Wonkhe/Pearson report: Building Belonging in Higher Education

Wonkhe and Pearson began research into “belonging” in higher education in the autumn of 2021 as institutions were emerging from the Covid lockdown restrictions. The findings are based on a survey of 5,233 students, a survey of 430 staff, a partnership with 15 students’ unions across the UK (13 in England, 1 in Scotland, and 1 in Wales), over 240 monthly diary entries from anonymous student participants, multiple student focus groups and 52 projects by sector colleagues from across UK universities. Participants for student focus groups and diaries were chosen from marginalised, widening participation, and less advantaged demographics to understand the higher education experiences of diverse groups. The report breaks down the concept of belonging and identifies four areas which form its foundations: connection, inclusion, support and autonomy. It presents recommendations to help universities extend pockets of best practice across the sector.

Access the full report on the findings.

At-a-glance:

• Barriers to engagement include a lack of integration between a student's course and their wider student experience in higher education. In many institutions the course is largely detached from the wider university. The research shows a stronger connection to the community at course level than at university level (p7)
• Poor mental health creates a major barrier to belonging and inclusion. When asked to give themselves a score out of 10 for their mental health with 1 being poor, 40 per cent of students scored themselves 5 or lower (p7)
• Many staff said being over-worked and under-supported and having “competing priorities and/or lack of time and space to develop practice” was a big barrier to fostering engagement (p7)
• All courses should be reviewed to integrate more opportunities for social learning. Academic support services could consider academic group work as an area for support and development. Staff should explain to students how group work contributes to their overall academic development (p11)
• Informal opportunities for students to connect with one another should be intentionally engineered - particularly at the beginning of each course. Every programme should have an online social space where students can communicate with each other (12)
• All interactions between staff and students - including emails, VLE messages, and messages through social platforms – should be considered an opportunity to build a sense of belonging and inclusion. Expectations should be set for the time taken to respond to messages. The difference between course tutors and personal tutors should be clarified so that students understand the role of each (p14)
• Universities should have clear guidelines and staff training in place explaining what inclusion looks like for teaching and learning practice, with an awareness that this may differ by area of study (p17)
• Staff should be trained in facilitating and moderating class discussion, with an awareness of how to support all student needs. Training on neurodiversity should be mandatory for all staff, and departments should look at different ways to outwardly convey their support for neuro-divergent students (p19)
• As measures to diversify the academic workforce take time, institutions should encourage the use of diverse guest speakers on modules which lack diverse teaching staff (p24)
• Universities should carry out pre-arrival surveys of students and actively using the responses to house or group students. Students in all year groups would benefit from yearly induction programmes to offer consistent support at a departmental level (p26-27)
• Opportunities for student co-creation should become standard practice. Where possible a variety of assessment styles should be offered across the curriculum (p35)

Implications for governance:

Fostering students’ sense of belonging among their peers and at their institution has never been more important, the report suggests. A sense of belonging is positively associated with academic achievement and motivation and positive psychological outcomes, building a virtuous circle of success. Given the impact this can have on retention (an OfS B3 Condition outcome) and student wellbeing, the Pearson/WonkHE report, with its series of practical recommendations, is both timely and useful.

The findings give governors an opportunity to look at current practice at their university, and the report makes suggestions about how to improve what is already in place, grouping measures under the four headings of connection, inclusion, support and autonomy.

Some recommendations are simple and could be seen as “quick wins”, such as encouraging all staff to regard all interactions with students as an opportunity to build a sense of belonging and inclusion; and clarifying the difference between course tutors and personal tutors so that students understand the role of each.

Other suggests will take more time and resources, however. The issue here, as responses to the report’s staff survey demonstrate, is that staff feel overworked and in the grip of “competing priorities and/or lack of time and space to develop practice”.

Equally, at a time of financial constraints across higher education, governors would have to weigh up the efficacy of some of the more universal proposals, such as mandatory neurodiversity training for all staff or extra academic support for all students, against other perhaps more pressing concerns. The report too has implications for how board members seek academic assurance. Board members must feel confident that senate or other bodies with responsibility in this area are able to identify courses that may fall short of the expected thresholds, and are abreast of any contextual data that may explain underperformance. The report urges institutions to avoid a “deficit model” approach to supporting provision. Academic skills and their development should be integrated throughout teaching and learning, and delivered as standard to all students.

The findings show that initial student experiences are critical to building a sense of belonging. Students who felt they had settled into university well were three times more likely to feel they belonged there than students who did not settle in well.  Many universities have enhanced their focus on this early period and are looking at other transitions in the student lifecycle. The recommendations here may be useful to ensure best practice. Measures such as using pre-enrolment surveys to house or group undergraduates with similar interests together can make a real difference, the findings suggest.

Practical initiatives showcased in the report give real life examples of how universities have boosted belonging. Some of these are at programme level, building on findings that students are more likely to feel a sense of community with others on their course than with the university as an institution.  

Diversity is also increasingly important to students and many universities are reviewing course content in a bid to improve it, with some involving students in the process. Where diversity is harder to achieve, students seemed to appreciate an acknowledgement of these gaps, the feeling that the issue could be raised and opinions questioned and an indication that it was on the agenda. Student representatives on governing bodies could play an important role here.

Specific groups of students may face particular challenges to feel included and possible measures to help their engagement are covered in the report.  The authors also highlight that large numbers of students can suffer from feelings of uncertainty, including suffering from “imposter syndrome”.  Once again the question of targeted versus cross-cohort support is raised. What can help is trying to make sure assumptions are not made about students and that signposting reaches everyone.

The authors of the report suggest that by introducing initiatives, renewing messaging and enhancing approaches in a range of areas, a collective effort is accumulated, leading to institution-wide, cultural change.