Capturing connections during COVID-19: Using photography to assess US college students’ sense of belonging

ABSTRACT

Past research has highlighted a range of factors that impact college students’ sense of belonging. It is less clear how the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped college students’ experience of belonging. The current study used a reflective photography approach to examine US college students’ experience of belonging to their institution during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student responses included themes of Physical Space, Community, Adaptation/Continuity, Identity, and Negative Affect. Physical space emerged as the most common theme. Regardless of whether students were studying on campus or remotely, students described the role of the natural and built environment in finding a sense of connection and belonging. In comparisons based on students’ class year, first-year students talked more about the role of structured groups and other cohorts highlighted the role of past shared experiences. The findings have implications for interventions aimed at promoting student belonging.

KEYWORDS:

• College
• belonging
• COVID-19
• reflective photography
• physical space

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Jenna Papaz, Anastasia Canell, Jenna Rose for their assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism under R34AA026032. Funding was also provided by the Lehigh University.