U.S. elementary college learners do not significantly reward from getting taught by teachers of the exact race or ethnicity. Which is the key discovering from our new review, published in Early Childhood Study Quarterly. We analyzed a nationally consultant sample followed from the get started of kindergarten to the conclude of fifth grade.
Our results show that calls to diversify the teacher workforce are not likely to meaningfully handle huge racial and ethnic educational inequities in U.S. elementary schools.
We in comparison the educational achievement, classroom actions and executive functioning of U.S. elementary college students across two the natural way happening disorders.
The initially problem was when students were being in grades taught by lecturers of the identical race or ethnicity. The next problem was when the very same students were being in grades taught by lecturers whose race or ethnicity differed. We also managed for other components together with a student’s age, their family’s economic sources and the teacher’s amount of training and decades of experience.
We analyzed details from 3 individually administered tests of educational accomplishment, 5 teacher scores of classroom habits and two independently assessed govt operating tasks. We also examined whether college students had been positioned in possibly gifted or particular education and learning lessons.
Total, we observed that getting taught by instructors of the exact race or ethnicity made small difference in whether or not college students displayed higher achievement, better habits or improved executive operating or ended up more probable to be in gifted or distinctive education lessons. We from time to time noticed favourable as well as detrimental consequences. Still these results have been inconsistent and small in dimensions.
Why it matters
Instructional inequities like those people in achievement manifest as early as kindergarten and go on during elementary university. A single prevalent suggestion to tackle these inequities has been to boost the frequency that Black and Hispanic college students are taught by academics of the identical race or ethnicity.
It is feasible, for occasion, that staying taught by a instructor of the identical race or ethnicity may aid reduce biases and cultural misunderstandings, increase obtain to job models and mentors, and foster pupil engagement in classroom functions. Demanding reports continuously come across that college students of color, particularly those who are Black, profit from becoming taught by lecturers of the identical race or ethnicity.
It may perhaps as an alternative be that getting taught by instructors of the exact same race or ethnicity is significantly useful in specific regional contexts. For occasion, in the U.S. South, this may possibly arise mainly because of the region’s background of segregation and discriminatory methods. Most of the positive aspects of scholar-teacher racial matching have been noticed in scientific studies analyzing samples of students attending universities in the U.S. South.
What still is just not acknowledged
Whilst we analyzed a nationally representative sample and examined for cure results throughout a lot of university student groups, our research has numerous limitations. The facts was gathered only for elementary university students. The ordeals and general performance of U.S. center and significant college pupils may perhaps vary.
It is also probable that matching’s favourable effects commence to emerge as college students enter adulthood. For illustration, modern do the job finds that Black college students taught by Black academics are a lot more probably to graduate from high faculty and enter college, specifically two-yr colleges.
Extensive-phrase experiments are wanted that evaluate matching’s benefits. Additional reports are also needed of the probable rewards for pupils attending faculties in the U.S. South. Preliminary get the job done finds that matching’s outcomes might be particular to whether instructors attended historically black faculties and universities, no matter of their race or ethnicity.
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Students’ information examination capabilities have dropped, and lecturers say they’re putting a lot less emphasis on the subject, a new investigation finds—even as workforce need for info-literate employees carries on to rise.
The report, from the advocacy coalition Facts Science 4 Everybody centered at the College of Chicago, analyzed success from the 2022 Countrywide Assessment of Educational Progress. Zarek Drozda, the coalition’s director and report’s writer, examined university student scores in details examination, statistics, and probability—a subset of NAEP’s math check.
Issues in this content material place assess students’ means to use and symbolize facts. In 4th quality, for example, students are asked to use statistical steps like median, assortment, and method. Eighth graders should really be equipped to determine the differences involving a random sampling of information and non-random sampling.
Scores in this subset of the NAEP math exam dropped 10 scale score factors for 8th graders and 4 points for 4th graders. The declines had been much larger for pupils from minimal-income households.
The nosedive in student general performance is not special to facts expertise. The 2022 NAEP scores, the to start with because the commencing of the pandemic, shown the vast-ranging and devastating effects of faculty disruptions on college student accomplishment. Scores dropped in math total, right after a long time of holding steady.
But details assessment scores had been previously trending downward in advance of COVID hit, Drozda said.
Scholar achievement in these locations is falling even as task prospects in these regions continue on to improve, the report argues.
In questionnaires provided to instructors as component of the NAEP, most educators mentioned that they claimed a “moderate” or “heavy” emphasis on data science.
But what exactly that usually means can vary. There is no promise that learners are carrying out the types of assignments that would put together them for work they might want to do in college or in their careers—like analyzing large information sets, for instance, claimed Drozda.
Instructors also appeared to put significantly less empahsis on info science in their classroom in the final number of years. Responses from the NAEP questionnaires confirmed a reduce in the percentage of lecturers who documented a “moderate” or “heavy” emphasis on the subject in between 2019 and 2022.
The pandemic very likely had a hand in this decrease as properly. Lecturers who were delivering math classes as a result of a display, or had to instruct students in person and at household at the exact same time, searched for strategies to boil subjects down to the necessities. They were encouraged to put facts science on the chopping block.
“There was explicit guidance from field professionals to lower [data analysis] out all through that interval,” Drozda explained.
In the early months of the pandemic, education consultants and topic-make any difference gurus put out guides to “priority” content—the critical information and capabilities that academics ought to make absolutely sure little ones understood before shifting to the subsequent grade. In some circumstances, these guides advised scrapping early decades data investigation in order to focus on foundational math concepts, like introducing and subtracting in 20.
But the industry does not have to glance at “core” math ideas and facts assessment abilities as an possibly-or proposition, Drozda said. His individual firm has formulated versions to combine the subject into regular math programs and other topics, like social scientific studies.
A dozen policy advocates and higher training groups are calling on the Countrywide Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements, an firm that controls an critical interstate length mastering pact, to bake far more consumer protections into its insurance policies.
NC-SARA was established in 2013 with the objective of easing regulatory burdens for online schools working throughout point out traces. The non-public nonprofit controls a multistate reciprocity arrangement that permits on the web faculties to stay clear of owning to request separate authorization for each and every condition the place they enroll students.
The organization’s electrical power above on the web training is wide — every single condition other than for California is a member. California has resisted the pact more than problems that becoming a member of would make it not able to keep out-of-point out for-financial gain faculties accountable.
About 1,100 community faculties participate in the condition reciprocity arrangement, along with all-around 1,000 personal nonprofits and pretty much 200 for-gains. In slide 2021, some 4.2 million learners had been enrolled in on the web courses offered by these colleges.
But policy advocates have long complained that NC-SARA sets a reduced bar for consumer protections, leaving college students susceptible to predatory schools. What’s more, they argue that the organization’s policies for taking part in the compact undermine states’ talents to implement their possess customer safety regulations to out-of-point out colleges functioning in their borders.
NC-SARA just lately adopted new processes for making coverage variations that are meant to make the process far more transparent. The business called on stakeholders to suggest policy changes by early February.
They will have the possibility to existing their proposals all through public forums later on in the 12 months, and NC-SARA’s board associates are slated to vote on policy suggestions in October.
The group of influential organizations and policy advocates, including The Century Foundation, the Heart for American Development, and The Institute for University Obtain & Achievements, submitted a slew of proposals in January that are meant to increase consumer protections. They consist of allowing for states to implement their have regulations towards faculties taking part in the compact, applying a lot more stringent specifications to for-financial gain colleges and rising states’ illustration on NC-SARA’s board.
Melanie Booth, NC-SARA’s vice president for instructional courses and engagement, explained the organization will not comment on any of the proposals right up until they are reviewed by the organization’s regional steering committees.
The proposals appear at a time of enhanced scrutiny around on the net applications, particularly those people made available by for-gain faculties. But criticism has also mounted against nonprofit colleges, numerous of which agreement with for-financial gain companies to assistance make their online choices.
Whilst the coverage advocates’ suggestions have been elevated just before, those involved in publishing the new proposals to NC-SARA are hopeful that recent moves by the firm — which include a force for more transparency — will make board customers more amenable to the modifications.
“I’m pretty optimistic,” mentioned Carolyn Quickly, a senior fellow at The Century Basis. “This appears to be like a likely great time for changes to be considered and it’s possible even enacted simply because this is the to start with time that the NC-SARA board has launched this form of a process, exactly where they are actually performing to get general public engagement, transparency and diverse views.”
A ‘two-tiered’ process for learners
To participate in the interstate compact, schools ought to meet NC-SARA’s standards. However, in their coverage proposal, the teams argued that these standards “are minimal, and give insufficient protections to online students.”
Some states have more robust consumer protections for university college students than what’s required below the interstate compact. But the settlement prohibits customers from imposing these rules on out-of-point out faculties enrolling on line pupils located inside their state lines.
This, in convert, made a “two-tiered” program, the teams wrote, where students attending higher education in person or attending an on the net institution headquartered in their condition may be afforded far more buyer protections than other folks.
“It’s not some thing that’s transparent to learners,” Quick said. “When a university student is signing up for a software, they don’t essentially know that they are likely to have fewer consumer protections than other pupils that are in their condition due to the fact of this settlement.”
A prevalent see is that a state reciprocity arrangement is meant to relieve on the internet education and learning accessibility by waiving point out legal guidelines, Speedy stated.
But she argued there are additional nuanced approaches to let on the internet colleges to cross point out traces that will not undercut student protections.
“You could waive people regulations that have to do with having preliminary authorization, like an software charge. You could waive the need to submit an software to various states,” Rapid reported. “You really do not have to have men and women waive all of their customer security.”
Handing states a lot more electric power
The groups termed out one more major trouble they see with NC-SARA: States do not have entire command above placing the interstate compact’s benchmarks. Which is mainly because the organization’s board — which involves representatives of establishments and accreditors — has veto ability about proposed modifications to the arrangement.
“States do not hold the the greater part of positions on the Board, and hence absence management over the Board,” the proposal states.
The teams argue that each individual board member ought to either be reps of member states or regional compacts, which are groups that support states operate cooperatively on their higher training plans.
Barmak Nassirian, vice president for greater instruction policy at the advocacy team Veterans Education Good results, agrees that the board composition takes electric power for overseeing the compact away from the states and delegates it to other folks.
“Not just to anybody off the street,” he additional. “It’s been delegated to the quite entities that the functionality is supposed to oversee.”
Even if NC-SARA’s board associates in the end veto the proposals, larger training advocates say they will have other chances to make improvements to buyer protections for students.
Previously this 12 months, the Education Section reported it is arranging for a spherical of negotiated rulemaking, in which different bigger education groups and stakeholders come together to craft new restrictions. Condition authorization will be 1 of the matters up for dialogue.
“That’ll be another location to elevate these difficulties,” reported Kyle Southern, associate vice president for increased schooling high quality at TICAS. “If we cannot thrust for more powerful scholar protections either through SARA’s board or at the point out amount, with any luck , acquiring a extra strong set of federal laws can proficiently bolster individuals protections for learners.”
There had been 1.3 million fewer college students enrolled in U.S. community educational facilities in fall 2021 than there were being prior to the pandemic began–a drop of practically 3 percent. Presented that educational funding is tied to enrollment, this growth has significant implications for the availability of resources in our educational institutions.
Some of this drop may well be the consequence of shifting demographics. But a lot of it can be attributed to family members who have opted out of community faculties through the pandemic, choosing non-public educational facilities or homeschooling for their youngsters rather.
On leading of these losses, conventional school districts also have shed about a quarter of a million college students to charter educational facilities given that the emergence of COVID. An assessment by the National Alliance for Public Constitution Educational institutions identified that constitution school enrollment improved by more than 7 percent from drop 2019 to slide 2020 as people located other solutions for their children’s schooling.
People have selected to leave their standard university process through the pandemic for a selection of motives. For instance, some weren’t satisfied with the excellent of remote instruction their children ended up getting. Some had been fearful to send their little ones back again when educational facilities reopened. Whatsoever their drive, it is clear they felt their nearby school process was not aptly assembly their wants.
Encouraging family members to continue to be or return to their neighborhood general public educational institutions is a elaborate obstacle that needs a multifaceted technique. People want choices for their children’s education and learning, and these selections must be of large high-quality. Partnering with an seasoned supplier to provide high-high quality online mastering is one particular way regular faculties can give pupils more options—and it is an important technique for attracting and retaining households.
Alternatives in modality
Despite the fact that some college students fell behind all through the shift to distant mastering, many others thrived. Supplying students the adaptability to discover on line alternatively of in-man or woman can provide the wants of lots of family members additional efficiently.
For instance, when performed perfectly, on line discovering makes instruction a lot more hassle-free for college students who have overall health complications or individuals who sense threatened when at school. It presents an choice for college students who are immunocompromised or have family members who are at a large danger from COVID. It even supplies additional autonomy for students and a self-paced discovering choice for people who are bored by the traditional rate of instruction.
A Pew Study Middle study conducted in spring 2022 located that 9 per cent of teenagers would choose mastering thoroughly on line when the pandemic is in excess of. Yet another 18 {e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} stated they would prefer a combine of deal with-to-encounter and on the internet instruction. In other phrases, much more than one in four teens would like to have on the net discovering as an possibility in their colleges. As this CNN story would make very clear, some people sought other possibilities for their children’s schooling that specially provided on-line finding out at the time their neighborhood faculty method returned to in-individual instruction.
Partnering with an skilled online discovering supplier can enable university districts expand the alternatives obtainable to families for their children’s training with minimal effort and hard work. The ability to select on the web instruction as the method in which their little ones study could persuade some people to rethink their decision to go away their regional university system—and it could give other individuals a powerful cause to stay.
Choices in mastering possibilities
On-line discovering expands not only the modalities obtainable to pupils, but the understanding alternatives as very well.
Numerous K-12 schools just can’t supply the breadth of courses essential to match all students’ passions. They could possibly not have the price range to offer you these programs them selves, or they may possibly not be in a position to uncover and recruit instructors with the important knowledge. For instance, students in rural areas are considerably less probable to have access to Advanced Placement (AP)® courses—and only 50 percent of all substantial educational institutions provide computer science programs.
Supplemental online classes give a compelling answer, quickly increasing the array of classes that faculties can provide. This lets pupils to take a look at subjects they are curious about from educated and qualified instructors worldwide, which can be a effective incentive for people to choose a university method. In accordance to just one review, the assortment of educational options that a college process has to present is a vital component in wherever households pick to send out their young children to faculty, with scientists composing that parents “were very affected by the multitude of opportunities the district of their decision had to supply.”
Growing decisions is crucial
Alternative is a major watchword in training right now. Whether or not from homeschooling, non-public schools, charter faculties, or even neighboring university devices, community faculties encounter considerable competitiveness for the college students in their community communities—and the educational funding that follows these pupils.
To bring in and retain families, districts should give a wide range of selections for pupil studying. This was real even ahead of the pandemic, and it is specifically accurate now. Giving whole-time or supplemental finding out solutions is a critical system for accomplishing this effectively. It can make districts more eye-catching for family members and is just one section of a multifaceted strategy to solving the obstacle of declining scholar enrollment.
Associated: 5 parts of a wonderful hybrid understanding plan How virtual tutoring reinforces our following-university plan
Jane Gallagher, Vice President of Functions, VHS Learning
Jane Gallagher is Vice President of Functions for VHS Discovering, a nonprofit firm with additional than 26 decades of expertise delivering earth-course on-line finding out systems to pupils and schools everywhere. Far more than 600 colleges all around the planet take benefit of VHS Learning’s 300+ on-line higher university programs to grow their packages of research.
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A total of 179 out of the possible 663 students (27{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} completion) completed the online survey in June 2020. Median age of students was 19 years (IQR 18–28 years) and there were approximately three times as many females as males (Table 1), reflective of the undergraduate health sciences cohort (70{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} female). Student numbers were also reflective of the broader enrolment numbers in the programs (i.e., occupational therapy is the largest program). Just over half (53{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}; n = 94) of students had no prior experience in undertaking a Bachelor degree, and 76{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of students had not completed any online courses prior to enrolment.
Table 1 Demographic characteristics
Quantitative results to the sense of belonging questionnaire
In terms of students’ sense of belonging to the university, the majority felt ‘quite’ or ‘extremely’ happy with their choice of university (74{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) and felt ‘quite’ or ‘extremely’ welcomed by the university (68{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}). While most students felt respected by both staff (70{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) and students (60{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) at the university, students reported less connectiveness (23.5{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) to the university. Only 20{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of students reported they felt they were understood as an individual, and only 13{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} felt they ‘quite’ or ‘extremely’ mattered to others at the university (Table 2).
Table 2 Online learning and Sense of Belonging to the University [1]
Table 3 shows how the online learning experiences impacted on students’ perception of the course; 27{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of students felt ‘quite’ or ‘extremely’ connected to staff while 16{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of students felt ‘quite’ or ‘extremely’ connected to other students. While 49{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of students rated 4 and above for the level of respect that they received from other students and their contribution towards the subject, students who had prior higher education felt less respected than students who had no prior higher education (p = 0.03). When asked how the online subject had contributed to understanding, knowledge/skills in their chosen health profession, about half of the students rated the online subject highly (rating 4 and above). Students who had prior higher education indicated higher ratings of understanding and knowledge/skills compared to students without prior higher education (p = 0.07 and p = 0.03 respectively). There was also a significantly higher proportion of students with no prior higher education who identified the online learning experience as either ‘quite’ or ‘extremely’ likely to impact their intention to continue with their current course (p = 0.001).
Table 3 Impact of online profession-specific subject on perception of the course
Qualitative results
Qualitative findings provided insight into experiences of staff and students during the rapid, unplanned transition to online learning. Student questionnaire responses included two open-ended questions expanding on enablers and barriers to sense of belonging. These yielded 145 enablers and 254 barriers to students’ feeling a sense of belonging. Data were subjected to qualitative content analysis by two authors and categories are presented in Additional file 1.
Three focus groups were conducted: two student sessions, each with two students enrolled in Speech Pathology and Paramedicine, and one academic session with five participants. Four full time academics and one casual academic participated from a total population of nine eligible academics. Using the processes described in the methods, focus group analysis was compared with the survey content analysis and the authors identified synergies between them. Findings were then integrated under a global theme, underpinned by organising and basic themes. The following themes reflect triangulation between academic and student focus group data in addition to survey responses.
Global theme—navigating belonging during the COVID-19 crisis: a shared responsibility
“We are in this together…making the best of this”
This theme explores sense of belonging creation during this period as a shared process, where participants perceived they worked together to get through the crisis. Students and academics encountered many challenges as they transitioned to online learning but despite hard times, were able to engage positively. The global theme revealed students and academics were navigating belonging during the COVID-19 crisis, and this journey was a shared responsibility. Both groups were working to achieve positive student engagement that would in turn create a sense of belonging in first-year students. A strong commitment of working hard to make the best out of this was mutually acknowledged.
Students perceived academics had done “a really good job at making sure we belonged…in those first few weeks that we were on campus but even more so probably while we were in Zoom” (Student-Astrid-Focus Group). Academics perceived students were actively engaged in making online learning work and were collegial and collaborative.
The shared experiences about navigating belonging during the COVID-19 crisis, have been captured under four organising themes: dimensions of belonging, individual experiences and challenges, reconceptualising teaching and learning, and relationships are central to belonging. Within each organising theme, basic themes were identified that provide depth to the organising theme (Fig. 1). Additional files 1 and 2 present a summary of the quotes obtained from the open-ended surveys and focus groups respectively, that contribute to the themes in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1
Pictorial representation of the global, organising, and basic themes
Organising theme: dimensions of belonging
This theme outlines that belonging is a multidimensional experience with several facets underpinning participants’ experiences. Students and academics identified several dimensions of belonging in relation to first year students’ experiences, as illustrated by two basic themes that sit under the organising theme: what it means to belong, and layers of belonging.
Basic theme: what it means to belong
This theme explores the idea that belonging at university is underpinned by feeling valued and connected. Academics and students agreed that having a sense of being valued by the university and a desire to have an active connection across all aspects of university life was important for students.
Belonging as a student was gained through a connection with the “vocation” (Student-Claire-Focus Group) or the course and career, and with people who will “be there” (Student-Claire-Focus Group) for them. Furthermore, support of academics was critical to gaining a sense of belonging. It was noted by academics and students, that when students feel they belong at university, they are actively engaged in their learning, and this sense of belonging in turn shapes their overall identity. Students can then “actually sort of relax and become themselves” (Staff-Brooke).
Belonging to their cohort, their course, their future profession, and their university was important for students. One academic noted that the “concept of acceptance” is part of the sense of belonging and goes “both ways” (Staff-Brooke).
Both academics and students agreed that the rapid change to online learning due to COVID-19, meant that developing a sense of belonging was challenged.
Basic theme: layers of belonging
This theme identified layers of belonging reflected in participants’ experiences. Peer, academic and professional layers each contributed to an overall sense of belonging and key examples are provided below.
Peers
Belonging to peers was described as “having that connection to someone that’s going through exactly the same thing as what you’re going through” (Student-Astrid-Focus Group). Students were concerned that when learning moved online that this sense of belonging would be jeopardised by less opportunities for in-person interaction.
Academics
Being connected to academics was perceived by students as directly impacting learning, with one student commenting: “…when they’re not connecting with the teacher, they’re not connecting with the content, they’re not connecting with the feedback. That’s when you develop this sense of feeling like you just don’t belong” (Student-Emily-Focus Group).
Academics perceived it was also important for students to develop a sense of belonging to the university community.
Profession
Belonging to a profession was identified as an important feature of belonging by academics and students. Studying a degree with a clear professional identity facilitated first year students to feel they belonged compared to those undertaking general health science degrees which may have multiple pathways and career options less directly aligned to first year studies.
One academic actively encouraged first year students to belong to their professional association as a way of fostering belonging in first years.
Organising theme—Individual experiences and challenges
This theme outlines that while there are similarities in participants’ experiences, individuals have unique contexts and factors shaping their experiences. Academics and students reflected upon personal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their teaching or learning and how they responded as individuals to the ensuing challenges. Two basic themes emerged: Challenges of transition and recognising different learning preferences.
Basic theme —challenges of transition
This theme explored the significant challenges of transitioning to online teaching and learning. For some students, the transition to online learning offered potential benefits of flexibility and reduced travel time. Two of the four students in the focus groups opted for online learning opportunities available in other subjects of study prior to the pandemic to efficiently manage their study and external commitments. Nonetheless, the pandemic brought a raft of personal challenges that diminished these expected benefits. Covid-related changes to family employment, reduced access to childcare support and non-optional home schooling presented new concerns.
Clearly, students missed the opportunity to focus attention on their learning needs when balancing childcare demands and home-schooling during lockdowns.
Unlike a conventional online courses where students choose or plan to be online, the sudden, unexpected, and unplanned move to online study was prefaced by a short period (four weeks) of in-person class time. This initial in-person time was identified as being key to relationship building.
Academics identified positive experiences and challenges during the transition to online learning. The rapid change presented a problem to be solved and individuals could “embrace it and to work effectively…as a team” (Staff-Jane). Quickly strategizing and responding to the demands of online learning required team knowledge, experience, and support. Hence, enhanced team culture was a further positive for academics, being “present for each other” (Staff-Brooke).
Basic theme : recognising different learning preferences
This theme identifies experiences of online learning influenced by personal attributes, individual expectations and learning preferences. Such key factors impacted students’ capacity to maintain focus on academic goals after the rapid change to online learning. Some students reflected that barriers were not solely a feature of online learning environments, reporting that competing priorities, including work commitments and limited contact time with staff as pre-existing challenges to belonging. However, some students directly attributed their limited engagement and reduced motivation to the online learning environment.
Students suggested that active engagement “comes down to personality” (Student-Astrid- Focus Group). If a student was not shy they were comfortable to come forward and participate online. Some students perceived clear links between personal discipline, engagement, commitment, and achievement in online learning environments.
Further, students perceived effective (and ineffective) online group functioning reflected personalities of individual members, with some groups/personalities seen as being able to organise whilst other groups lacked leadership and cohesion.
Students who perceived themselves as active engagers reported being drawn towards other students who demonstrated motivation to interact and learn. Other students perceived their personalities or learning preferences were misaligned with the expectations of belonging in online learning environments and focussed upon tasks rather than connection.
Academics recognised student diversity and a need to reflect and re-evaluate expectations of students in online environments. They accepted that some students may be quietly engaging and learning to belong, but this was harder to observe in online compared to in-person learning environments.
Organising theme—relationships are central to belonging
This theme identified the relationship between all parties as a fundamental aspect of creating a sense of belonging. Two basic themes were influential in shaping perceptions of how relationships and connections contribute to belonging: collaboration with peers is fundamental, and effective and regular communication with staff is necessary.
Basic theme —collaboration with peers is fundamental
This theme revealed collaboration with student peers was a key element of creating a sense of belonging. The degree of social interaction with student peers and opportunities to create friendships contributed to feelings of belonging. Accordingly, students found it problematic when peers neglected to turn cameras on during classes, making interaction very difficult. Visualisation of peers and use of cameras in online classes impacted students’ opportunities to get to know each other.
Challenges posed by online learning were further highlighted in the student survey through a focus on non-academic aspects of university and campus life. Typically, university campuses offer interactional opportunities through clubs, sport, and shared spaces to learn and socialise. Campus life, students suggested, may facilitate learning and personal development. Absence of this type of interaction was linked to barriers in developing friendships and consequently a lesser sense of belonging as reflected in Additional file 1.
Basic theme— communication with academics is necessary
This theme outlined that communicating with academics was a key component of creating a sense of belonging. With less opportunities for peer support, there was stronger reliance on the academic-student connection, although students reported positive and negative interactions with academics during online learning.
Positive interactions and individualised communication with academics enhanced student sense of satisfaction and belonging. Furthermore, students in the focus groups reported a feeling of trust and a bond created by a shared challenge. Survey responses echoed this sentiment, noting that academics were “non-judgmental and supportive” (Student Survey 18) and created a sense of camaraderie. However, when students perceived impersonal communication from academics, they felt less connected or believed that teaching had become a “transaction” (Student-Astrid- Focus Group). Perceived levels of enthusiasm and engagement from academics influenced student’s perceptions of connection and belonging.
Students identified the online environment as a barrier to communication with academics. While systematic and university level communication was perceived as a useful source of information, students prioritised individualised communication from academic staff as key to belonging.
Academics concurred that effective communication was challenged in online environments, missing non-verbal cues and responsivity that characterises a classroom environment. Although the online learning environment provides an opportunity for academics to connect professionally with students, there were students who left their cameras off, with one academic noting they didn’t push this issue because there are many reasons for students choosing this option.
Organising theme: reconceptualising teaching and learning
This theme reveals how academics and students reconceptualised their expectations and modes of teaching and learning, to manage the crisis. It was not easy for academics or students, and many strategies were employed to make it work, with two basic themes emerging: challenges to online teaching and learning, and strategies to engage and connect.
Basic theme: challenges of online teaching and learning: “how do I make this work?”
This theme outlined many challenges faced by both academics and students during a rapid change to online mode. With the rapid change to online learning, academics asked themselves, ‘How do I make this work?’.
Managing workload
Academics reported their workload increased significantly, and they “found it a juggling act” (Staff-Louise) to meet their teaching requirements. Administrative loads consequently increased when reduced in-person contact with students led to more electronic communication. Academics needed to up-skill in online teaching in a short time frame and perceived this responsibility as all encompassing.
The rapid switch to online learning attracted significant academic workload, implementing and adapting content to see how material “might play out in a Zoom environment…[where]…everything takes longer” (Staff-Natalie).
Some students noticed a temptation to disengage from online learning, which meant balancing their workload and study demands became a challenge as they also faced significant workload and stressors in their personal lives due to COVID-19.
Class dynamics
Academics and students spoke about the change to classroom dynamics. The online environment was noted as being one in which it was difficult to read the room to see how students were progressing with their work. Others tried to use humour to enliven a class, only to have the Zoom frame freeze, killing the mood they were trying to create. Hence, staff felt teaching online was less conversational, flexible and responsive compared to face-to-face. Moreover, academics missed hands-on practical elements; a big shift for some programs.
Technological challenges
Academics learnt new skills quickly, but often these skills would be challenged when technology failed. Some academics reported a sense of vulnerability due to technological ineptitude but acknowledged that making mistakes in front of students could humanise the experience. Academics also acknowledged that some students did not have adequate technological resources to meet changes in their learning requirements when classes were placed online.
Basic theme: strategies to engage and connect
This theme reflected the strategies academics and students employed to remain engaged and connected. Academics worked hard to enhance online learning and hoped to connect with students and engage them in activities. Students too were active and appreciated academics’ efforts to facilitate engagement and connection. Underlying many of the strategies adopted by academics was a deep concern for student welfare during this time. Therefore, many academics aimed to ensure students were engaged and connected with each other and with the academic team. Academics built in small group opportunities during online teaching so students could connect, learn, and socialise.
Staff also spoke about informing students they could contact staff for support. One staff member described crossing the divide and actively discouraging a ‘them and us’ dynamic between students and staff.
A variety of teaching tools were identified by staff to build connection and promote engagement. Such tools included interactive quizzes, ice breakers activities, integrating reflective practices into activities and ‘drop in’ sessions. Staff also encouraged students to establish social media groups or other group experiences outside the classroom. Some staff members arrived early to zoom classes and left late to enable students to connect informally.
Students appreciated staff attempts to provide these activities. Students found these initiatives helpful, recognising staff placed effort into knowing students personally and focussing on student wellbeing and achievement. Students cited examples of provision of extra resources, mini-lectures, additional question and answer sessions, and fast response times to student queries. Students also initiated their own engagement strategies, including using group and personal messaging over platforms such as Facebook messenger.
