This article engages in a ‘rethinking’ of the concept of belonging in higher education, from a sociomaterial perspective. The paper suggests that dominant narratives around belonging often contain omissions, such as a lack of consideration for students who may not wish to or cannot belong. The authors argue that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted taken-for-granted spaces and places of belonging on campus, prompting educators to grapple with how to foster a sense of community and belonging in online and hybrid learning contexts. It proposes a reframing of belonging as situated, relational, and processual, shifting within, across, and beyond online and face-to-face timespaces. This lens enables an understanding of belonging as sociomaterial, a practice and product of power relations and shaped by the interplay of human and non-human actors. The authors suggest that this more nuanced conceptualization can generate deeper insights into students’ diverse and fluid experiences of belonging, and inform more inclusive practices in learning and teaching. The article also outlines implications for future research, highlighting the need to explore the situated and contextual accounts of students’ belonging across institutional and non-institutional spaces.
Gravett, K., & Ajjawi, R. (2021). Belonging as situated practice. Studies in Higher Education, 47(7), 1386–1396. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2021.1894118
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