Join Chris Donoghue and Eunice Park for a new series designed to deepen your understanding of student belonging at Montclair State University.
A wide body of evidence demonstrates the importance of student belonging in achieving academic success. But what is belonging and how do we define it at Montclair?
To belong is to feel a deep sense of connection and mattering to the people and places that make up our community. The need to belong is fundamental to the human experience. It means we feel accepted, safe, and seen. In our surveys, we measure it by asking students about their level of classroom comfort, the support they feel from peers and faculty, and the degree of any isolation they may be experiencing. A common misconception is that all students feel like they belong when they see other students that look like them and have similar experiences, but the literature (and our data) show this is not true for all demographic groups.
At Montclair, we are working hard to understand these group differences not only in belonging but also in physical and mental health, work and family demands, race-based stressors, and other common challenges. You can learn all about these efforts, our survey findings, and helpful strategies for promoting belonging and inclusion by joining us for these sessions:
- Student Belonging at Montclair: Results of the 2024 Student Needs & Sense of Belonging Survey, Wed., Feb. 5, @ 2.
- Strategies & Pedagogies for Belonging and Inclusion, TBA
- Exploring Student Belonging at Montclair: Findings from the 2023-2024 Survey of Graduate Students, TBA
- How do you build belonging? A Faculty Workshop on Student Belonging, TBA