Belonging uncertainty as predictor of dropout intentions among first-semester students of the computer sciences

Sources of Male and Female Students’ Belonging Uncertainty in the Computer Sciences

“…Although further research is needed to substantiate our findings, it is possible to consider practical implications for educational institutions in terms of how to organize the integration of minority students into their study programs and foster belonging. First, our results show that belonging uncertainty, a strong predictor of students’ achievement, persistence, and career aspirations (Cundiff et al, 2013; Woodcock et al, 2013; Walton et al, 2015; Höhne and Zander, in press), is catalyzed by perceived affective and academic social exclusion, particularly among female students. Therefore, study programs may wish to create more opportunities for male and female students to exchange with their peers – both formally, e.g., in specific group learning arrangements in seminars and tutorials, as well as informally, after classes.…”

“…Moreover, longitudinal studies over a longer period of time are needed to investigate the temporal stability of our findings. With regard to the subject of computer science, we decided to assess students at the beginning and in the midst of their first semester because of the high dropout rates in this subject at German universities (Heublein and Schmelzer, 2018) and because previous research could show that doubting one’s belongingness in an academic context itself is a predictor of students’ persistence and dropout intentions, respectively (Cundiff et al, 2013; Woodcock et al, 2013; Höhne and Zander, in press). Therefore, and because we wanted to investigate the sources of belonging uncertainty, we expected a certain proportion of the students with a high uncertainty about belonging to already have dropped out by the end of the semester, preventing us from obtaining insight into the psychological experiences of this student group.…”

“…“I remember walking into one of the classes at Stanford and just deciding not to take the class because I was one of only three women there, and I just felt so intimidated.” The experience that former co-president of Women in Computer Science at Stanford University Catherina Xu publicly expressed in 2017 is a feeling that students from stigmatized and underrepresented social groups frequently experience in academic settings. When minority group members question their fit in an educational environment, a state of belonging uncertainty can emerge and manifest, which has been found to adversely affect academic domain identification, achievement, persistence, and career aspirations (Cundiff et al, 2013; Woodcock et al, 2013; Walton et al, 2015; Höhne and Zander, in press). Although there is a growing body of research on the consequences of belonging uncertainty, to date, only little research has empirically investigated the sources of the feeling that “people like me” do not belong (Walton and Cohen, 2007).…”

“I Don’t Really Belong Here”

“…Both correlational and experimental studies indicate a positive impact on academic self-efficacy, motivation, achievement, and grades (e. g., Clark et al, 2012;Freeman et al, 2007;Pittmann & Richmond, 2007;Walton et al, 2012;Zumbrunn et al, 2014). Considerable research indicates that especially minority students, such as female students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), first-generation students as well as students with an immigrant background, feel a lower sense of belonging than majority students (Cook et al, 2017;Höhne & Zander, 2019a;Stebleton et al, 2014).…”

“…Based on Baumeister and Leary (1995) and Goodenow (1993), we conceptualized sense of belonging in terms of social attachment, acceptance, and connectedness. A considerable amount of research also considers ability or academic belonging as a second facet of belongingness in educational or professional settings, which refers to doubts about one's abilities, skills, academic capacities, or intellectual fit in a specific domain (Banchefsky et al, 2019;Höhne & Zander, 2019b;Lewis & Hodges, 2015;Skourletos et al, 2013). Results indicate that it may be worthwhile to expand the concept of sense of belonging in future research.…”