A sense of belonging and loyalty among Turkish undergraduate students: serial mediating role of college outcome expectation and engagement

ABSTRACT

This study examines the serial mediating role of college outcome expectation and engagement in the relationship between a sense of belonging and loyalty. It goes further by exploring the serial mediating roles of college outcome expectation and student engagement, in contrast to previous research that primarily concentrated on the direct relationship between the sense of belonging and student loyalty. The data were collected from 677 full-time undergraduate students using the Student Loyalty Scale, the Sense of Belonging Scale, the College Outcome Expectation Questionnaire, and the University Student Engagement Inventory. The path analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro. The analysis shows that college outcome expectation and student engagement serially mediate the relationship between a sense of belonging and student loyalty. When students feel a strong sense of belonging and their college outcome expectations are satisfied, they are more likely to be engaged in their educational pursuits, which, in turn, impacts their loyalty towards the institution. The findings of this study have significant implications for higher education administrators and instructors, including the need to adopt a student-centered strategy, and offer inclusive guidance, support services for the benefit of students.

KEYWORDS:

• College outcome expectation
• sense of belonging
• student engagement
• student loyalty

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the participants of this study; the Turkish undergraduate students who generously shared their valuable time and insight.

Disclosure statement

This article has been published under the Journal’s transparent peer review policy. Anonymised peer review reports of the submitted manuscript can be accessed under supplemental material online at (https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2024.2339223)

Additional information

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Fatma Uslu Gülşen

Fatma Uslu Gülşen is an assistant professor doctor in the Education Administration Department of Mersin University. She completed her Ph.D. in education administration in 2017. Her research interests are related to higher education, educational policy, and school leadership. She teaches undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral courses.