Abstract
Connectedness and integration are essential elements of student satisfaction, academic success, and retention. Despite its importance in the lives of college students, research on connectedness has approached the concept from definitional perspectives other than those of students. This multi-study explores connectedness from the student perspective while drawing from social identity theory and student involvement theory. In Study 1, students described their experiences and perceptions of connectedness in focus groups. Study 2 built on the qualitative findings of Study 1 and empirically tested connectedness as defined by the students. Results of the study indicate the need for a student definition of connectedness and provide practical suggestions for those in higher education.Keywords: connectedness, social identity theory, student involvement theory, instrument design, higher education
Highlights
Connectedness and integration are essential elements of student satisfaction, academic success, and retention
By using social identity theory and student involvement theory, it becomes possible to explore the processes, sites, and values used by students to develop their sense of Jorgenson, Farrell, Fudge, and Pritchard connectedness
Connectedness is developed through relationships with friends, other students, instructors, and campus personnel
Summary
Connectedness and integration are essential elements of student satisfaction, academic success, and retention. Some of the primary considerations include student satisfaction (Krumrei-Mancuso, Newton, Kim, & Wilcox, 2013), student engagement (Kahu, 2013), academic integration (Tinto, 1993), early integration (D’Amico, Dika, Elling, Algozzine & Ginn (2013) student self-efficacy (Davidson & Beck, 2007), student-institution fit (Denson & Bowman, 2015), the teacher-student relationship (Hagenauer & Volet, 2014), social integration (Brooman & Darwent, 2014), student engagement (Flynn, 2014), student assimilation (Sollitto, Johnson & Myers, 2013), student attachment (Wilson & Gore, 2013), expectancy and goal setting (Friedman & Mandel, 2011, 2012), and complexity thinking (Forsman, Linder, Moll, Fraser, & Andersson, 2014) All these explorations on student connectedness stem from the conceptual perspective of the researcher or an institutional framework. This provides valuable insight into how institutions of higher education might facilitate interactions that lead to successful undergraduate experiences
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