College Students' Sense of Belonging: A Key to Educational Success for All Students

Belonging – with peers, in the classroom, or on campus – is a crucial part of the college experience. It can affect a student’s degree of academic achievement, or even whether they stay in school. Although much is known about the causes and impact of sense of belonging in students, little is known about how belonging differs based on students’ social identities, such as race, gender, or sexual orientation, or the conditions they encounter on campus.

College Students’ Sense of Belonging addresses these student sub-populations and campus environments. It offers readers practical guidelines, underpinned by theory and research, for helping students belong and thrive. Sense of belonging can come from peers, teachers or faculty, family members, social and academic groups, and living and learning environments. The book offers:

• a review and critique of current literature on sense of belonging in light of new and emerging theory
• a new conceptual model of belonging which helps the reader expand an understanding of sense of belonging
• new and recent research findings from quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies conducted by the author
• practical recommendations for improving educational environments, practices, policies, and programs to facilitate students’ sense of belonging on campus.

Terrell L. Strayhorn is Professor of Higher Education and Senior Research Associate at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity at The Ohio State University, USA.