2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This work in progress paper presents a systematic review that consolidates evidence of sense of belonging interventions in engineering and computing education. While the field of research on sense of belonging has expanded considerably in recent years, the translation of evidence into practice remains limited. The lack of efforts toward evidence synthesis, often referred to as knowledge brokering, for translating research-based evidence into practice and policy in K–12 and higher education, can be viewed as one of the reasons. This systematic review addresses this research to practice gap by synthesizing existing research on interventions for enhancing students’ sense of belonging in the engineering and computing education contexts.
This review aims to identify interventions designed to foster engineering and computer science students’ sense of belonging and to classify them by educational level (e.g., classroom, department, institution, etc.), for generating synthesized knowledge that is useful and actionable for practitioners at each level (e.g., instructors, student support staff, etc.). To facilitate this process, the review adopts Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological model (1979) as an initial framework for classification, analyzing and organizing the data across four levels of the educational system identified by the model: individual, meso, exo, and macro.
A rigorous systematic review is currently underway, following the guidelines developed by researchers at the Joanna Briggs Institute, a distinguished group renowned for advancing systematic synthesis research. The current study utilizes a subset of literature identified through a larger scoping review of sense of belonging research in engineering and computing education conducted over the past decade. For the larger project, data collection was carried out using electronic databases that primarily index educational and social science research (e.g., ERIC), psychological studies (e.g., APA PsycInfo), and engineering research (e.g., Engineering Village), employing Boolean operators refined through a pilot study. From this corpus of literature (n=362), an abstract review with additional inclusion criteria identified a total of 46 studies focused on sense of belonging interventions and their effectiveness. A full-text review is currently in progress, with data collection and analysis focusing on the types, characteristics, and reported effectiveness of the identified interventions, as well as the assessment methods used. The final paper will present preliminary findings from the synthesis, providing a timely response to the needs of practitioners seeking to implement evidence-based interventions, strategies, and teaching practices to improve students’ sense of belonging - an area of particular importance for first-year engineering students.
In the developing field of engineering education, evidence synthesis remains underutilized despite its recognized value as a catalyst for research growth and a bridge between research and practice. In disciplines that are more mature, systematic reviews have transformed research fields by producing coherent frameworks for policy, curriculum design, and practice. In contrast, engineering and computing education have often relied on isolated case studies or discipline-specific reports, which limits the generalizability and applicability of the findings. This poster advocates for greater attention to evidence synthesis as a mechanism to strengthen cumulative knowledge building, facilitate evidence-based decision making, and enhance the impact of educational research within technical disciplines.
This systematic review examines explicitly interventions designed to foster a sense of belonging among engineering and computing students. Drawing on multiple databases from the education, psychology, and engineering literatures, we systematically screened and coded interventions based on their theoretical grounding, target populations, mode of delivery, and reported outcomes. By synthesizing patterns across this evidence base, the review provides both conceptual clarity and practical guidance for stakeholders aiming to enhance belonging in technical education.
Findings suggest that belonging interventions are most effective when they integrate social, academic, and institutional dimensions of student experience rather than focusing on isolated programmatic efforts. Moreover, the review highlights gaps in current reporting and evaluation practices that hinder replication and scaling of successful interventions. The full paper aims to contribute to the advancement of engineering education by presenting a curated repository of belonging interventions, offering practitioners and decision makers accessible examples to guide evidence-based implementation. By consolidating scattered research into an integrated evidence base, this systematic review underscores the role of synthesis as an essential infrastructure for translating belonging research into meaningful educational practice.