understanding belonging to improve persistence: a gende r study
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Understanding Belonging to Improve Persistence: A Gender Study
Tamara Floyd-Smith, Tuskegee UniversityDenise Wilson (Project Lead) and Diane Jones, University of Washington
Melani Plett, Seattle Pacific UniversityRebecca Bates, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Nanette Veilleux, Simmons College
2012 World Engineering Education Forum Buenos Aires, ArgentinaTuesday, October 16th
Outline• Overview of the Full
Study• Objective of the
Current Study• Belonging Constructs• Results• Summary and
Implications
Example of Belonging to a University Community:
HBCU ChoirBelonging - frequent, local and pleasant connections with others (Baumeister
and Leary, 1995)
Why Study Belonging?
Physiological Needs: Food and Water
Safety, freedom from fear, order
Social needs, sense of belonging
Appreciation, recognition, esteem
Self actualization
Maslow’s Hierarchy of NeedsBlo
om’s
Taxo
nomy
BackgroundWhy Does Belonging Matter?
Evidence of the importance of belonging and other connections to community:
In G6-12:• Increased engagement• Decreased drop-out rates
In higher education• Retention in STEM fields• Student/faculty success and fulfillment
In the workplace• Increased feelings of security, stronger self-concept,
self-respect and coping abilities
Overall Project Goals
• Conceptualizing the role of community in higher education
• Assessing how various connections to community influence academic engagement
• Transferring successful communities to other STEM environments
Participating Institutions• Northwest Research 1, Engineering
and Computer Science• Midwest Comprehensive, Computer
Science and Engineering• Northwest Faith-based, Engineering• Northeast Women’s College,
Computer Science • Southeast Historically Black
College/University (HBCU), Engineering
Research 1 Institution (> 40,000 students)
HBCU(< 4,000 students)
Overview of the Full Study• (Year 1) Conceptual model development () • (Year 2) Instrument development and
validation ()• (Years 2-4) Longitudinal study of community
targeting sophomores and juniors (-) • (Year 5) Attempt to transfer results to other
STEM environments
Full Study Methods• Survey– Likert Scale Items– General student information: GPA, year in school,
parental level of education• Focus Groups/Interviews• Classroom Observations
Surveys Focus Groups Classroom Observations
Objective and Motivation of Current Study
• Objective: Provide insight into belonging for STEM students with a focus on gender
Belonging to Class•I feel accepted in this class.•I feel comfortable in this class.•I feel supported in this class.•I feel that I am part of this class.
Entails Is measured by
Connections to Community
a= 0.88
Belonging to Major•I feel accepted in my major.•I feel comfortable in my major.•I feel supported in my major.•I feel that I am part of my major.
Entails Is measured by
Connections to Community
a= 0.85
Belonging to University as Institution •I feel like I really belong at this
school.•I really enjoy going to school here.•I wish I had gone to another school instead of this one.*•I wish I were at a different school.*
Entails Is measured by
Connections to Community
a= 0.87
*Reverse Coded
Belonging to University as Community •People at this school are friendly
to me.•I feel that there is a real sense of community at this school.•I feel like there is a strong feeling of togetherness on campus.
Entails Is measured by
Connections to Community
a= 0.80
Classroom Belonging
SampleSophomore Junior Senior Total
m s m s m s m s
Female 15.4 3.0 15.2 2.7 16.5 2.3 15.5 2.8
Male 15.1 2.8 15.1 2.6 15.1 2.9 15.1 2.9
Total 15.2 2.8 15.1 2.6 15.4 2.8 15.2 2.7
Female students reported greater class belonging than male students.
Major Belonging
SampleSophomore Junior Senior Total
m s m s m s m s
Female 15.5 3.2 16.2 2.4 17.0 2.7 16.1 2.8
Male 15.4 3.1 16.3 2.8 15.9 2.6 16.0 2.8
Total 15.5 3.1 16.3 2.7 16.1 2.7 16.0 2.8
Differences by gender are not statistically significant.
Freshmen Data
SampleClass Major University-
InstitutionUniversity-Community
m s m s m s m sFemale 17.2 2.1 16.8 2.4 17.1 3.0 11.8 2.2Male 16.0 2.4 15.8 2.6 15.5 3.3 11.0 1.7
Total 16.3 2.3 16.1 2.6 15.9 3.3 11.2 1.8
Female students report higher class belonging.
Summary and Implications• Summary: Either female students reported
higher belonging or differences were not statistically significant.
• Implications: Efforts to improve female representation may need to focus on prospective freshmen
Acknowledgements
• National Science Foundation for funding (DRL-0909817, 0910143, 0909659, 0909900 and 0990850)
• Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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