Measures and References: Sense of Belonging

Return to Sense of Belonging factor page.

Measures

Numerous measures exist to gain a full picture of a student's learning strengths and challenges. Following are examples of measures used to assess this Learner Factor. These measures should be administered and interpreted by experienced professionals.

Ethnic Identity Scale (EIS) (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2004): Measures ethnic identity exploration, resolution, and affirmation in adolescents and adults.

Sense of Belonging Scale (Hoffman et al., 2002): Measures students' sense of affiliation and identification within the college environment

References

Allen, K., Kern, M. L., Vella-Brodrick, D., Hattie, J., & Waters, L. (2018). What Schools Need to Know About Fostering School Belonging: A Meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 30(1), 1-34.

Askham, P. (2008). Context and identity: exploring adult learners' experiences of higher education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 32(1), 85-97.

Backhaus, I., Lipson, S. K., Fisher, L. B., Kawachi, I., & Pedrelli, P. (2019). Sexual assault, sense of belonging, depression and suicidality among LGBQ and heterosexual college students. Journal of American College Health, 1-9.

Berman, S. L., Montgomery, M. J., & Ratner, K. (2020). Trauma and identity: A reciprocal relationship? Journal of Adolescence, 79, 275-278.

Bodaghi, N. B., Zainab, A. N., & Zainab, A. N. (2013). My carrel, my second home: Inclusion and the sense of belonging among visually impaired students in an academic library. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 18(1).

Booker, K. (2016). Connection and commitment: How sense of belonging and classroom community influence degree persistence for African American undergraduate women. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 28(2), 218-229.

Brar-Josan, N. J. (2015). Developing a sense of belonging during resettlement amongst former refugee young adults. (Doctoral Dissertation)

Calzo, J. P., Antonucci, T. C., May, Vickie, M., & Cochran, S. D. (2011). Retrospective recall of sexual orientation identity development among gay, lesbian, and bisexual adults. Developmental Psychology, 47(6), 1658-1673.

DeNicolo, C. P., Yu, M., Crowley, C. B., & Gabel, S. L. (2017). Reimagining critical care and problematizing sense of school belonging as a response to inequality for immigrants and children of immigrants. Review of Research in Education, 41(1), 500-530.

Diep, N. A., Cocquyt, C., Zhu, C., & Vanwing, T. (2017). Online Interaction Quality among Adult Learners: The Role of Sense of Belonging and Perceived Learning Benefits. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET, 16(2), 71-78.

Drysdale, M. T., Callaghan, S. A., & Dhanota, A. (2020). Sense of belonging of sexual minority students participating in work-integrated learning programs. Education+Training, 63(2), 182-194.

DiAngelo, R. (2011). White fragility. International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, 3, 54-70.

Eschmann, R. (2020). Unmasking racism: Students of color and expressions of racism in online spaces. Social Problems, 67(3), 418-436.

Fleming, M., & Wated, G. (2016). The impact of academic self-efficacy and perceived stigma on the performance of students with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 21(2), 59-66.

Fong, C. J., Alejandro, A. J., Krou, M. R., Segovia, J., & Johnston-Ashton, K. (2019). Ya'at'eeh: Race-reimaged belongingness factors, academic outcomes, and goal pursuits among Indigenous community college students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 59, 101805.

Frank, M., Lavy, I., & Elata, D. (2003). Implementing the project-based learning approach in an academic engineering course. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 13(3), 273-288.

Fuligni, A. J., & Tsai, K. M. (2015). Developmental flexibility in the age of globalization: Autonomy and identity development among immigrant adolescents. Annual Review of Psychology, 66, 411-431.

Gee, J. P., & Hayes, E. (2012). Nurturing affinity spaces and game-based learning. Games, Learning, and Society: Learning and Meaning in the Digital Age, 123, 1-40.

Gehlbach, H. (2015). User Guide: Panorama Student Survey. Boston: Panorama Education. Retrieved from https://www.panoramaed.com/panorama-student-survey

Good, C., Rattan, A., & Dweck, C. S. (2012). Why do women opt out? Sense of belonging and women's representation in mathematics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(4), 700.

Gopalan, M., & Brady, S. T. (2020). College students' sense of belonging: A national perspective. Educational Researcher, 49(2), 134-137.

Henning, J. A., Ballen, C. J., Molina, S. A., & Cotner, S. (2019). Hidden identities shape student perceptions of active learning environments. Frontiers in Education, 4, 129.

Hoffman, M., Richmond, J., Morrow, J., & Salomone, K. (2002). Investigating "sense of belonging" in first-year college students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 4(3), 227-256.

Hutchings, C. (2014). Referencing and identity, voice and agency: Adult learners' transformations within literacy practices. Higher Education Research & Development, 33(2), 312-324.

Hyder, E., & Tissot, C. (2013). 'That's definite discrimination': practice under the umbrella of inclusion. Disability & Society, 28(1), 1-13

Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2016). Emotion, sociality, and the brain's default mode network: Insights for educational practice and policy. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3(2), 211-219.

Immordino-Yang, M. H., Darling-Hammond, L., & Krone, C. (2018). The brain basis for integrated social, emotional, and academic development: How emotions and social relationships drive learning. Aspen Institute.

Irgens, G. A. (2019). Facilitating a sense of belonging for women of color in engineering: The case for virtual internships. In Advancing Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Through Human Systems Engineering (pp. 221-239). CRC Press.

Johnson, S. E., Richeson, J. A., & Finkel, E. J. (2011). Middle class and marginal? Socioeconomic status, stigma, and self-regulation at an elite university. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(5), 838.

Luke, A. (2012). Critical literacy: Foundational notes. Theory into Practice, 51(1), 4-11.

Matthews, J. S., & Lopez, F. (2020). Race-reimaging educational psychology research: Investigating constructs through the lens of race and culture. _Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, _101878.

McBeath, M., Drysdale, M. T., & Bohn, N. (2018). Work-integrated learning and the importance of peer support and sense of belonging. Education+Training.

McIlroy, G., & Storbeck, C. (2011). Development of deaf identity: An ethnographic study. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 16(4), 494-511.

Muhammad, G. E. (2018). A plea for identity and criticality: Reframing literacy learning standards through a four-layered model. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62(2), 137-142.

Murphy, M., & Zirkel, S. (2015). Race and belonging in school: How anticipated and experienced belonging affect choice, persistence, and performance. Teachers College Record, 117(12).

Nash, A., & Kallenbach, S. (2009). Making it worth the stay: Findings from the New England adult learner persistence project. New English Literacy Resource Center.

Oyserman, D., Lewis, N. A., Yan, V. X., Fisher, O., O'Donnell, S. C., & Horowitz, E. (2017). An identity-based motivation framework for self-regulation. Psychological Inquiry, 28(2-3), 139-147.

Park, G. (2013). 'Writing is a way of knowing': writing and identity. ELT Journal, 67(3), 336-345.

Peacock, S., & Cowan, J. (2019). Promoting sense of belonging in online learning communities of inquiry in accredited courses. Online Learning, 23(2), 67-81.

Phinney, J. S., & Chavira, V. (1992). Ethnic identity and self-esteem: An exploratory longitudinal study. Journal of Adolescence, 15(3), 271-281.

Quinn, D. M., & Chaudoir, S. R. (2009). Living with a concealable stigmatized identity: the impact of anticipated stigma, centrality, salience, and cultural stigma on psychological distress and health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(4), 634.

Raver, A., Murchake, H., & Chalk, H. M. (2018). Positive disability identity predicts sense of belonging in emerging adults with a disability. Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 23(2).

Richardson, P. W., & Eccles, J. S. (2007). Rewards of reading: Toward the development of possible selves and identities. Journal of Educational Research, 46(6), 341-356.

Rothes, A., Lemos, M. S., & Gonçalves, T. (2017). Motivational profiles of adult learners. Adult Education Quarterly, 67(1), 3-29.

Schaefer, L. M., & Nooner, K. B. (2017). Brain function associated with cooccurring trauma and depression symptoms in college students. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 26(2), 175-190.

Spencer, S. J., Logel, C., & Davies, P. G. (2016). Stereotype threat. Annual Review of Psychology, 67, 415-437.

Strayhorn, T. L. (2018). College students' sense of belonging: A key to educational success for all students. Routledge.

Syed, M., & Juan, M. J. D. (2012). Birds of an ethnic feather? Ethnic identity homophily among college-age friends. Journal of Adolescence, 35(6), 1505-1514.

The Education Trust. (2020). Social, emotional, and academic development through an equity lens.

Timeo, S., Riva, P., & Paladino, M. P. (2020). Being liked or not being liked: A study on social- media exclusion in a preadolescent population. Journal of Adolescence, 80, 173-181.

Tinto, V. (1997). Classrooms as communities: Exploring the educational character of student persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 68(6), 599-623.

Torgerson, C. N., Love, H. A., & Vennum, A. (2018). The buffering effect of belonging on the negative association of childhood trauma with adult mental health and risky alcohol use. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 88, 44-50.

Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Fine, M. A. (2004). Examining ethnic identity among Mexican-origin adolescents living in the United States. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 26(1), 36-59.

Umaña‐Taylor, A. J., Quintana, S. M., Lee, R. M., Cross Jr, W. E., Rivas‐Drake, D., Schwartz, S. J., ... & Ethnic and Racial Identity in the 21st Century Study Group. (2014). Ethnic and racial identity during adolescence and into young adulthood: An integrated conceptualization. Child Development, 85(1), 21-39.

Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Tynes, B. M., Toomey, Russell, B., Williams, D. R., & Mitchell, K. J. (2015). Latino adolescents' perceived discrimination in online and offline settings: An examination of cultural risk and protective factors. Developmental Psychology, 51(1), 87-100.

Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Yazedjian, A. & Bamaca-Gomez, M. Y. (2004). Developing the ethnic identity scale using Eriksonian and social identity perspectives. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 4, 9-38.

Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Zeiders, K. H., & Updegraff, K. A. (2013). Family ethnic socialization and ethnic identity: A family-driven, youth-driven, or reciprocal process?. Journal of Family Psychology, 27(1), 137.

Valentine, G., Sporton, D., & Nielsen, K. B. (2009). Identities and belonging: a study of Somali refugee and asylum seekers living in the UK and Denmark. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 27(2), 234-250.

Vandenbosch, L. & Eggermont, S. (2016). The interrelated roles of mass media and social media in adolescents' development of an objectified self-concept: A longitudinal study. Communication Research, 43(8), 1116-1140.

Vasquez, J. M. (2005). Ethnic identity and Chicano literature: How ethnicity affects reading and reading affects ethnic consciousness. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 28(5), 903-924.

Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Roberts, L. R., & Eckles, K. (2014). Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 3(4), 206-222.

Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2007). A question of belonging: Race, social fit, and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(1), 82-96.

Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2011). A brief social-belonging intervention improves academic and health outcomes of minority students. Science, 331(6023), 1447-1451.

Waterman, A. S. (2020). "Now what do I do?": Toward a conceptual understanding of the effects of traumatic events on identity functioning. Journal of Adolescence, 79, 59-69.

Watson, P. W. S. J., Alansari, M., Worrell, F. C., & Rubie-Davies, C. M. (2020). Ethnic-racial identity, relatedness, and school belonging for adolescent New Zealanders: does student gender make a difference? Social Psychology of Education, 23(4), 979-1002.

Weisz, B. M., Quinn, D. M., & Williams, M. K. (2015). Out and healthy: Being more "out" about a concealable stigmatized identity may boost the health benefits of social support. Journal of Health Psychology, 21(12), 1-10.

Yates, N., & Patall, E. A. (2021). Exploring the relationship between Black high school students' external regulation and intrinsic motivation. Motivation and Emotion, 45(2), 146-158.

Yeager, D. S., Walton, G. M., Brady, S. T., Akcinar, E. N., Paunesku, D., Keane, L., ... & Dweck, C. S. (2016). Teaching a lay theory before college narrows achievement gaps at scale. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(24), E3341-E3348.

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.