Sense of belonging in higher education: the effect of early introductory activities

Sense of belonging (SOB) in higher education is positively associated with motivation, engagement, and persistence in higher education, and SOB at the start of the academic year is said to predict its development throughout the first year. This longitudinal study investigates how introduction week attendance is associated with first-year Psychology students’ SOB in higher education. Drawing on Strayhorn’s [2019. College Students’ SOB: A Key to EducationalSuccess for All Students. Routledge] definition of SOB in higher education, we used a tailored measure to assess students’ SOB with the university, their fellow students, and their teachers. The same students were surveyed three times across the 2023/2024 academic year (NT1 = 300, NT2 = 112, NT3 = 64). A strong positive effect of introduction week attendance was found on students’ SOB with fellow students, but there was no effect on SOB with the university nor on SOB with teachers. Moreover, SOB with fellow students increased over time, whereas no consistent changes over time were observed for the other two SOB dimensions. Effects of student characteristics, including first-generation, international, and minority student status, as well as personality traits were also assessed, with personality traits predicting all SOB dimensions. Our findings not only highlight the importance of early integration activities in fostering students’ SOB, but also the necessity for initiatives to enhance SOB for students who do not attend introduction activities and to strengthen students’ connections with the broader university community.