Full Description
Higher Education institutions are under growing pressure to attract and retain their students and give them the best chance of success. Research consistently demonstrates that a strong sense of belonging is closely linked to various aspects of student success, including academic achievement, engagement, mental health and wellbeing, and student retention.
Taking a practical focus and bringing in the expertise of practitioners across academic and professional staff through a series of case studies, this book explores what works when taking practical steps towards enhancing students' sense of belonging. Chapters cover taking a whole institution approach to belonging, efforts at different stages of the student journey, how to develop approaches that support specific student groups, and plenty of examples of working in partnership with students. Each chapter also presents a reflective example, with lessons learned and recommendations for future practitioners. Everyone working in Higher Education can make a positive difference to students' sense of belonging whilst at university.
This book provides accessible, practical examples of how to take the first steps towards developing a sense of belonging with your students. It is essential reading for staff working across both academic and professional service roles in the areas of student retention, access, experience, engagement, and support.
Contents
Student belonging in action: an introduction
David Gilani
Part I - Belonging from the beginning
Chapter 1 - Join up activities to support students from underrepresented groups
Carl R Harrington
Chapter 2 - Launch free academic society membership trials and community welcome events to build belonging
Charlotte Boulton
Chapter 3 - Shift your perspective from deficit thinking to a model of appreciation that values the student voice
Samantha Wilson-Thain, Beatriz Lagunas, Ryan Arthur, Janet Beard, & Sophie Martucci
Chapter 4 - Reimagine the 'sticky campus' concept by centring the needs of commuter students
Gemma Standen
Chapter 5 - Seek to understand study and career motivations as an essential component of employability support
Becka Colley-Foster & Kate Stafford
Part II - Belonging driven through co-creation
Chapter 6 - Build student networks to transform belonging, success, and departmental culture
Tom Ritchie, Inca Hide-Wright, Adam Alcock, & Leigh Mencarini
Chapter 7 - Co-produce belonging activities with staff and students
Stephanie Baines & Pauldy Otermans
Chapter 8 - Work with students to deliver solutions that enhance their student journey
Michelle Watson & Linda Sherwin
Chapter 9 - Create a space for belonging for students with parental responsibility
Andrea Todd, Emma-Louise Simpson, Helen Williams, & Serena Cornes
Part III - Belonging on the course of study
Chapter 10 - Fostering student belonging through relational pedagogy: implementing the GRACE framework
Lauren Flannery
Chapter 11 - An inclusive higher education framework can reflect on community and belonging in Foundation Year
Emma Palmer & Katharine Hubbard
Chapter 12 - Embed teamwork into the curriculum
Charlotte Cartledge, Lynn Pickerell, & Kirsty Miller
Part IV - Belonging within learning environments
Chapter 13 - Inclusive student belonging in online distance learning
Lorna Sibbett & Renu Bhandari
Chapter 14 - Develop physical spaces to foster student belonging
Jenny Foster
Chapter 15 - Build a sense of belonging in online learning environments
Liz Hardie, Carol Edwards, Kate Ritchie, Jennifer Harper, Emma Bassett, & Suz Corcoran
Student belonging in action: looking to the future
Kelly Edmunds
