Reimagining belonging: a post-pandemic exploration of student perspectives

The construct of sense of belonging is complex; it’s important to students at many levels (i.e. from undergraduate level to postgraduate level) that have profound implications for mental health and well-being. Despite the lack of consensus in the literature regarding definitions for this concept, the current study endeavours to comprehensively understand its core components. Taking a mixed-method approach and engaging different students’ voices, this study explores the complexity of a sense of belonging in depth. A questionnaire was conducted with 290 A-level, undergraduate and postgraduate students in mathematics, physics and chemistry, of which 48.6% were female, 44.8% male, and 3.8% non-binary users represented the population demographics. In addition, 23 first-year undergraduate students participated in the informatics interview study (43.5% female, 47.8% male and 8.7% non-binary). This study reveals the critical role of belonging in empowering individuals, particularly female and underrepresented students, to address feelings of exclusion within specific disciplines/fields, societies/communities, or settings/environments. It delineates four distinct phases of the sense of belonging: the ‘adaptation phase’, ‘integration phase’, ‘continuum phase’, and ‘transition phase’. Additionally, the research elucidates nine main themes associated with the adaptation, integration, continuum, and transition phases. The implications of these findings are extensive, providing valuable insights into understanding and enhancing students’ sense of belonging, even amidst unforeseen challenges such as natural disasters or lockdowns.