2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

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.