Diversity in higher education: Investigating the impact of staff racial representation on students’ sense of belonging

This small-scale, pilot study focused on exploring how students’ sense of belonging can differ in relation to the racial representation of the staff team in a postgraduate institution. A survey (N=16) and two interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis was used and a range of themes were created. These included benefits of belonging, representation gaps and institutional efforts, diversity in practice and inclusive representation. Using these themes, six recommendations – such as openness during introductions, decolonising the curriculum and explicitly discussing sense of belonging with academic tutees – were developed to help foster a sense of belonging in Higher Educational environments.