WHERE I SLEEP: THE RELATIONSHIP WITH RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENTS AND FIRST-GENERATION BELONGINGNESS - read online free

Oct 15, 2026

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The manuscript examines how a sense of belonging supports academic success, persistence, and self-efficacy, with particular attention to first-generation students who face reduced opportunities for social, intellectual, and academic engagement. It investigates residential spaces as the setting where academic and social environments intersect, using regression analysis and analysis of open-ended responses guided by Strayhorn’s belongingness model. Findings indicate contributions from residential advisors, residence hall facilities and programming, and multiple identities to first-generation student belongingness.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Sense of Belonging

Purpose and Method

WHERE I SLEEP: THE RELATIONSHIP WITH RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENTS AND FIRST-GENERATION BELONGINGNESS Jason C. Garvey Tracy Arámbula Ballysingh Loren Bowley Dow Brandin L. Howard University of Vermont Amanda N. Ingram University of Alabama Melissa Carlson Colorado State University Sense of belonging contributes to academic success, persistence, and self-efficacy among students, and is especially poignant for first-generation students who are less likely to engage socially, intellectually, and academically. Residential spaces provide the ideal environment to examine belongingness among first-generation students because of the intersections of academic and social spaces. In our study, we utilized regression analysis supplemented by an analysis of open-ended responses to explore belongingness among first-generation students in residential spaces using Strayhorn’s (2012) sense of belonging model. Our findings suggest that residential advisors, residence hall facilities and programming, and multiple identities contribute to first-generation student belongingness. Please direct inquires about this manuscript to: Jason C. Garvey, [jcgarvey@uvm.edu](jcgarvey@uvm.edu) College Student Affairs Journal, Volume 38(1), pp. 16-33 ISSN 2381-2338 Copyright 2020 Southern Association for College Student Affairs All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 17 College Student Affairs Journal Vol. 38, No. 1, 2020 S ense of belonging contributes to academic success, persistence, and self-efficacy among undergraduate students and is a crucial factor in the successful transition to college (Hausman, Schofield, & Woods, 2007; Johnson et al., 2007; Locks, Hurtado, Bowman, & Oseguera, 2008) . The factors that shape students’ sense of belonging in college is the focus of a growing body of research (Hoffman, Richmond, Morrow, & Salamone, 2002; Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Nuñez, 2009), yet much is left to uncover regarding how belongingness shapes the experiences of first-generation students, in particular. The significance of belongingness to student success is especially poignant for first-generation students who are less likely to engage socially, intellectually, and academically in college (Engle & Tinto, 2008; Soria & Stebleton, 2012) . Insufficient social and academic engagement by first-generation students can negatively affect completion rates. Recent NCES data indicate 33 percent of first-generation students left postsecondary education without a credential in comparison with 20 percent of their continuing generation peers whose parents completed some college and 14 percent of their peers whose parents earned a bachelor’s degree (Cataldi, Bennett, & Chen, 2018) . The salience of belongingness for first-generation students’ academic success is heightened when students hold other marginalized identities, including those related to gender expression, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, economic status, and social class (Bui, 2002; Ishitani, 2006; Ostrove & Long, 2007; Sáenz, Hurtado, Barrera, Wolf, & Yeung, 2007) . For residential students, their on-campus living experiences greatly shape their social and academic outcomes (Inkelas, Szelényi, Soldner, & Brower, 2007) . The extant literature thoroughly documents the benefits of on-campus residential experiences but few scholars have explicitly studied how the intersecting nature of residential spaces, residential curricula, and residential staff can promote a sense of belonging for first-gen- eration students, many of whom hold marginalized identities. Given the depths of their experiences and interactions with students, residential staff anecdotally understand the importance of residential experiences for students’ belongingness. Yet, practitioner knowledge and expertise is often overlooked in academia (Bensimon, 2007), thus necessitating an empirical examination to further explore belongingness in residential environments. Residential spaces provide the ideal environ

FAQs

Why is sense of belonging important for first-generation students?

Sense of belonging supports academic success, persistence, and self-efficacy. The manuscript notes that first-generation students are less likely to engage socially, intellectually, and academically, making belongingness especially consequential.

What research method does the study use to examine belongingness?

The study uses regression analysis supplemented by analysis of open-ended responses. It applies Strayhorn’s (2012) sense of belonging model to first-generation students in residential spaces.

Which residential factors are linked to first-generation student belongingness?

The findings highlight residential advisors, residence hall facilities and programming, and multiple identities as contributors to first-generation student belongingness.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore