Students’ perspectives on the ‘STEM belonging’ concept at A-level, undergraduate, and postgraduate levels: an examination of gender and ethnicity in student descriptions

Women and ethnic minorities have historically been underrepresented in some STEM fields. It is therefore important to understand the factors influencing students’ persistence in STEM fields, and what STEM belonging means from the voices of socio-demographically diverse students, in order to ensure equity among students in STEM fields and to increase their belonging to this field, which has not been clearly defined in the literature, and there is a lack of agreement about the definition of belonging itself. For this purpose, the perspectives of students in England are brought together in this study in an attempt to better understand the concept of STEM belonging within a broader context of integration. The inductive thematic analysis with the voices of socio-demographically diverse 313 A-level, undergraduate and postgraduate Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry students showed that compared to male students, it was mostly female, non-binary, non-White, and first-generation students who defined STEM belonging as ‘Feeling safe and comfortable in the STEM community and settings’. This theme was defined by the participants as the group/community/learning environment in which the individual belongs, the interaction with the people in the field, and the comfort that this participation/interaction creates. Students stressed the importance of creating a supportive and welcoming STEM environment so that individuals can feel at home, as well as a safe and comfortable STEM environment for people of all identities, genders, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Based on the participants’ responses, this study also conceptualised the concept of STEM belonging as having four phases: the ‘adaptation phase’, the ‘integration phase’, the ‘continuum phase’, and the ‘transition phase’. These four phases which comprise the STEM belonging concept are consecutive and interconnected. The study concluded that all human beings are connected in a relational way (either strong or weak) and that the concept of STEM belonging develops as a result of interactions with ‘self’ and ‘others’ who have a shared passion and an interest in STEM fields. Although individuals have intrinsic motivation and individual prompts in STEM fields (i.e. resilience, beliefs in their capacity/ability and curiosity, etc.), social determinants (i.e. receiving adequate support from members of the STEM community, social capital and social cohesion, etc.) also play a significant role in influencing individual’s sense of STEM belonging.