore, 2013), “sense of inclusion” (Jensen & Cross, 2021), “sense of social fit” (Maghsoodi et al., 2023), “sense of community” (Lounsbury & DeNeui, 1996), and “perceived cohesion” (Bollen & Hoyle, 1990). However, without comprehensive research to determine if these concepts are synonymous with SB or distinct yet related, our previous study refrained from using these terms as search keywords. Hence, the instruments reviewed were primarily identified using “sense of belonging” or “belongingness”. Up until now, there has not been a rigorous study that draws parallels between the definitions of these concepts and SB, or that categorically details the instruments available for measuring each concept. This oversight not only presents challenges for researchers and educators looking to holistically foster student belonging but can also lead to unintended conflation of terms. For instance, without a clear demarcation of these concepts, practitioners might present their research findings interchangeably using different concepts. This ambiguity can impede other researchers attempting to replicate the findings. To the best of our knowledge, there is a dearth of comprehensive studies synthesizing information on SB-associated concepts within STEM higher education. This paper aims to fill this gap by offering a literature review that clearly summarizes the definitions of concepts linked to SB. We will then compare our findings with the SB definition from our 2023 study. Furthermore, this research will review the available measurement tools used for each SB-associated concept. The findings of this study serve as a foundational reference, ensuring that both researchers and educators operate with a unified and in-depth comprehension of SB and its associated terms. This clarity also establishes a solid groundwork for the future systematic review of SB.

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Yang, X., & Hsu, H., & Li, Y. (2024, June), Review of Sense of Belonging Relevant Concepts in STEM Higher Education Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47949

TY - CPAPER
AB - The work-in-progress paper reviews concepts relevant to the Sense of Belonging (SB) in STEM higher education. SB is both an affective and psychological factor influencing learning and students’ outcomes, encompassing participation in STEM, academic and social accomplishments, as well as persistence and retention. In our previous work centered on instruments measuring SB (Anonymous, 2023), we discerned that within the college context, SB’s nature — whether singular or multifaceted — hinges on the underlying theoretical framework. This nature might intersect with other concepts such as “university connectedness” (Wilson &amp;amp; Gore, 2013), “sense of inclusion” (Jensen &amp;amp; Cross, 2021), “sense of social fit” (Maghsoodi et al., 2023), “sense of community” (Lounsbury &amp;amp; DeNeui, 1996), and “perceived cohesion” (Bollen &amp;amp; Hoyle, 1990). However, without comprehensive research to determine if these concepts are synonymous with SB or distinct yet related, our previous study refrained from using these terms as search keywords. Hence, the instruments reviewed were primarily identified using “sense of belonging” or “belongingness”. Up until now, there has not been a rigorous study that draws parallels between the definitions of these concepts and SB, or that categorically details the instruments available for measuring each concept. This oversight not only presents challenges for researchers and educators looking to holistically foster student belonging but can also lead to unintended conflation of terms. For instance, without a clear demarcation of these concepts, practitioners might present their research findings interchangeably using different concepts. This ambiguity can impede other researchers attempting to replicate the findings. To the best of our knowledge, there is a dearth of comprehensive studies synthesizing information on SB-associated concepts within STEM higher education. This paper aims to fill this gap by offering a literature review that clearly summarizes the definitions of concepts linked to SB. We will then compare our findings with the SB definition from our 2023 study. Furthermore, this research will review the available measurement tools used for each SB-associated concept. The findings of this study serve as a foundational reference, ensuring that both researchers and educators operate with a unified and in-depth comprehension of SB and its associated terms. This clarity also establishes a solid groundwork for the future systematic review of SB.
AU - Xiaoye Yang
AU - Hsien-Yuan Hsu
AU - Yanfen Li
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Review of Sense of Belonging Relevant Concepts in STEM Higher Education
UR - https://peer.asee.org/47949
ER -