Student belonging: the impact of disability status within and between academic institutions.

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29311/ndtps.v0i16.3607

Keywords:

Disability, Academic confidence, Academic belonging

Abstract

Belonging at university is a complex and important issue which relates to student attainment but is more challenging for non-traditional students, including those with disability. This study, part of a larger project, explored differences in academic self-confidence and engagement, belonging, peer belonging and institutional acceptance in those with and without disability in two academic institutions. Quantitative data, collected using a series of statements in online questionnaires, indicated that academic self-confidence was significantly lower in those with disability, as were aspects of peer belonging. By contrast, academic engagement and institutional acceptance did not differ for most statements by disability status. Possible reasons for this, and the implications of the findings, are discussed.

References

Ahn, M.Y. & Davis, H.H. (2019). Four domains of students’ sense of belonging to university. Studies in Higher Education, 45(3), 622-634. DOI:10.1080/03075079.2018.1564902

Ahn, M.Y. & Davis, H.H. (2020). Sense of belonging as an indicator of social capital. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 40(7/8), 627-642. DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-12-2019-0258.

Allen, K.-A. & Kern, M.L. (2017). The Need to Belong. In: School Belonging in Adolescents. Springer Briefs in Psychology. Springer, Singapore. DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-5996-4_2.

Ashbaugh, K., Koegel, R.L. & Koegel, L.K. (2017). Increasing Social Integration for College Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Behavioral Development Bulletin, 22(1), 183- 196. DOI: 10.1037/bdb0000057

Baczewski, L.M. (2020). Self-reported Experiences of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Higher Education: A Population-based Sample. UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0sf796db

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W H Freeman/Times Books/ Henry Holt & Co.

Baumeister, R.F. & Leary, M.R. (1995). The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497–529. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497

Berman, N. (2020). A critical examination of informal learning spaces. Higher Education Research and Development, 39(1), 127–140. DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2019.1670147

Bertilsdotter Rosqvista, H., Brownlow, C. & O’Dell, L. (2013). Mapping the social geographies of autism – online and off-line narratives of neuro-shared and separate spaces. Disability & Society, 28(3), 367-379. DOI: 10.1080/09687599.2012.714257

Bessant, J. (2012). ‘Measuring Up’? Assessment and students with disabilities in the modern university. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 16(3), 265-281. DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2010.489119

Bong, M. & Skaalvik, E.M. (2003). Academic Self-Concept and Self-Efficacy: How Different Are They Really? Educational Psychology Review 15 (1), 1-40. DOI: 10.1023/A:1021302408382

Carter, E.W., Sisco, L.G., Brown, L., Brickham, D., Al-Khabbaz, Z.A. & MacLean, W.E. Jn. (2008). Peer Interactions and Academic Engagement of Youth With Developmental Disabilities in Inclusive Middle and High School Classrooms. American Journal of Mental Retardation, 113(6), 479–494. DOI: 10.1352/2008.113:479-494

Cole, E.V., & Cawthon, S.W. (2015). Self-disclosure decisions of university students with learning disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 28(2), 163–179. Available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1074663.pdf

Crossan, B, Field, J., Gallacher, J., and Merrill, B. (2003). Understanding participation in learning for non-traditional adult learners: Learning careers and the construction of learning identities. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 24(1), 55-67. Doi: 10.1080/01425690301907

Department for Education. (2017). Inclusive teaching and learning in higher education as a route to excellence. Department for Education: UK. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/587221/Inclusive_Teaching_and_Learning_in_Higher_Education_as_a_route_to-excellence.pdf

Dwyer, T. (2017). Persistence in Higher Education through Student-Faculty Interactions in the Classroom of a Commuter Institution. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 54(4), 325-334. DOI: 10.1080/14703297.2015.1112297

Eccles, S., Hutchings, M., Hunt, C. & Heaslip, V. (2018). Risk and stigma: students’ perceptions and disclosure of ‘disability’ in higher education. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 20(4), 191-208. DOI: 10.5456/WPLL.20.4.191

Eriksson, L. & Granlund, M. (2004). Conceptions of participation in students with disabilities and persons in their close environment. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 16(3), 229-245. DOI: 10.1023/B:JODD.0000032299.31588.fd

Gelbar, N.W., Smith, I. & Reichow, B. (2014). Systematic review of articles describing experience and supports of individuals with autism enrolled in college and university programs. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(10), 2593–2601. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-014-2135-5

Ginsberg, S.M. & Schulte, K. (2008). Instructional accommodations: Impact of conventional vs. social constructivist view of disability. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 8(2): 84-91.

Goodenow. C. (2003). Classroom belonging among early adolescent students. Journal of Early Adolescence, 13(1), 21-43. DOI: 10.1177/0272431693013001002

Graetz, J.E. & Spampinato, K. (2008). Asperger’s syndrome and the voyage through high school: Not the final frontier. Journal of College Admission, 198, 19 –24. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ829415.pdf

Guay, F., Marsh, H.W., & Boivin, M. (2003). Academic self-concept and achievement: Developmental perspective on their causal ordering. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95,124-136. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0663.95.1.124

Guay, F., Ratelle, C.R., Roy, A., & Litalien, D. (2010). Academic selfconcept, autonomous academic motivation, and academic achievement: Mediating and addictive effects. Learning and Individual Differences, 20, 644-652. DOI:10.1016/j.lindif.2010.08.001

Gurbuz, E., Hanley, M. & Riby, D.M. (2019). University Students with Autism: The Social and Academic Experiences of University in the UK. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49, 617–631. Doi: 10.1007/s10803-018-3741-4

Harris, A.M. & Cancelli, A.A. (1993). Academic engagement of students with learning disabilities in mainstream classrooms: challenging conventional wisdom. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 4(4), 384-389.

Hen, M. & Goroshit, M. (2014). Academic procrastination, emotional intelligence, academic self-efficacy and GPA: A comparison between students with and without learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 47(2), 116–124. Doi: 10.1177%2F0022219412439325

Higher Education Statistics Agency. (2020a). Higher Education Student Statistics: UK, 2018/19 - Student numbers and characteristics. HESA: UK. https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/16-01-2020/sb255-higher-education-student-statistics/numbers

Higher Education Statistics Agency. (2020b). Higher Education Student Statistics UK 2018/19. HESA: UK. https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/sb255/figure-4

Hong, B.S. (2015). Qualitative analysis of the barriers college students with disabilities experience in higher education. Journal of College Student Development, 56(3), 209–226.

Hubble, S. & Bolton, P. (2020). Support for disabled students in higher education in England. Briefing Paper 8716. London: House of Commons Library. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8716/

Jansen, D., Emmers, E., Petry, K., Mattys, L., Noens, I. & Baeyens, D. (2018). Functioning and participation of young adults with ASD in higher education according to the ICF framework. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 42(2), 259–275. DOI: 10.1080/0309877X.2016.1261091

Järkestig Berggren, U., Rowan, D., Bergbäck, E. & Blomberg, B. (2016). Disabled Students’ Experiences of Higher Education in Sweden, the Czech Republic, and the United States – A Comparative Institutional Analysis. Disability and Society, 31(3), 339–356. DOI: 10.1080/09687599.2016.1174103

Jenson, R.J., Petri, A.N., Day, A.D., Truman, K.Z. & Duffy, K. (2011). Perceptions of Self-Efficacy Among STEM Students with Disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability 24(4), 269 – 283. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ966129

Kim, M.M. & Kutscher, E.L. (2020). College Students with Disabilities: Factors Influencing Growth in Academic Ability and Confidence. Research in Higher Education. DOI: 10.1007/s11162-020-09595-8

Keenan, C. (2014). Mapping student-led learning in the UK. Higher Education Academy: UK. https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/hea/private/resources/peer_led_learning_keenan_nov_14-final_1568037253.pdf (accessed 23/07/20)

Kendall, L. (2016). Higher education and disability: exploring student experiences. Cogent Education 3: 1256142. Doi: 10.1080/2331186X.2016.1256142.

Knowles, M.S., Holton, E.F. III. & Swanson, R.A. (2005). The Adult Learner: the Definitive classic in Adult Education and Human Resource Development (6th ed). Burlington, MA: Elsevier. ISBN: 10:0750678372

Kung, H-Y. (2009). Perception or Confidence? Self-Concept, Self-Efficacy and Achievement in Mathematics: a longitudinal study. Policy Futures in Education, 7 (4), 387-398. Doi.org/10.2304/pfie.2009.7.4.387

Liu, H. J. (2008). The relationship between EFL student academic self-concept and language performance. Feng Chia Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 17, 165-184.

Madriaga, M. (2007) Enduring Disablism: Students with Dyslexia and Their Pathways into UK Higher Education and Beyond. Disability and Society, 22(4), 399–412. DOI: 10.1080/09687590701337942

Madriaga, M. & Goodley, D. (2010). Moving beyond the Minimum: Socially Just Pedagogies and Asperger’s Syndrome in UK Higher Education. International Journal of Inclusive Education 14 (2): 115–131. DOI: 10.1080/13603110802504168

Martin, J. M. (2010). Stigma and Student Mental Health in Higher Education. Higher Education Research and Development, 29(3), 259–274. DOI: 10.1080/07294360903470969

Maunder, R.E. (2018). Students’ peer relationships and their contribution to university adjustment: the need to belong in the university community. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 42(6), 756-768. DOI: 10.1080/0309877X.2017.1311996

Meehan, C. & Howells, K. (2019). In search of the feeling of ‘belonging’ in higher education: undergraduate students transition into higher education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 43(10), 1376-1390. DOI: 10.1080/0309877X.2018.1490702

Moller, K. & Danermark, B. (2007). Social recognition, participation, and the dynamic between the environment and personal factors of student with deaf blindness. American Annals of the Deaf, 152(1), 42-55. DOI: 10.1353/aad.2007.0012.

Mulrooney, H.M. & Kelly, A.F. (2020). The university campus and a sense of belonging: what do students think? New Directions in the Teaching of Physical Sciences, 15. DOI: 10.29311/ndtps.v0i15.3590

Neves, J. & Hewitt, R. (2020). Student Academic Experience Survey 2020. Higher Education Policy Institute: UK. https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Student-Academic-Experience-Survey-2020.pdf

Newman‐Ford, L., Fitzgibbon, K., Lloyd, S. & Thomas, S. (2008). A large‐scale investigation into the relationship between attendance and attainment: a study using an innovative, electronic attendance monitoring system. Studies in Higher Education, 33(6), 699-717. Doi: 10.1080/03075070802457066

O’Donnell, V.L. & Tobbell, J. (2007). The transition of adult students to higher education: legitimate peripheral participation in a community of practice? Adult Education Quarterly, 57(4), 312-328. DOI: 10.1177%2F0741713607302686

Office for Students. (2019). Beyond the bare minimum: are universities and colleges doing enough for disabled students? Insight 4. Office for Students: UK. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/beyond-the-bare-minimum-are-universities-and-colleges-doing-enough-for-disabled-students/

Office for Students. (2020a). Gap in degree outcomes (1sts or 2:1s) between disabled students and non-disabled students. Office for Students: UK. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/about/measures-of-our-success/participation-performance-measures/gap-in-degree-outcomes-1sts-or-21s-between-disabled-students-and-non-disabled-students-hesa/

Office for Students. (2020b). The National Student Survey: Consistency, controversy and change. Insight 6. Office for Students: UK. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/0fb736eb-ba54-472f-849b-f3c81ad2e03d/the-national-student-survey-consistency-controversy-and-change.pdf

Oldfield, J., Rodwell, J., Curry, L. & Marks, G. (2017). A face in a sea of faces: exploring university students’ reasons for non-attendance to teaching sessions. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 43 (4), 443-452. DOI: 10.1080/0309877X.2017.1363387

O’Shea, S.E. (2015). Filling up silences – first in family students, capital and university talk in the home. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 34(2), 1-17. DOI: 10.1080/02601370.2014.980342

O’Shea, S. (2016). First-in-family learners and higher education: Negotiating the ‘silences’ of university transition and participation. HERDSA Review of Higher Education, 3, 5-23. https://www.herdsa.org.au/herdsa-review-higher-education-vol-3/5-23

Pace, C.R. (1982). Achievement and quality of student effort. Paper presented at the 1982 Meeting of the National Commission on Excellence in Education in Washington, D.C. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED227101.pdf

Pajares, F. (1996). Self-efficacy Beliefs in Academic Settings. Review of Educational Research, 66 (4), 543- 578. DOI: 10.3102/00346543066004543

Pajares, F. (1997). Current directions in self-efficacy research. Advances in motivation and achievement, 10 (149), 1-49.

Papasotiriou, M. & Windle, J. (2012). The social experience of physically disabled Australian university students. Disability & Society, 27(7), 935-947. DOI: 10.1080/09687599.2012.692027

Portes, A. (1998). Social capital: Its origins and applications in modern sociology. Annual Review of Sociology 24: 1–24. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.soc.24.1.1

Rao, S. (2004). Faculty attitudes and students with disabilities in higher education — a literature review. College Student Journal, 38(2), 191-198.

Read, B., Burke, P.J. & Crozier, G. (2018). ‘It is like school sometimes’: friendship and sociality on university campuses and patterns of social inequality. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 41(1), 70-82. DOI: 10.1080/01596306.2018.1457626

Reay, D., Crozier, G. & Clayton, J. (2010). ‘Fitting in’ or ‘standing out’: working –class students in UK higher education. British Educational Research Journal, 36(1), 107-124. DOI: 10.1080/01411920902878925

Reay, D. (2002). Class, authenticity and the transition to higher education for mature students. Sociological Review, 50(3), 398-418. DOI: 10.1111%2F1467-954X.00389

Ribera, A.K., Miller, A.L. & Dumford, A.D. (2017). Sense of Peer Belonging and Institutional Acceptance in the First Year: The Role of High-Impact Practices. Journal of College Student Development, 58(4), 545-563. DOI: 10.1353/csd.2017.0042

Rivera Munoz, C.A., Baik, C. & Lodge, J.M. (2019). Teacher and student interactions in the first year of university. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 18 (1), DOI: 10.1080/0309877X.2019.1664731

Ruban, L.M., McCoach, D.B., McGuire, J.M. & Reis, S.M. (2003). The Differential Impact of Academic Self-Regulatory Methods on Academic Achievement Among University Students With and Without Learning Disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities 36(3), 270-286. DOI: 10.1177/002221940303600306

Sachs, D. & Schreuer, N. (2011). Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education: Performance and participation in student's experiences. Disabilities Studies Quarterly, 31(2). https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/1593/1561

Scott, S. (2019). Access and participation in higher education: Perspectives of college students with disabilities. NCCSD Research Brief, 2(2). Available at http://www.NCCSDclearinghouse.org

Southall, J., Wason, H. & Avery, A. (2016). Non-traditional, commuter students and their transition to Higher Education – a synthesis of recent literature to enhance understanding of their needs. Student Engagement and Experience Journal, 5(1), 1-15. DOI: 10.7190/seej.v4i1.128

Strayhorn, T.L. (2012). College students’ sense of belonging: A key to educational success. New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN: 9781136312397

Thomas, L. (2012). Building Student Engagement and belonging in Higher Education at a time of change. Final report from the What Works? Student Retention and Success programme. York: HEA.

Thomas, L., Hill, M., O’Mahony, J. & Yorke, M. (2017). Supporting Student Success: strategies for institutional change: What Works? Student Retention and Success programme Final Report. London: Paul Hamlyn Foundation. https://www.phf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Summary-report-final-no-crop-1.pdf

Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition. 2nd edn. The University of Chicago Press.

Tinto, V. (2017). Through the eyes of students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 19(3), 254-269. DOI: 10.1177/1521025115621917.

Vincent, J., Potts, M., Fletcher, D., Hodges, S., Howells, J., Mitchell, A., Mallon, B. & Ledger, T. (2017). ‘I think autism is like running on Windows while everyone else is a Mac’: using a participatory action research approach with students on the autistic spectrum to rearticulate autism and the lived experience of university. Educational Action Research, 25(2), 300-315. DOI: 10.1080/09650792.2016.1153978

Wainwright, E. & Marandet, E. (2010). Parents in higher education: impacts of university learning on the self and the family. Educational Review, 62(4), 449-465. DOI: 10.1080/00131911.2010.487643

Waite, S. (2013). ‘Knowing your place in the world’: how place and culture support and obstruct educational aims. Cambridge Journal of Education, 43(4), 413-433. DOI: 10.1080/0305764X.2013.792787

Wilson, D., Jones, D., Bocell, F., Crawford, J., Kim, M.J., Veilleux, N., Floyd-Smith, T., Bates, R. & Plett, M. (2015). Belonging and Academic Engagement Among Undergraduate STEM Students: A Multi-institutional Study. Research in Higher Education, 56, 750–776. DOI: 10.1007/s11162-015-9367-x

Wong, B. (2018). By chance or by plan?: The academic success of non-traditional students in higher education. AERA Open, 4(2), 1-14. DOI: 10.1177/2332858418782195

Yorke, M. (2016). The development and initial use of a survey of student 'belongingness', engagement and self-confidence in UK higher education. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 41(1), 154-166. DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2014.990415

Zimmerman, B. (1989). A Social Cognitive View of Self-regulated Academic Learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81 (3), 329-343. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0663.81.3.329

Zumbrunn, S., McKim, C., Buhs, E., & Hawley, L. R. (2014). Support, belonging, motivation, and engagement in the college classroom: A mixed method study. Instructional Science, 42(5), 661–684. DOI: 10.1007/s11251-014-9310-0

Downloads

Published

04-05-2021

How to Cite

Barnes, R., Kelly, A. F., & Mulrooney, H. M. (2021). Student belonging: the impact of disability status within and between academic institutions. New Directions in the Teaching of Natural Sciences, (16). https://doi.org/10.29311/ndtps.v0i16.3607