How to initiate conversations about belonging

The transition to higher education can be exciting, but also terrifying for many students. And in some cases, there may be a lot of pressure on those students to feel like they belong. But belonging may not look the same across the student population, and could change each year.

Regardless of the differing perceptions of belonging, we must offer an inclusive experience for students. The inclusive education framework developed by Katharine Hubbard and Paula Gawthorpe explores ways to do this, particularly when looking at community and belonging. This can range from embedding academic and pastoral support to celebrating diverse communities. An important aspect of the framework involves a partnership between staff and students.

Involving students in conversations about belonging

Encouraging open dialogue between students and staff can contribute to students’ sense of belonging. It gives them a say about their learning environment and opportunities to network with their peers and share ideas. To do this, identify opportunities throughout the academic year to ask students what kinds of social or academic activities they want to do during their studies.

Be prepared for these to change depending on the cohort. For example, in the academic year of 2020-21, we had a Discord channel for foundation year students that helped with peer support, especially during lockdown. However, the next cohort preferred in-person interaction. We need to be adaptable to get to know our students and explore how we can work together in partnership.

Not everyone may want to be involved in these activities but offering them the opportunity to have a say can help them feel like they can contribute to a community.

• Resource collection: Creating online learning communities
• Break the ice early to build student belonging
• Build students’ sense of belonging to build graduate skills

Understanding that belonging may not be the same for everyone

What belonging may look like for one student may differ for another, requiring staff to perform a complex balancing act.

Some students may have found a sense of belonging outside university; they could have a preference for working on their own and separating university life from their personal life. The important thing is to allow them the choice to join opportunities and conversations as and when they wish. If it turns out they are struggling, building a rapport and personalised approach to support the student could help with developing a sense of belonging.

Where to start with conversations about belonging

You may want to consider the following:

• Offer an open forum approach at a time and day that, wherever possible, avoids a clash in and outside students’ timetables, taking into consideration commuters and parent students. If you can’t find a time, consider using tutorials to ask students for their thoughts
• Create an environment in which students feel they can be open with each other. One way to do this is to set some ground rules at the beginning of the term that you can all agree on to promote a respectful atmosphere
• Some students may feel uncomfortable saying something out loud so consider using Mentimeter, a platform that allows you to create presentations with real-time feedback, or flip chart paper that students can write on
• As an alternative to the open forum approach, you could offer a regular drop-in that students can use to work on their assignments either as a group or individually, with no pressure to stay for the full duration of the session
• Use one-to-ones as opportunities to find out more about students who choose not to engage in these opportunities. This could lead to more personalised support for the student.

We cannot force one idea of belonging onto students, but we can certainly offer them tailored opportunities to find their own sense of belonging on campus; whether that is through offering them opportunities to make friends or by having a dedicated space outside their accommodation or the library to work on their assignments. Sometimes conversation may naturally develop over time about opportunities and ideas, but again it should be up to the student if they want to be involved. We just need to learn from John Borland’s Coaching in the Great Unknown: Why not knowing matters more than you know and read students’ maps of the world to appreciate what belonging may mean to them.

Emma Palmer is the director of foundation year at the University of Hull.

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