Building communities of learners and supporting students to feel they belong in their university learning environment underpins many areas of our thinking and practice. This is particularly evident in discussions of retention and success where the lens and language of community and belonging frame discussion of students’ resilience in the face of academic and social challenges, and their confidence to seek support.
Institutional interest in belonging has been reinforced by National Student Survey questions on feeling part of a learning community, working with others and, more specifically, being represented and listened to by the student association. Yet, as concepts and as drivers of practice, such terms can be problematic. Used uncritically, they imply a common understanding of what it is to ‘belong’ and who is (or is not) part of a given ‘community’. Too often perceptions of student community are based on an imagined full-time, young, time-rich student. Students – and their relationship with the university – are more diverse and complex than this.
The challenge, then, is to move to understand ‘belonging’ in a way that recognises the diversity and hybridity of individual and group identities. What aspects of belonging and community are salient, at what points, and to whom? And, crucially, what can – or indeed should – universities do to enhance this?
Belonging at Edinburgh Napier
This is the set of issues that we have set out to explore through one strand of our work on the current QAA Enhancement Theme. We are undertaking a series of projects across the University that explore belonging and community from different perspectives. In line with the Theme focus on evidence for enhancement, we are also exploring a range of tools, techniques and methodologies for capturing and making sense of student narratives of belonging and community.
Projects have included work to explore how online students feel connected to the university, the important role that Team Napier plays in the lives of many students, and how feedback on assessment can be part of building a learning community. Examples of the broad range of initiatives involved in the community and belonging conversation can be found here.
An additional eight projects are just getting underway. These include focused support for men in nursing, a film club to strengthen staff-student community in languages, and projects exploring student use of learning spaces and engagement on shared projects that cross programme and study year boundaries. Insights from many of the projects will be shared at the University Learning and Teaching Conference on Thursday, 20 June. Save the date!
Individually, these initiatives offer insights into the specific needs and interests of particular groups of students. Together, they will help us understand the multiplicity of student voices and frame an institutional narrative of ‘belonging’. Most importantly, they highlight the implications of this diversity for our action, challenging us to think holistically about learning and teaching, the use of campus space, and how we create opportunities to hear and respond to less powerful and less visible student voices.
If you are interested in hearing more about this work, please contact Martha Caddell.