Students' sense of belonging and authenticity in higher education

Abstract

Sense of belonging entails students' comfort level in the classroom and experienced faculty and peer support. A diminished sense of belonging can hamper academic performance. Therefore, it is important to know which student groups may experience weaker belonging and whether these disparities extend to students' authenticity, or perception they can be true to themselves. This survey research examines student differences in sense of belonging and authenticity by gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, disabilities, extracurricular involvement, parental education, prior education, study year and school. We also examined whether belonging and authenticity were related to students' self-reported academic performance. Our sample (N = 4473) consisted of Dutch undergraduate and graduate students. Data analysis employing structural equation modelling showed that male students felt more comfortable in the classroom and students with disabilities experienced less sense of belonging and authenticity than their peers. Extracurricular involvement enhanced students' belonging and authenticity. Being part of multiple minority groups impaired aspects of students' belonging and authenticity. Sense of belonging and the experienced room for authenticity positively and independently predicted academic performance. We conclude that fostering both belonging and authenticity is crucial for all students, but especially for minority students. We suggest educators foster students' sense of belonging and authenticity, which can enhance academic performance and promote educational equality and opportunities for all students. Stimulating extracurricular involvement or others forms of non-academic participation is promising to contribute to this goal.