The definition and measurement of sense of belonging in higher education: A systematic literature review with a special focus on students’ ethnicity and generation status in higher education

Abstract

Sense of belonging in higher education contributes to students' wellbeing and academic attainment. However, there is ambiguity about the definition and measurement of sense of belonging in higher education, and it is unclear how these definitions and measures are used in diverse student populations in terms of ethnicity and generation status in higher education. In this systematic review we investigated how students' sense of belonging in higher education is defined and measured and how this differs in studies addressing students' ethnicity or generation status in higher education. 89 quantitative, 55 qualitative, and 6 mixed method articles published between 2000 and 2021 were included, critically analyzed through an integrative approach, and their quality was appraised. Results revealed (a) a large variety in underlying concepts used to define of sense of belonging in higher education, including additional concepts from qualitative studies, (b) 52 separate used measures, and (c) misalignment between definitions and measures in quantitative studies. There was a substantial difference in cited definitions and used measures between studies that did and did not address students' ethnicity or generation status in higher education. Furthermore, from the findings it is implied to be explicit about the HE context in which sense of belonging is studied or focused on, alongside the deliberate inclusion of students’ representative intersecting identities.