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1. Connectedness in Isolation: A Qualitative Study of Belonging in STEM During the Onset of COVID-19

   Thacker, Ian; Seyranian, Viviane; Spata, Angelica; Nieblas, Frank; Duong, Nicole; Beardsley, Paul (August 2021, American Psychological Association, Div 15)

   null (Ed.)

   The COVID-19 outbreak spurred unplanned closures and transitions to online classes. Physical environments that once fostered social interaction and community were rendered inactive. We examined undergraduate STEM students’ feelings of belonging and engagement while in physical isolation and identified online teaching modes associated with these feelings. Interviews with a racially diverse group of 21 undergraduate students suggest that students derived feelings of connectedness from their interactions with instructors, peers, and from their prior experiences. Findings suggest that personalized, often synchronous online interactions tend to support students’ feelings of connectedness and belonging in STEM. 

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2. Social Connectedness in Physical Isolation: Online Teaching Practices That Support Minoritized Undergraduate Students' Belongingness and Engagement in STEM

   Seyranian, Viviane; Thacker, Ian; Spata, Angelica; Nieblas, Frank; Duong, Nicole; Beardsley, Paul (April 2021, American Education Research Association)

   null (Ed.)

   The COVID-19 outbreak spurred unplanned closures and transitions to online classes. Physical environments that once fostered social interaction and community have been rendered inactive. We examined undergraduate STEM students’ feelings of social connectedness, interest, and engagement while in physical isolation and identified online teaching modes associated with these feelings. Surveys from a racially diverse group of 43 undergraduate students revealed that interactive synchronous instruction was positively associated with feelings of interest and belonging, particularly for students of color, while noninteractive instruction had the opposite relation. Curiously, asynchronous individual assignments were associated with negative emotions but also greater cognitive engagement and interest. Findings reflect the complexity of interpersonal interaction yet reaffirm that live interaction supports feelings of belonging for minoritized groups. 

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3. STEM Faculty’s Support of Togetherness during Mandated Separation: Accommodations, Caring, Crisis Management, and Powerlessness

   https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12090632  

   Thacker, Ian; Seyranian, Viviane; Madva, Alex; Beardsley, Paul (September 2022, Education Sciences)

   The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic initiated major disruptions to higher education systems. Physical spaces that previously supported interpersonal interaction and community were abruptly inactivated, and faculty largely took on the responsibility of accommodating classroom structures in rapidly changing situations. This study employed interviews to examine how undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) instructors adapted instruction to accommodate the mandated transition to virtual learning and how these accommodations supported or hindered community and belonging during the onset of the pandemic. Interviews with 25 STEM faculty at an undergraduate Hispanic Serving Institution revealed a wide range of accommodations they made to their courses and how they managed communication with students. Faculty strived to support student belonging with responses ranging from caring to crisis management, though some faculty expressed feelings of powerlessness when unable to accommodate certain challenges. The case of a responsive and flexible instructor is presented to highlight a productive response to a crisis. These retrospective findings point to strategies to support faculty teaching in virtual learning environments in the future; increasing opportunities for student–student and student–faculty interaction, supporting faculty in learning technologies that support these interactions and addressing faculty’s feelings of powerlessness. 

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4. Elements of Social Capital and Counterspace Processes Contribute to Undergraduate STEM Student Development of a Sense of Belonging

   https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21947  

   Gray, MacKenzie J; Yacobian, Jasmine N; Shortlidge, Erin E (January 2025, Science Education)

   ABSTRACT Having a sense of belonging can promote persistence in the STEM fields, but less is known about what it means to develop that sense of belonging. To investigate this phenomenon, we conducted semi‐structured interviews with a cohort of STEM students (n = 10) nearing graduation at an urban university regarding their sense of belonging and qualitatively coded the interviews using thematic analysis. Results revealed that all interviewed students clearly articulated feelings of belonging, making them an ideal population from which to learn more. We applied two frameworks to guide our understanding of what factors promoted the development of a sense of belonging for these students: the Network Theory of Social Capital and the Counterspaces Framework. The students described their experiences in relation to elements of social capital and counterspace processes as they reflected on the development of feelings of belonging. One element of social capital, “reinforcement,” or assurance and recognition of one's worthiness as a member of a group, was the most prevalent element of social capital influencing the participants' development of a sense of belonging. “Direct relational transactions,” or the exchange of resources within a community, was the most prevalent counterspace process discussed by the participants. Our findings expand the utility and add to the theoretical underpinnings of the two frameworks, indicating that gaining social capital and experiencing counterspaces can contribute to undergraduate STEM student development of a sense of belonging. 

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5. “I feel listened to and heard”: How social support fosters a sense of belonging for low‐income STEM majors

   https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21977  

   Payne, Madison_R; LaDue, Nicole_D; Dugas, Daryl; Winitkun, Duangkamon; Schmidt, Stephanie (August 2024, Journal of Research in Science Teaching)

   Abstract Persistence across undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs is exceptionally low. Recent studies have shown that social support and sense of belonging are particularly important for students who are historically underrepresented in STEM, yet few interventions have directly targeted or investigated these factors. This qualitative study investigates low‐income, high‐achieving undergraduate STEM students' perceptions of their belonging in the context of a 2‐year peer social support group intervention. Interview analysis of 11 participants demonstrates that these STEM students attribute their sense of belonging to feelings or displays of comfort, commonality, community, and concerted effort. The peer group facilitated increases in participants' social support and sense of belonging by allowing participants to build friendships, recognize shared experiences, connect to their campus, build confidence with peers, and feel supported in their non‐academic and academic struggles. Although the program's main objective was to build participants' sense of belonging, the social support provided through the peer group also acted as a mechanism for increasing information‐related social capital. We recommend the implementation of similar non‐academic, supportive social spaces to increase the sense of belonging and overall persistence of low‐income STEM students. 

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