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Journal of Further and Higher Education
ISSN: 0309-877X (Print) 1469-9486 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjfh20
In search of the feeling of ‘belonging’ in higher
education: undergraduate students transition into
higher education
Catherine Meehan & Kristy Howells
To cite this article: Catherine Meehan & Kristy Howells (2018): In search of the feeling of
‘belonging’ in higher education: undergraduate students transition into higher education, Journal of
Further and Higher Education, DOI: 10.1080/0309877X.2018.1490702
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2018.1490702
Published online: 06 Sep 2018.
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ARTICLE
In search of the feeling of ‘belonging’in higher education:
undergraduate students transition into higher education
Catherine Meehan
a,b
and Kristy Howells
a
a
School of Childhood and Education Sciences, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, UK;
b
School of
Education and Sociology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
ABSTRACT
Previous research that evaluated first year students’transition into uni-
versity found that the values of ‘being, belonging and becoming’were
important in particular within the first few months and within the first year
of university. From our previous work, we reported that three things
matter to students: the academic staffthey work with, the nature of
their academic study and the feeling of belonging. This paper provides a
further illumination to our work by reporting on the qualitative data
collected in the same study. The study included 530 students from five
cohorts over a five-year period. As part of the Student Experience
Evaluation instrument, open-ended questions probed students about
their early experiences of belonging and transition into university. This
original research uses rich data to illuminate the scales and items from
previous quantitative data analysis to explore ‘belonging’, triangulated
with research from the field. This paper is timely due to increased empha-
sis placed on learning and teaching with the introduction of the Teaching
Excellence Framework. Student satisfaction is not a simplistic measure and
this study articulates the complexity of student belonging in Higher
Education.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 12 February 2017
Accepted 24 April 2018
KEYWORDS
Belonging; higher education;
transition; student
experience; undergraduate
students
Introduction
Prior to the start of a new academic year, the media presents a view about transition to university
life which encourages prospective students and parents to learn lessons from previous ‘mistakes’
and things to ‘avoid’in order to survive the first days of university life. Although some of these
articles may provide some useful and practical tips, the transition to university and the subsequent
successful completion of a university degree is far more complex than the ‘top ten tips to surviving
university would have you believe (e.g. Good Universities Guide 2017; Studential 2017; The
Independent 2013). In order for students to ‘survive’their university experience the individual
student has, personal attributes such as levels of confidence, and competence in dealing with
transitions, which make it more likely that they will be successful. This paper highlights an
alternative view to a deficit approach to which focuses on HE practice that supports students
transition through attention to being, belonging and becoming.
Universities on the other hand are increasingly concerned with metrics that measure student
retention and success. The drivers are more than financial, but increasingly, they are concerned
with overall completion and success rates, also, how well students achieve during their degree
programmes. The introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) in England in the
2016–17 academic year sees the metrics evaluating the worth of a university based on three
CONTACT Catherine Meehan Catherine.meehan@canterbury.ac.uk
JOURNAL OF FURTHER AND HIGHER EDUCATION
https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2018.1490702
© 2018 UCU
aspects of quality: teaching quality; the learning environment; student outcomes and learning gain.
This paper focuses on two aspects of the TEF criteria, namely, teaching quality and the learning
environment. For the purpose of TEF teaching quality is defined as:
Teaching practices which provide an appropriate level of contact, stimulation, challenge, encourage student
effort and engagement, and which are effective in developing the knowledge, skills, attributes and work
readiness of students (2016, 12).
The Learning Environment in TEF is defined as:
The wider context for teaching, which includes the effectiveness of resources, designed to support learning,
maximise completion, and aid the development of independent study and research skills. This may include
learning spaces, use of technology, work experience, extra-curricular activities for peer-to-peer interaction
(2016, 12).
The Conservative Government introduced the TEF in England as external means of giving pro-
spective students a standardised assessment about the quality of teaching as a mechanism by
which some control for Universities to increase fees dependent on compliance with the system and
level of quality. Race (2017) suggests that the TEF is measuring the wrong aspects of learning and
teaching and recommends a focus on assessment and feedback practice as being a more effective
means of improving teaching quality. The literature suggests that student satisfaction as measure
of quality is problematic and this is closely linked to the marketization of Higher Education in
England (e.g. Bates, Kaye, and McCann 2017).
A significant body of research exists about the importance of first impressions in terms of
student satisfaction and engagement with their studies at university. For example, previously,
Meehan and Howells (2017) investigated ‘what matters to Fresher’s’during their transition into
higher education through to completion. Two data sets explored this question. Namely, students
on an academic undergraduate Early Childhood Studies degree (n = 530) over a five-year period
completed a Student Experience Evaluation (SEE) in their first term. The SEE included quantitative
data from Likert scales, which were analysed and qualitative data from open-ended questions.
Coding of the open-ended questions used the finding from the quantitative study. The qualitative
data is presented in this paper. Three things matter to students about their experience, that is, the
academic staffthey work with, the nature of their academic study, and engendering feelings of
belonging. This paper examines the feelings of belonging for this group of students and the
barriers and enabling factors. Student confidence about their transition gives them resilience
during this period and when they experience membership of learning, social and other commu-
nities, it reduces feelings of isolation and fear.
This paper explores the ideas that being, belonging and becoming are three states of the
student experiences in Higher Education. The paper uses the words of the students, which
illuminate the key themes in the findings. The below figure (Figure 1) is the conceptual framework
through which the data will be explored within this paper that the three foci of being, belonging
and becoming are an intertwined ongoing process that the student navigates their way through as
they transition into and through Higher Education. The students navigate through these questions
linked to themselves and their environment and change as they develop in confidence and
competence.
What is ‘belonging’in higher education?
Araujo et al. (2014) describe the transition into Higher Education as a process rather than an ‘event’.
A bridge between the formal and informal with students engaging in a range of social, cultural and
academic transitions (Araujo et al. 2014). In their 2014 study, Araujo et al. described a three-tiered
model to support the development of belonging over the student lifecycle. They identified three
types of belonging for students, belonging to the cohort at programme level, within and
2C. MEEHAN AND K. HOWELLS
interdisciplinary learning environment for example at school/faculty level and the third tier linked
to the global intercultural network linked to their subject or profession. The three- tiered model
supports students to transition in, through and out of university (Araujo et al. 2014). Belonging and
the process to belong requires the complex interaction of three factors, which include the
environment, social, and cognitive attributes which when combined support students feeling of
connectedness or belonging (Kift 2004). Tinto (2003) focused on the way in which learning
supports student’s sense of belonging and how this relates to students staying and completing
their studies. Tinto aptly suggested, ‘The more students learn, the more value they find in their
learning, the more likely they are to stay and graduate. . ..’(Tinto 2003, 4). Therefore, drawing on
Tinto’s ideas, the purpose of higher education is not merely that students are retained, but that
they are educated and that student learning drives student retention. Extending on this idea,
building students’competence and confidence is enabled through constructions of capability. For
example, ‘Sensibilities of belonging are formed in relation to constructions of capability: to belong
in a field such as higher education, the student must be recognised as having the capability to
belong.’(Burke et al. 2016, 19)
Thomas (2012) suggests that belonging is linked to the psychological and sociological aspects of
the students and where they feel a sense of purpose. This is closely linked to the subject they are
studying or career aspirations. For students on an Early Childhood Studies degree, belonging can
be developed by working with students to identify why they are studying ECS and their interest in
children’s learning, development and well-being. Soria and Stubblefield (2015) found that students
who had greater awareness of their own strengths and capabilities, particularly, where these are
supported by the curriculum were more likely to feel like they belonged and completed their
studies successfully. For example, Burke et al. (2016) suggested that:
Capability is deeply entwined with identity formation that are produced within, across and between difference
social contexts and spaces. Family influences are an important factor in shaping aspirations and constructions
of capability but do not determine educational aspirations, expectations and success (38).
Identities are complex and intersecting formations, not homogenous groupings. It is important
for university teachers to understand the ways that differences might disrupt aspirations to
develop inclusive practices and cultures. For many students who are first generation university
attenders, they may lack the cultural capital about what University is and how one behaves at
university. Thomas (2012) described the ‘way of speaking, interacting, behaving are learned
through family and social interactions’. For those students without this capital, coming to
university is akin to travelling to a foreign country and not knowing the language and appro-
priate cultural practices.
Being-
who am I?
Becoming- who
will I be?
Belonging-
how do I
fit in?
Figure 1. Conceptual Frame of Being, Becoming and Belonging.
JOURNAL OF FURTHER AND HIGHER EDUCATION 3
What helps students to feel like they belong?
Nelson and Kift (2005) reported that in order to successfully, manage the transition of students into
higher education, universities need to recognise the diversity of the student population, and use a
coherent approach to mediate the transition through academic, social and support structures. At the
heart of the model proposed by Nelson and Kift (2005), they suggest that the ‘transition pedagogy’
needs to be embedded into the curriculum, that is, what is taught, how it is taught, how it is assessed
and how this links to the lived experience of the students. More recently, Bates, Kaye, and McCann
(2017) went further than Nelson and Kift to suggest that learning environment (including people);
physical environment and workload (university and paid employment) are determinants in students’
development of feelings of belonging and transition into higher education.
Similarly, Burke et al. (2016) focussed on the individual and personalised constructions of cap-
ability that students have about themselves. This is contrary to the position that assumes that
education and access to education will overcome social/cultural educational disadvantage and
inequality. Burke et al. (2016) argue that academic staffneed to support students’capability by
creating an environment that nurtures trust, belonging and inclusion. They found that only 35% of
Australian students in their study agreed with the statement: ‘I am a capable student and expect to
do well at university.’
What are the barriers to belonging?
Willcoxson, Cotter, and Joy (2011) in their Australian six-university study concluded that students
who do not complete their studies withdraw for different reasons, with the majority of students
leaving in the first year and fewer students leaving in the second and third year of their degrees.
Their findings suggested that in the later years of study, student withdrawal maybe linked to
university factors rather than personal factors. These factors may include the quality of interactions
between students and academic and support staff, feedback processes, quality of advice about
matters related to the course of study and the university policy and procedures. In the first year at
University, the literature suggests there are many reasons why a student may withdraw from their
studies. The reasons for withdrawing may include expectations for the course not meeting the
reality of their experience, conflicting priorities and motivation to attend university is external.
Alternatively, others have cited lack of academic confidence; time management challenges; limited
social engagement as reasons for leaving university in the first year. With an increased use of
technology at admission and registrations times, this reduces the capacity for human contact
coupled with information overload early in the transition process are also reasons why students
may not successfully transition into higher education (Nelson and Kift 2005; Willcoxson, Cotter, and
Joy 2011; Martin, Jansen, and Beckmann 2016)
Thomas (2012) reported that students are less likely to think about leaving if they had a better
awareness of university processes, more engaged with peers having positive relationships, and had
good relationships with tutors. In the second year and third year, lack of academic confidence and
students’perceptions about their needs in terms of support for learning and well-being are cited as
reasons student withdraw from their studies (Willcoxson, Cotter, and Joy 2011). In addition to lack
of confidence, concern about not achieving future aspirations means that students are more likely
to be less satisfied with their university experience (Nelson and Kift 2005).
O’Keefe (2013) reported that 30 to 50% of students in the USA and 20% of students in Australia
are at risk of non-completion. Students who are most at risk of withdrawing and not staying at
university are usually described in the following categories- ethnic minorities, those students with
academic disadvantage, students with disabilities, students with low socio-economic status, stu-
dents who entered university with lower tariffs or entry qualifications, first generation students, and
students with mental illness. Students with multiple of the above attributes have an increased risk
of not succeeding at university without significant support. It was identified by O’Keefe’s(2013)
4C. MEEHAN AND K. HOWELLS
study that the relationship between the student and academic staffare crucial to the well-being of
students. Thomas (2012) in the HEFCE report reported that in the UK, 8% of students leave in their
first year, however some universities and programmes report a much higher rate of between 37 to
45% of students leaving, and about a third of all students think about withdrawing.
Burke et al. (2016) identified that students in their study were afraid of being ‘judged’. They
suggested that the ‘fragile’sense of self that student’s exhibit during the transition into higher
education makes them more vulnerable to negative feelings such as not feeling capable of study-
ing at university. Rowley, Hartley, and Larkin (2008) concur that the first year is a significant period
of change, adjustment for students. Burke et al. (2016) found that academic staffplay a key role in
how students construct their feelings about capability, which ultimately lead to success or failure in
higher education.
In order to explore students’experiences of belonging, what factors enable belonging and
create barriers to belonging in the following research questions underpinned this study:
●What is ‘belonging’in higher education?
●What helps students to feel like they belong?
●What are the barriers to belonging?
●What are the lessons for tutor, managers, HEIs about belonging in higher education?
Method
Using qualitative research methodologies to ascertain students’views about coming to University,
530 students completed open-ended questions as part of the Student Experience Evaluation (SEE)
instrument. The Student Experience Evaluation (SEE) findings reported in a separate paper (Meehan
and Howells 2017). To enable participants to respond in an unconstrained way to the research
questions were open-ended. Cresswell (2008) suggests that an advantage to the use of open-
ended questions allows for a range of responses, both brief and lengthy, but also very rich in
content.
The data in this study elicited the students’responses to six questions asked about their
experiences of coming to University. The questions included:
●What has been the best thing for you coming to university?
●What has been the most challenging thing for you about coming to university?
●What has helped you to settle into university life?
●What has helped you to ‘belong’here?
●Which student services have you accessed?
●Are there issues for you that would make you consider withdrawing from your studies? If so,
please tell us what some of these reasons are?
The data from the open-ended questions were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis.
The analysis used the categories that validated through the development of the Student
Experience Evaluation questionnaire. Glaser (2008) described the process as including four steps:
(1) comparing incidents to each category, (2) integrating categories and their attributes (3) naming
the new construct/theory and (4) describing the new construct/theory. Within these steps the
following actions were included to make sense of the data: note-taking, coding and categorising,
sorting, writing and constantly comparing data. The final presentation of results and discussion are
grouped into themes, namely, used ‘Belonging’in higher education, enabling belonging and
barriers to belonging.
In addition, using the free software available at Wordle.net, the data mining software, to identify
the most frequent words in the participants’responses and the most common 30 to 50 words were
identified to be presented visually as word clouds. The larger the word, the more frequent the
JOURNAL OF FURTHER AND HIGHER EDUCATION 5
response and by using filters to discount most common English words (for example, and, the, but)
the final visual word clouds were crosschecked. The results were verified and validated the through
coding and categorising the data into the three themes of ‘Belonging’in higher education,
enabling belonging and barriers to belonging.
Attributes of participants
The students were classified and coded according to their: age; campus attended, cohort and
relocation status; degree type and first choice of degree; first person from family attending
university.
The SEE instrument was used over five academic years (n = 530). The increase in participants in
2011/12 and 2012/13 reflects the trend of increased numbers of students enrolling on the
programme 2008–9 (71), 2009–10 (97), 2010–11 (83), 2011–12 (135) and 2012–13 (144).
The age of the participants ranged between < 18 and 45–54 years. The majority of participants
were in the 18–24 age- group (80.2%). The majority of the participants attended the Canterbury
campus (64.7%), in comparison with Medway (23.6%) and Broadstairs (11.7%). Traditionally in the
UK, students move away from home to attend university. Canterbury Christ Church University is
based in the County of Kent and attracts many local Kent students but also students from London
and other southern counties. Seventy percent (70%) of the participants at Broadstairs and Medway
campuses live within 10 miles of the campus whereas thirty percent (30%) of students in
Canterbury live within 10 miles of the campus.
Combined Honours participants (54.5%) were the majority of the students responding to the
SEE, when compared with Single Honours students (42.8%). Of the combined Honours students,
Psychology (27.7%), Sociology and Applied Science (17.7%), Health Studies (17%), Education
Studies (13.1%) and Sport Science (5.7%) were the top five subjects for the Combined Honours
participants).
Those participants who were first person from the family attendees to university were 51.9%
(275 students) and those who were not first person were 45.5% (241 students) and 2.6% (14
students) who did not answer this questions.
Results and discussion
Participants’responses
The results of this study provide some rich examples and illuminate what matters to freshers.
Data is presented in tables with the themes that emerged following Glaser’s(2008)process
outlined previously. Secondly, the wordclouds generated showing the frequency of responses
are included in the presentation of results. A discussion the three overarching themes of
‘Belonging’in higher education, enabling belonging and barriers to belonging follows the
presentation of results.
Below in Table 1 and Figure 2, the best thing about coming to university is illustrated.
Below in Table 2 and Figure 3, the most challenging thing about coming to university is
illustrated.
Illustrated below in Table 3 and Figure 4, are the factors that supported students settling into
university.
Presented below in Table 4 and Figure 5 are the factors that supported feelings of belonging at
university.
Illustrated below in Table 5 and Figure 6, students use of university services.
Presented below in Table 6 and Figure 7, factors that would influence students’decision to
withdraw from studies.
6C. MEEHAN AND K. HOWELLS
‘Belonging’in higher education
There are many benefits to coming to university. The students in this study cited reasons
including making new friends, having new experiences, being in an environment in which
they can learn, be challenged and leading to progression into a career which they aspire
towards. These positive statements by students demonstrate positive and affirmative stance
they have taken to enhance themselves personally and academically. With this position as a
starting place, students have a readiness to ‘belong’or want to belong to the academic
community they are joining.
“Beginning to learn about something new and that will be a part of my future”,
“Proving that I can look after myself. Meeting huge varieties of different people”and
“Having the opportunity to potentially change mine and my family’s future”,
The three quotes above demonstrate the benefits that students perceive about university and the
course on which they are embarking on. This is consistent with what Thomas (2012) identified that
belonging is at an individual level and at a sociological level. Students with a strong sense of
Table 1. Themes and typical responses about the best things about coming to university.
Theme Typical response
New experiences, beginning New experience and meeting new people
Beginning to learn about something new and that will be a part of my future
Meeting new people Meeting new people and feeling I made the right choice of course
Making new friends Having the experience and encouragement to learn and making friends
Gaining independence, being
independent
The freedom and independence to do things how I want, when I want. Proving that I can
look after myself. Meeting huge varieties of different people.
Learning, changing, improving Learning more about something I’m enthusiastic about
Having the opportunity to potentially change mine and my family’s future
New knowledge I would say the best thing about coming to university would be the knowledge I am
gaining and being able to use outside the university
Course/Subject interested in
studying
The best thing about coming to uni is doing a subject that I am passionate about and living
an independent life
Ability, becoming, broadening,
developing
I think broadening my learning styles and making my thoughts more diverse about topics
covered
Challenge Meeting new people and feeling challenged intellectually
Achieving Being able to feel I am capable of achieving more
Career options, aspirations The chance to improve my career and opportunities
Figure 2. Word Cloud- 30 most frequent words about the best things about coming to university.
JOURNAL OF FURTHER AND HIGHER EDUCATION 7
‘connection’with people, the environment and the subject they are learning about are more likely
to feel like they belong.
The transition into higher education as a process as identified by Araujo et al. (2014) who
described the range of social, cultural and academic transitions students make in the process of
‘settling in’to University life. As well as Burke et al.’s(2016) ideas who asserted that student identity
during their transition into higher education was shaped by the range of social contexts they
encounter are demonstrated by the following examples.
Table 2. Themes and typical responses about most challenging thing about coming to university.
Theme Typical response
Work, workloads The big jump in academic work
Leaving home, starting over when not knowing anyone. The amount and volume of work, felt
like we have been thrown in at the deep end with work
Learning Making sure I get out of bed on time so that I am on time for lectures, learning to cook for
myself
Getting back into working/learning after a gap year, writing essays in a new way, being and
independent learner
the lectures and style of learning as at my sixth form the largest class was 8 so we had very
personalised learning
Learning to cope on my own away from the family
Getting organised Going back into education after having two years out after my A-levels- I am gradually
becoming more organised and conforming to a students’role
Leaving my parents and becoming more self-reliant and organised
Time, time management Settling in and disciplining myself with time management
Adjusting adjusting to the different style of writing and learning
Adjusting to living on my own
Adjusting to the change from school to university style essays
Management of self and
workload
Managing finance and home life
The workload is a bit overwhelming. Writing an assignment and knowing exactly how to do
so is really challenging
Reading Doing the reading without being told to
Keeping up with reading and organising my workload
Coping with a combined degree. I feel like have twice amount of reading and assessments.
Two programmes do not work together
New, unfamiliar
experiences
Meeting and becoming close to new people. The work and self-studying is quite different to
how I’ve worked before so it has taken some getting used to -Blackboard
New way of learning- bigger groups and not having someone telling me to work and making
me do it
Making new friends, fitting in
Figure 3. Word Cloud- 30 most frequent words about most challenging thing about coming to university.
8C. MEEHAN AND K. HOWELLS
“Support from friends and people around me who are in the same situation and feeling the same way”
“Having a learning group with close friends so we can work together on tasks to understand the modules,
feeling like I’m doing something worthwhile.”
“New friends, friendly lecturers, general atmosphere of the university.”
Table 3. Themes and typical responses about what helped students to settle into university life.
Theme Typical response
Friends Support from friends and people around me who are in the same situation and feeling the same way
Making friends has helped. Also getting into a routine
Lecturers/staff/tutors the friends that I have met and the lecturers being supportive
Lecturers approachable about work and personal issues, my housemates
New friends, friendly lecturers, general atmosphere of the university
Housemates My housemates as they have been my closest to home life since I’ve been here
Housemates-all being together starting out
Course People in my course who I have become close to as well as people I live with. Staffalso
approachable.
Peers Peers-around me and having PAL leaders help with their experiences to give advice
Peers on the course. It makes it easier to settle in.
Learning Having a learning group with close friends so we can work together on tasks to understand the
modules, feeling like I’m doing something worthwhile
The course, so far it is interesting so I am seeking more time for learning. It is interesting and
confusing
Environment A comfortable environment and friendly staffand students
I-zone, induction days. The teaching staffhave made me feel more comfortable in lesson
environment
Not settled in yet I still have not settled in.
Figure 4. Word Cloud- 30 most frequent words about what helped students settle into university life.
Table 4. Themes and typical responses about what helped students to ‘belong’.
Theme Typical response
Friends Understanding the course fully and making a good close group of friends
People Comfortable surroundings and welcoming people
Groups Expressing myself freely and knowing that I feel part of a group
Course Being involved within groups of my course
Living arrangements Studying and living in Canterbury rather than going home has made me feel like I belong at
university
Lecturers/staffTutors knowing our names-as if they know us personally
JOURNAL OF FURTHER AND HIGHER EDUCATION 9
Figure 5. Word Cloud- 30 most frequent words about what helped students to ‘belong’.
Table 5. Themes and typical responses about what university services accessed.
Theme Typical response
Personal tutor I have had a tutorial with my personal tutor which has been helpful and supportive
Student support Extra learning classes (Study skills) Meeting with support and weekly dyslexia tutoring
Library and library skills Access and understanding of how to use the library
i-zone ICT people-help services
Finance Financial support
Figure 6. Word Cloud- 30 most frequent words about what university services accessed.
Table 6. Themes and typical responses about what issues would lead to withdrawing from university.
Theme Typical response
Money/financial reasons Money worries- the increasing debt and being unable to live normally due to a lack of
money. I worry that I am not good enough and won’t make the grade if that happens I
will probably leave from embarrassment
Family Being too far from friends and family
Work commitments My work makes university very hard for me but I can’tafford to quit my job. In addition, the
workload has been too much too soon, as I feel I could have used more time to get used
to the teaching style of university.
Time Finding the lack of time and heavy workload draining, making me tired, emotional and
unable to sleep. Dropping out would be the easy option.
Workload If the workload became too much and I didn’t understand it.
Feelings/confidence/lack of Lack of confidence in chosen career, I don’t know what I want to do and wouldn’t want to
waste my time or money learning something inappropriate
University work/assignments Not doing well with assignments, feeling like I wasn’t getting on at university
Travel If I cannot manage my studies around my job home and kids I would consider open
university- it’s cheaper, no travel, not as time consuming
10 C. MEEHAN AND K. HOWELLS
The examples highlight the importance of friends/peers, housemates, academic staffand the
general ‘welcoming’atmosphere of the university. These supportive conditions for learning and
support create what Burke et al. (2016) coined ‘constructions of capability’that enable a student to
recognise they have the capability to belong. Bates, Kaye, and McCann (2017) similarly comment
on the conditions that enable feelings of belonging that include interpersonal relationships, the
physical and affective environment and manageable workloads.
As identified in the results, 51.9% of the students in this study are the first members of their
family to attend university. As first generation university attenders, they may lack the ‘cultural
capital’identified by Thomas (2012) as the ‘way of speaking, interacting, behaving are learned
through family and social interactions”for life at University. For some students, the support from
family may mean that they are not certain about their decision to go to University, for example,
”Meeting new people and feeling I made the right choice of course.”
The above example highlights the importance of social contacts in students’feelings of belonging.
Enabling belonging
Thomas (2012) reported that in order to nurture ‘belonging’, academic staffare central to this
process. Academics can provide opportunities for students to develop peer relationships, engage in
meaningful interactions, and link the emergent knowledge and confidence of the students to their
aspirations for their future goals. The role of the academic was highly significant for the students in
this study. For example:
“Tutors knowing our names-as if they know us personally.”
The impact of peer-to-peer interactions is also significant to the students in this study. Whether
they be friends, housemates or course-mates. For example,
“My housemates as they have been my closest to home life since I’ve been here”
“Housemates-all being together starting out”
“Peers-around me and having PAL leaders help with their experiences to give advice”
“Peers on the course. It makes it easier to settle in.”
These examples are consistent with Thomas (2012) and Bates, Kaye, and McCann (2017) both
concluded that students ‘feeling of relatedness or connectedness to the institution’was linked to
‘personal acceptance, respected, included, supported by others’as an important factor in success
transition into higher education. Thomas (2012) suggested that regular contact provides stability,
Figure 7. Word Cloud- 30 most frequent words about what issues would lead to withdrawing from university.
JOURNAL OF FURTHER AND HIGHER EDUCATION 11
which is essential to support feelings of belonging. In addition to the role of academic staff, the
pastoral role of the Personal Tutor, the Student Support team, Library staff, the i-zone and the
Finance team provided a further opportunity to connect and learn about how to fit into the
University’s systems to support learning. Students have found that tutorials with Personal Tutor has
been ‘helpful and supportive’. Student support team provides ‘Extra learning classes (Study skills)’
and ‘Meeting with support and weekly dyslexia tutoring’.
Barriers to belonging
The data highlighted challenges that students faced about their decision to come to university and
in addition, identified issues that would make them consider withdrawing. Burke et al. (2016) and
Martin, Jansen, and Beckmann (2016) and other studies have consistently reported a range of
reasons that create stress for students and may make full engagement and ‘belonging’more
challenging. Tinto’s seminal work in 1975 identified four factors. These included teaching/learning
(instruction), academic success, anxiety and motivation. For the purpose of this discussion, Tinto’s
themes provide structure to the findings.
With regard to teaching and learning (instruction), where students considered the nature of
academic work and workloads, students reported that the most challenging aspect of university
life was:
“The big jump in academic work.”
“Leaving home, starting over when not knowing anyone. The amount and volume of work, felt like we have
been thrown in at the deep end with work.”
In particular, students reported that they would consider leaving university if:
“The workload became too much and I didn’t understand it.”
The second area was part linked to academic success, in particular, ‘learning, becoming organised
and developing independence’. For many of the students in this study, 80.2% were aged between
18 to 24 years, who were younger, having recently completed their secondary education. The
challenges identified by students included:
“Making sure I get out of bed on time so that I am on time for lectures, learning to cook for myself.”
“Getting back into working/learning after a gap year, writing essays in a new way, being and independent
learner.”
“The lectures and style of learning as at my sixth form the largest class was 8 so we had very personalised
learning.”
“Learning to cope on my own away from the family.”
Students also suggested that for them academic success included returning to studies after a gap
and the life transition of moving out of home and away from usual support networks. Both of the
examples below highlight the way in which the students take personal responsibility about the
changes they are facing and have some degree of control over the change they are going through.
For example:
“Going back into education after having two years out after my A-levels- I am gradually becoming more
organised and conforming to a students’role.”
“Leaving my parents and becoming more self-reliant and organised.”
With regard to anxiety, students identified reasons that may cause them to consider leaving
university. Martin, Jansen, and Beckmann (2016) and Thomas (2012) both cited reasons that are
consistent with the finding of this research. For example, one student said that a ‘Lack of
12 C. MEEHAN AND K. HOWELLS
confidence in chosen career, I don’t know what I want to do and wouldn’twanttowastemy
time or money learning something inappropriate’was an anxiety faced about being at uni-
versity. Other anxieties cited by students related to finances and worrying about paying bills
and juggling responsibilities. For example, ‘Managing finance and home life’.Studentswould
consider withdrawing from university if their concerns about money became too overwhelming.
For instance, ‘The increasing debt and being unable to live normally due to a lack of money.’
Similarly, another student commented: ‘My work makes university very hard for me but I can’t
afford to quit my job.’
A further anxiety identified by Burke et al. (2016) suggested that students may experience fear
and anxiety linked to feeling ‘incapable’and a fear of ‘being judged’(49). One student in this study
cited that: ‘I worry that I am not good enough and won’t make the grade if that happens I will
probably leave from embarrassment.’This highlights the fragile sense of self that students in
transition experience, and the role of peers, more experiences ‘others’and tutors appear to be
critical in students overcoming these anxieties.
Motivation to study, an opportunity to change their lives or embark on their chosen careers are
all reasons why students choose to come to university. However, the reality of these choices, often
means that the reality for students and their motivation to succeed are sometimes overwhelmed
by personal, contextual (social, academic) and family factors (Burke et al. 2016; Martin, Jansen, and
Beckmann 2016; Thomas 2012). For some students the feeling of ‘Too much too soon’in relation to
their workload suggests that the transition from secondary to tertiary education is one which
provides significant challenges for students
Conclusion
This paper explored the notion that transition to university and the students’states of being,
belonging and becoming are critical to understand in order to engage students for a successful
experience in higher education. As students navigate their way through the transition into
university and into subsequent year levels and into the world as a graduate, the people and the
environment are critical in supporting the development of their confidence and competence.
Students’words highlighted to benefits and challenges to belonging in this paper and these
have implications for academics, student support services and leaders in Higher Education
institutions.
Namely, MacInnis (2003) suggested that:
Engagement occurs when students feel they are part of a group of students and academics committed to
learning, where outside the classroom, considered as important as the timetabled and structured experience,
and where students actively connect to the subject matter. (9)
The results of this paper are consistent with the challenge set by Tinto (2003) and James (2002)
with regard to actions for universities in response to enhancing students’feelings of belonging.
They both challenged universities to reward academic stafffor innovative practices that led to a
curriculum and pedagogical approaches that reflected the social realities of higher education,
holding high expectations for student success, promote student involvement through authentic
assessment and learning experiences that are meaningful and high impact. By embedding learning
and teaching strategies into programmes that are supportive and recognise the transitions into
higher education, students will develop stronger feelings of belonging (Willcoxson, Cotter, and Joy
2011). Namely, if students understand what they are learning, why and how it fits with the bigger
picture, such as guided group work, better and more personalised course advice and staffdevel-
opment for academic and administrative staffto identify areas for improvement to recognise and
support students at risk of leaving. Consideration of class size and the manner in which commu-
nication occurs and how frequently between academics and students to form ‘closer’links. In
JOURNAL OF FURTHER AND HIGHER EDUCATION 13
addition, Kift (2004) recommended that students’confidence and competence is support with skill
building activities and close links to alumni, by promoting skills needed for graduate employment.
In conclusion, bridging the gap for students who find coming to university and staying at
university is mitigated by creating a sense of ‘belonging’psychologically and sociologically for
students. University staff(academic, administrative and academic support) all have a significant role
in support the students’feelings of ‘connectedness’to the university by regular, open and clear
communication, relationships that provide stability and provide genuine concern and empathy for
the challenges faced by students in transition. The building of trusting and respectful relationships
are key to student success and belonging (Thomas 2012).
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Dr Catherine Meehan is Acting Head of School of Childhood and Education Sciences, Faculty of Education at
Canterbury Christ Church University. Catherine is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Dr Kristy Howells is Faculty Director of Physical Education, Physical Activity and School Sport at Canterbury Christ
Church University and specialises in Sport Pedagogy. She completed her PhD in Sport and Exercise Sciences with a
focus on children’s physical activity and the impact of Physical Education lessons on the children’s overall physical
activity. She has also been received the University Teaching Excellence award for her development of online
communities and distance learning programmes enhanced through the use of technology.
ORCID
Catherine Meehan http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1564-2922
Kristy Howells http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0758-7532
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