This study, from Australia, highlights the significant disruption to the higher education student experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in terms of sense of belonging. During the pandemic, the national student survey data showed a notable drop in learner engagement and belonging. The study framed the moment as an opportunity to critically examine belongingness among university students and identify ways for instructors to improve it, even under challenging circumstances. It directs educators to focus on pedagogy, attention, informal conversations before and after class, and breakout group consistency as means of helping students build social presence with each other and overall relationality and belonging. Its emphasis is that even within the constraints of lockdown and emergency remote teaching, educators can still support student success.
Tice, D., Baumeister, R., Crawford, J., Allen, K.-A., & Percy, A. (2021). Student belongingness in higher education: Lessons for professors from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 18(4). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1304322
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