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ERIC Number: ED650308
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 248
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3584-8356-9
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Understanding Sense of Belonging of Students of Color Attending a Liberal Arts College
Jessica V. Wenger
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, State University of New York at Albany
College access programs have been created to provide students of color opportunities to attend college. The Posse Foundation selects promising urban high school students to attend highly selective colleges and universities across the country. College success is dependent on a variety of factors, two of which are successful social and academic integration into the campus community (Tinto, 1993). Related to integration, sense of belonging is the feeling that an individual belongs in their environment (McMillan & Chavis, 1986). Despite the homogenous racial makeup of highly selective schools, students of color choose to enroll and become members of selective college and university communities. Being in the minority has the potential to stifle students' feelings of sense of belonging (Anderman & T. M. Freeman, 2004; Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Strayhorn, 2019). Posse Scholars attend schools where they are the overwhelming racial minority (Posse Foundation, n.d.). Understanding Posse Scholars' sense of belonging is important because their experiences could differ from their peers and impact college student outcomes, such as retention. By applying a qualitative research method approach, I aimed to understand Posse Scholars' sense of belonging in their cohort or posse and in their campus community as a whole. In addition, I made comparisons between Posse Scholars and non-Posse scholars. Through using Tinto's (1993) framework on college departure, Posse Scholars and non-Posse scholars reported that, in the academic system, poor academic performance hindered sense of belonging. In addition, staff interactions fostered participant sense of belonging, but faculty interactions hindered sense of belonging for both groups of participants. In the social system, both extracurricular activities and peer group interactions fostered and hindered sense of belonging for each participant group. After analyzing the collected data, I observed Posse Scholars and non-Posse scholars felt a sense of belonging to their institution when they engaged with individuals on campus who looked like them or who had shared interests and similar backgrounds to them. Interactions with campus community members were formal and informal and occurred with both peers and administrators. Posse Scholars engaged with individuals who looked like them and shared similar interests and backgrounds most frequently through the Posse Foundation. It was evident Posse Scholars exhibited sense of belonging to their institution through their participation in the Posse Foundation. In addition, Posse Scholars exhibited sense of belonging beyond their Posse cohort in the academic and social systems of Tinto's (1993) model of college student departure. In the extracurricular (i.e., formal) component of the social system, Posse Scholars exclusively shared that engaging in leadership pursuits and participating in campus employment fostered sense of belonging in the College A community beyond their Posse cohort. Posse Scholars felt a sense of belonging to College A beyond their cohort when they held positions of leadership and authority. Findings were consistent with existing literature about college employment and leadership as they related to sense of belonging (Ribera et al., 2017; Maestas et al., 2007; Museus & Chang, 2021; Nunez & Sansone, 2016). [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A