Sense of belonging among students preparing for early childhood-related careers

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for higher education institutions to take a holistic approach to early childhood teacher preparation, which includes fostering students’ social connections at the university. Using an online survey, this study examined perceptions of whether and how the pandemic disrupted sense of belonging (SoB) and career preparation among students with early-childhood related career interests. We further examined how students’ individual personal characteristics (personality, adult attachment) and involvement in student groups/clubs relate to multiple aspects of their SoB. Participants included a racially/ethnically diverse group of first- and non- first-generation undergraduate and graduate students (N = 79) at a public US university. In response to open-ended questions, students reported pandemic-related losses of connection to peers and of opportunities to gain hands-on experience with children, negatively impacting their SoB and career preparation. Key quantitative findings indicated that, beyond the effects of personal characteristics, participation in student groups was associated with a higher sense of peer support. Further, only involvement in early childhood-focused student groups was positively associated with students’ sense of mattering at college. These findings inform universities’ efforts to foster student engagement and connection, particularly by providing opportunities to engage with peers who share career interests.

Acknowledgments

The first author served as a faculty advisor for one of the early childhood student groups referenced in the study. The authors would like to thank Tara Hedayati for assistance with data coding. We would also like to acknowledge Dr. Danielle Mead, Dr. Andrea Golloher, and Dr. Emily Slusser, faculty advisors and contributors to the early childhood student groups, for reviewing and commenting on drafts of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. We use the terms “college” and “university” interchangeably to refer to 4-year higher education institutions that offer Bachelor and Graduate degree programs. We use the term “student” to refer to undergraduate and graduate students.

2. Given the timing of data collection (Spring 2021), nearly all classes were offered online and access to campus was limited, as COVID-related restrictions were in place.

3. Note that elementary and early childhood special education teacher credentialing programs are offered at the post-baccalaureate level at this university, concurrently with an MA degree.

Additional information

Funding

Study procedures were approved by the Human Subjects Institutional Review Board at San José State University. IRB #21084.