How Do Latinx Dual Credit Earners Describe Their Sense of Belonging in Engineering Programs?

Abstract

This study examined how 10 Latinx students perceived their sense of belonging in engineering programs. Drawing upon Strayhorn’s definition of sense of belonging, we sought to understand the experiences and individuals that facilitated Latinx students’ connections to their engineering programs and to the larger campus community at a 4-year university in Texas. The findings from this study indicate interactions with faculty members, academic advisors, and peers through student organizations facilitated a strong sense of belonging. However, the size and rigor of classes, distance to campus, outside responsibilities, and feeling like an outsider created challenges to students’ sense of belonging at the university. Recommendations for practice and future research are offered.

Keywords

Latinx students engineering programs qualitative research dual credit

As the Hispanic population in the United States has grown, so too has the enrollment of Latinx students in the public school system, altering both K-12 and higher education landscapes (Center for Public Policy Priorities, 2016). This growth is particularly exponential in states like Texas, where Hispanics are expected to represent the majority of residents by the year 2035 (Davis, 2016). Although Latinx children represent approximately half of students in Texas public schools (Center for Public Policy Priorities, 2016), in 2014, only 35% of Latinos between the ages of 18 and 24 were enrolled in a postsecondary institution (Krogstad, 2016). Furthermore, Hispanics trail behind other ethnic groups in bachelor’s degree attainment (Fry & Lopez, 2012).

Latinx student attrition is problematic because more degree holders are needed to meet the nation’s workforce needs, which is especially true in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields (Chen & Weko, 2009). Unfortunately, the achievement gap among Latinx students is particularly stark in STEM disciplines (Crisp & Nora, 2012). Reasons for Latinx student attrition have been explored in previous literature and can include familial responsibilities or poor academic preparation (Cole & Espinoza, 2008; Crisp & Nora, 2012).

Dual credit is one way students can gain early exposure to STEM curriculum, as it gives students the opportunity to take college classes while also earning high school credit (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2008). Dual credit classes are sometimes taught by faculty on a college campus, which allows high school students to experience the college environment first-hand (Tobolowsky & Allen, 2016). These interactions can support Latinx student success in STEM fields (Bonous-Hammarth, 2000), and they can also help students understand what it means to connect to peers, faculty, and a university and develop a sense of belonging.

A students’ sense of belonging at a given university campus is a critical factor of their college experience (Strayhorn, 2012). Hurtado and Carter (1997) defined sense of belonging as an emotional and affective response to one’s perception of his or her role in relation to a larger group. Prior research reveals support from college faculty is critical in promoting positive perceptions of sense of belonging (Gloria, Castellanos, Lopez, & Rosales, 2005). Furthermore, Latinx students’ sense of belonging is often affected by factors at the university like time spent studying and interactions with peers (Strayhorn, 2008).

Despite the purported benefits of dual credit in academic preparation and campus connections, little is known about how dual credit influences STEM, particularly engineering, students’ sense of belonging upon matriculation at a 4-year institution. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore how Latinx engineering students describe their sense of belonging on campus. The following are guiding research questions for this study: (a) How do Latinx students describe their sense of belonging? and (b) What experiences or individuals informed their perceptions of belonging on campus and within engineering programs?

Literature Review

In the following sections, we discuss relevant literature relating to the various components of this study. We present prior research on Latinx students’ sense of belonging, dual credit and students’ sense of belonging, and research that has explored STEM students’ sense of belonging.

Latinx Students’ Sense of Belonging

There is ample literature that discusses the importance that feeling a sense of belonging has on students’ collegiate experience (Museus & Maramba, 2011; Nunez, 2009; Strayhorn, 2012). Feeling connected to one’s college environment is especially important for students of color (Hurtado & Carter, 1997). Factors that have been found to positively influence Latinx students’ sense of belonging on a university campus include diversity-related programs and activities, as well as connections with external communities in the broader area surrounding the university, such as religious or social organizations they can relate to (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Solorzano & Villalpando, 1998). In addition, faculty who show interest in Latinx students and their academic development have been found to positively influence Latinx students’ sense of belonging (Nunez, 2009). Each of these aforementioned factors can contribute to Latinx students’ sense of belonging on campus, which could be important in leading to growth in retention and degree completion among this growing population.

Dual Credit and Sense of Belonging

Dual credit programs often enable students of varied academic and financial backgrounds the ability to gain exposure to college-level coursework and to gauge their abilities to earn a college degree (Greenberg, 1991). In 1999, research established that there was a relationship between the amount of dual credit a student earned and their level of integration or sense of belonging at their chosen university (Delicath, 1999). More recently, it has been found that gaining exposure to the university environment and classroom setting is seen as an advantage of dual enrollment by students who participated in dual credit programs (Kanny, 2015). Learning the college “hidden curriculum” (Kanny, 2015, p. 62) through taking college classes while still in high school was also seen as an advantage, as it gave students the chance to learn how to interact with faculty and become aware of the social and academic expectations college classes entailed. Similarly, Tobolowsky and Allen (2016) also found that dual credit enrollment enables high school students to learn what to expect and how to navigate through the college environment. Learning what to expect and gaining familiarity with college proceedings may enable students to feel a greater sense of comfort and belonging in higher education institutions.

STEM and Sense of Belonging

In a recent qualitative study exploring the experiences of students at a STEM intensive middle school (Green, Emery, Sanders, & Anderman, 2016), it was found that students’ sense of belonging could be categorized as social belonging or academic belonging, with some students discussing instances of both. Many students described social belonging as meaningful interactions with peers and teachers that made them feel good. Feelings of academic belonging were increased by performing well academically and feeling appropriately challenged by curriculum that provided deep learning opportunities. Increased feelings of belonging led to growth in academic motivation, as well (Green et al., 2016). The connection between STEM belonging and academic motivation is a key point that has been found in various other studies, as well (Good, Rattan, & Dweck, 2012; London, Rosenthal, Levy, & Lobel, 2011).

In addition, there are measures a university can take to increase STEM students’ sense of belonging. Through conducting a week-long STEM Academy for entering freshmen prior to the start of fall classes, researchers found that this initiative increased participants’ sense of belonging in their STEM discipline. Participation also increased first-year retention at the university and within their STEM major, relative to those who did not participate in the STEM Academy (Findley-Van Nostrand & Pollenz, 2017). Programs such as this may be advantageous in increasing sense of belonging in STEM for all students, but such programs may be particularly crucial for the success of underrepresented populations in STEM disciplines. For example, feeling a sense of belonging in STEM has been found to be particularly critical for women, who often face negative stereotyping or other occurrences that may challenge their belonging within their STEM discipline (Clark, Dyar, Maung, & London, 2016; Lewis, Stout, Pollock, Finkelstein, & Ito, 2016). For these reasons, it is important to consider the relationship between students’ sense of belonging within their chosen STEM program.

Theoretical Framework

Various definitions for sense of belonging exist in the literature (Strayhorn, 2012). For the purpose of this study, we will focus on the seven core developments of sense of belonging as proposed by Strayhorn (2012). The first component to sense of belonging is that it is a fundamental human need (Strayhorn, 2012). Furthermore, it drives human behavior, and its importance can vary depending on contexts and situations (Strayhorn, 2012). Next, sense of belonging is related to mattering (Strayhorn, 2012). The fifth element indicates sense of belonging is affected by the intersectionality of social identities. Sixth, sense of belonging leads to positive outcomes. Finally, sense of belonging is an ongoing process that needs to be continually satisfied. A sense of belonging among college students “… refers to students’ perceived social support on campus, a feeling or sensation of connectedness, the experience of mattering or feeling cared about, respected, valued by, and important …” (Strayhorn, 2012, p. 17). While a strong sense of belonging is important to individuals across their lifespan, it is especially important to college students given their personal development.

Methodology

This study is part of a 3-year longitudinal qualitative research project funded by the Greater Texas Foundation. The purpose of the larger project was to investigate the experiences of Latinx students who earned dual credits and then decided to pursue an engineering degree at a 4-year university. The findings from this study are primarily based on one-on-one, in-depth interviews with 10 Latinx dual credit-earning undergraduate engineering students. It specifically focuses on the participants’ sense of belonging on campus and in engineering programs. The following research questions guided our study: (a) How do Latinx students describe their sense of belonging? and (b) What experiences or individuals informed their perceptions of belonging on campus and within engineering programs?

Site Selection

The site was selected using purposeful sampling, in order to “purposefully inform an understanding of the research problem and central phenomenon in the study” (Creswell & Poth, 2018, p. 326). Therefore, we intentionally selected our institutional site, Regional North Texas University (RNTU), because of its excellent engineering program. RNTU offers a variety of engineering programs, such as aerospace engineering, civil engineering, computer science and engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, among others. Furthermore, RNTU enrolls a significant number of Latinx students and is recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution. In fact, almost one third of engineering students at RNTU identify as Latinx.

Participant Recruitment and Selection

The participants for this study were also selected using purposeful sampling (Creswell & Poth, 2018). To participate in this study, participants had to identify as Latinx first-time students who enrolled in RNTU with dual credits. They also needed to identify an engineering major. Two cohorts were selected over the 3 years of the project. In Fall 2015, nine Latinx students began the project, and additional students were selected in Spring 2017. The Spring 2017 students were recruited to include more female engineering students’ perspectives. All of the participants remained enrolled in an engineering major throughout the course of this study; thus, they demonstrated a higher level of retention than their other engineering peers (approx. 76% retention rate) and other full-time Latinx students (approx. 68% retention rate) over 4 years. The participants were compensated for their time with a Wal-Mart gift card. For more information on the participants’ backgrounds, see Table 1.

Table 1.

Participants’ Pseudonyms, Gender, Academic Major, and Dual Credits Earned.

Participant’s pseudonym	Gender	Academic major	Hours of dual credit earned in high school (hours)
Vanessa	Female	Industrial Engineering	21
Adrian	Male	Civil Engineering	6
Debbie	Female	Electrical Engineering	12
Erin	Female	Computer Science	60
Dominic	Male	Civil Engineering	24
Evan	Male	Electrical Engineering	28
Isaac	Male	Aerospace Engineering	9
Jaime	Male	Civil Engineering	12
Mark	Male	Mechanical Engineering	77
Orlando	Male	Mechanical Engineering	69

Data Collection

The data for this project were primarily collected in the final year of the project (Spring 2018). Through one-on-one semistructured interviews, we asked the participants to reflect on their dual credit experiences and consider how the classes informed their experiences at RNTU, specifically regarding interactions within their engineering program. We also asked students to discuss the incidents, experiences, and relationships that either fostered or prohibited their sense of belonging. Example interview questions included: (a) How did participating in dual credit influence your sense of belonging at the university? (b) In the College of Engineering, what has helped you feel like you mattered? and (c) Have you experienced anything that hindered your connection to the university?

The student interviews averaged approximately 45 minutes, but ranged from 30 to 60 minutes. We interviewed students at a convenient on-campus location. Once the interviews concluded, we transcribed them verbatim for analysis.

Data Analysis

The transcripts were analyzed using a constant comparative analysis process to analyze the transcripts. We began by reviewing each transcript line-by-line. We then began the open-coding process to identify emerging themes (Creswell & Poth, 2018). After reaching data saturation in the open-coding phase of analysis, we conducted axial coding (Creswell & Poth, 2018). During axial coding, we began to establish the relationship between our emerging categories and the central phenomena of belonging (Creswell & Poth, 2018). We completed our analysis through selective coding (Creswell & Poth, 2018), which allowed us to further develop our comprehensive narrative on the role of dual credit on students’ perceptions of belonging in college and in engineering programs, in particular. The research questions and theoretical framework guided our analysis of the data.

Trustworthiness

We employed several strategies to promote trustworthy findings. First, we reviewed and analyzed the data separately. By conducting our independent analysis of the data, we were able to triangulate our findings (Lichtman, 2006). We discussed our independent findings until we reached consensus on the final themes and subthemes. In addition, we allowed students to review their transcripts. These member checks (Creswell & Miller, 2000) provided participants with an opportunity to make any revisions to their transcripts. Our final strategy included debriefing with outside peers and experts (Creswell & Miller, 2000). Creswell and Miller (2000) assert these conversations can decrease biases and offer an opportunity to gain additional insights in the study’s findings.

Findings

The findings reinforce the idea that relationships matter in shaping participants’ sense of belonging on the university campus. Our findings are categorized into three themes that focus on the opportunities and obstacles the participants encountered in developing a connection to campus. We found faculty and advisor interactions and peers and campus organizations supported students, but size and rigor of classes, distance and outside responsibilities, and feeling like an outsider created challenges to students’ sense of belonging at the university.

Faculty and Advisor Interactions

For many of the students included in this study, faculty and advisor interactions served as a key factor in influencing their sense of belonging. Since many of the participants identified as first-generation students, their faculty and advisor relationships were especially crucial in long-term academic success. Dual enrolling in high school taught students what to expect from college and university professors in regards to teaching styles, assignments, and teacher expectations. Even as these experiences introduced participants to college, a sense of belonging was fostered when faculty and advisors sought students out to welcome them or interact with them.

As for faculty interactions, the participants discussed how certain professors made them feel valued and connected to campus, which increased their sense of belonging. Many of the participants seemed to have a favorite faculty encounter that informed their perceptions of belonging. For example, Diego frequently visited one professor to get extra help with problems they worked on during class. Similarly, Oscar described a teaching assistant who invited him to his office for tea. For both Diego and Oscar, being encouraged to attend office hours and having faculty who took the time to show an extra interest in and willingness to help students was a boon to their connection to campus. In addition, Oscar had a Hispanic professor, which was particularly meaningful for him. He explained, “I feel, like, a connection … engineering is a hard thing to do and, like, you don’t see many Hispanics, like, in the classrooms … Seeing someone as a professor teaching everybody else is something cool. I look up to it.” Having a professor of the same ethnicity was significant for Oscar because it made him feel more like he belonged and bolstered his connection to the university.

For other participants, rather than one particularly meaningful relationship or interaction, their sense of belonging seemed to be influenced by a series of smaller encounters with faculty that added up to create their overall impression of faculty. For example, Edward explained that it made him feel good when professors would ask how he was doing when they passed in the hallways. Their gestures made him feel like he mattered and belonged at the university. Oscar also discussed how joking a little bit and talking to students in a friendly way would make professors and teaching assistants seem more approachable. What these findings show is that even brief, casual interactions can have a really meaningful effect on students.

Advisors, too, played a role in shaping participants’ sense of belonging at the university. During the interviews, nearly all of the participants mentioned meeting with their advisors or asking their advisor for help or advice, marking them as a central point of university connection for students. In addition to academically advising him, Edward’s advisor helped him establish a relationship with one of his professors. Advisors work with both students and faculty members in an effort to assist students academically, so having advisors that are approachable, knowledgeable, and understanding was important for the students in this study. Valeria was benefitted by having a professor who also served as her advisor. She explained that their relationship was meaningful because they had “protein in their conversations,” and her advisor also made her feel connected to the university upon inviting her to a special event. Valeria explained that she appreciates that the staff “doesn’t hide from her.” For both professors and advisors, it was obvious during our interviews that each plays a key role in developing students’ perceptions of the university culture. Because dual credit students enter the university with college credit already earned and are therefore more likely to matriculate through the university at a faster pace, forging positive relationships with both faculty and staff early on is important. And as we found, even brief, casual interactions can be substantial.

Peers and Campus Organizations

In conjunction with faculty and advisors, peers and campus organizations and resources also affected participants’ sense of belonging at the university. Students met peers through attending student organization events, and they also often learned about organizations through friends. Campus resources and certain student affairs offices were also discussed in relation to campus student organizations.

Organizations

In regard to organizations, many particular organizations such as Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the Army Corps of Engineers were discussed by participants as being particularly helpful to them in their transition as Latinx dual credit engineering majors. Oscar was especially involved in SHIP as both a member and later as an officer for the club, and he discussed how getting involved in organizations such as that helped him to feel “at home” and a sense of belonging at the university. Other students, like Diego and Valeria, echoed this sentiment. Diego recommended organizational involvement to other students looking to fit in and decrease feelings of loneliness on campus. He shared, “… that’s another thing that I used to make friends ‘cause … the people that were in my classes were also in ASCE.” Furthermore, Valeria voiced the importance of seeking leadership positions within student organizations pertinent to her engineering major. She explained that involvement in clubs helped her maintain her focus and academic drive by sharing, “… the leadership position, once I actually got it, I was like, ‘Okay, so now you have that, so you better not slack on anything else.’”

For the participants in this study, student organizations fulfilled a variety of purposes, including networking with other peers, faculty, and staff; decreasing loneliness and increasing connection to campus; and boosting resume development and career-related connections and skills. Having a variety of engineering organizations available to them was advantageous to their social and academic engagement and growth, and it positively affected their connection to, and sense of belonging at, the university.

Campus resources

Participants also discussed certain student affairs offices or other campus resources that served as key conduits of information and sources that made them feel more comfortable at the university. The university’s first-year experience course, which is often taught by student affairs professionals, was a class where students felt like they received information about various opportunities and events going on around campus. Miguel shared that he found out about activities and things going on around campus through “… my [first-year experience] class, that’s the only class that’s given me that info.” For students who are new to campus, especially those who are first-generation students, having a class like this their first semester can help smooth the transition to the university and forge ways for students to get connected.

While all participants enrolled in the first-year experience class and also had much interaction with their academic advisors, another campus resource discussed was the Career Center. Oscar in particular found the university’s Career Center to be helpful, sharing, “They know what they are doing.” Oscar described how he received resume support and participated in mock interviews within the Career Center to prepare for future career goals. He also explained that the Career Center has good marketing and advertisement that draws students in, so students do not have to seek out that service or wonder whether or not they would be welcomed. Valeria, too, interacted with the Career Center, and although she felt disconnected when she was unable to get help with her resume, she did have a positive experience with the Career Center on another occasion. Like student organizations, campus resources are important in meeting a variety of different student needs, and the participants in this study made it clear that they appreciated the various services offered and advertised, which benefitted them and helped them feel more welcome at the university.

Peers

Many participants also described how forging friendships with peers helped them both socially and academically and made them feel more “at home” at the university. Students like Edward and Valeria both discussed how they would work with the classmates they befriended to help each other better understand homework, and they would also trade advice on which classes to take and other information they learned from advisors. While friendships with classmates were seen as helpful to Edward and Valeria, they both mentioned that sometimes having “drama with friends” caused conflict and made them want to avoid the classes they would see those “bad friends” in. However, for other students, like Oscar, becoming friends with classmates was purely positive. The friendships he made in his first year were crucial to allowing him to feel comfortable and the university, and his alliances are what has enabled him to counteract the struggle of taking difficult engineering classes. Oscar describes his school friends as being “almost like a family,” and he is grateful to the friends who have supported him with rides, money, food, and sometimes even a place to stay. Many of the participants also viewed their connections with other engineering students who were further along in coursework as being particularly advantageous in learning what to expect from certain classes.

Special connection to College of Engineering

A unique finding of this study was the participants’ strong connection to the College of Engineering. Diana explained, “[The College of Engineering] cares about us. They want us to succeed.” Students also appreciated how the College of Engineering would host representatives from various companies in the engineering buildings to meet students, signaling that the students matter to the university and the companies that consider students as prospective candidates. Even actions as small as offering students “free t-shirts, free stuff” stood out to students as being examples of ways the College of Engineering enveloped them into the fold and made them feel like they belonged. Diana explained that she interacts mostly with other engineering students because “we’re mainly focused on our engineering courses and, ‘Have you done this? Have you done that? How did you do this?’” Similarly, Oscar discussed feeling more connected to engineering students than to a certain class, such as freshman, sophomore, etc. because it is “pretty normal to… not graduate with your correct year and especially when you’re doing, like, internships or co-ops during a full semester, like I am doing.” This was an interesting finding considering that for dual credit students, they are not true freshman when entering the university because they have already accumulated college credit. Gaining a sense of comradery and connection with others in the College of Engineering can help students feel like they belong within a particular faction within the broader university.

Challenges to Belonging

While there were many aspects that boosted students’ sense of belonging at the university, there were also many challenges that students disclosed. The challenges to students’ sense of belonging included size and rigor of classes, distance and outside responsibilities, and feeling like an outsider.

Size and rigor of classes

For some students, the large size of some of their university classes represented a barrier to their sense of connection with professors. Diana explained that large classes made her feel disconnected because there were so many students that the teacher could not get to know everyone, and it often made it “intimidating to ask the professor to slow down or explain” when necessary. Diana also described how professors in the large classes would sometimes use a microphone to lecture, which added another barrier and made her feel further detached. Diana elaborated, “even though it is like pre-professional class, there’s still 60 students in the class… like an auditorium kind of feeling.” The large size of some of their earlier core courses is another factor that led participants to feel a greater sense of connection to the College of Engineering and the familiar faces they would see in engineering-specific courses.

Academic rigor was another challenge mentioned by participants, especially when they first entered the university. Edward explained, “… the first semester is just really tough. You’re here. It’s new… You don’t know what to do. You don’t know where things are. Just, like, trying to get your feet under you, really.” Other students, like Oscar and Andrew, reiterated this notion. Oscar described feeling frustrated and questioning whether he “belonged” in the engineering program. Similarly, Andrew discussed how he would feel bad and disconnected from faculty and staff whenever he could not understand the material. Making friends with peers and getting advice and help from upper-level friends helped combat some of these challenges, as discussed previously.

Distance and outside responsibilities

For many of the participants, their physical distance form campus and the responsibilities they have outside of school served as challenges to their feelings of connection and belonging on campus. Students like Oscar, Diego, and Valeria, who live far from campus, find it hard to get involved in extracurricular activities or do anything outside of attending their classes because the drive is too far for them. In Oscar’s words, “I don’t want to drive too much coming from my hour-away home.” Even for students like Edward, who live on or close to campus, responsibilities and family obligations sometimes take up time that might have gone to extracurricular activities. Edward discussed how he has to go home every weekend to help his sick dad. For the students in this study, family responsibilities seemed very important. Students’ physical distance from campus, as well as their family responsibilities took precedence over activities and involvement in on-campus activities.

Feeling like an outsider

Although students discussed organizations, resources, and people who positively influenced their sense of belonging on campus, they also discussed instances that challenged their sense of belonging. For some students, like Diego, his status as a dual credit student sometimes made it hard to get to know people in his classes and find a “core group” to “hang out” with so that he no longer feels “alone in the classes.” Similarly, Diana felt she could not always relate to the students her age who had taken UTA-taught core classes because she took those classes as dual credit in high school. She feels like she missed out on taking “the famous professors” that all the other students would mention. Valeria felt similar feelings of disconnect when she was not able to access or get help from certain campus resources of offices. For each of these students, dual enrolling in high school put them ahead credit-wise upon entry to the university, but it created a challenge for some in that it made it trickier to connect with peers or relate to the stories and experiences of students who took all of their classes at the university in a more traditional route.

Although somewhat of an outlier, it is still important to note that Edward described feeling embarrassed and frustrated when preparing for a career fair, trying to get internships, working on his resume, and trying to pay for all of the career-readiness events he was encouraged to attend as an engineering student. He did not have money to pay for the nice clothes he was expected to wear, and he felt embarrassed both by his inability to pay for a blazer and nice shoes and by the dissatisfactory clothes he had to wear instead. Internships and career readiness events were discussed by many of the participants and appear to be common practice for engineering students, at least. Although Edward was the only one who discussed financial insecurity in relation to these necessary events, other engineering majors in similar financial situations may feel the same.

Discussion

We found that faculty played important roles in fostering students’ sense of belonging at the university. This adds further evidence to previous literature that has found interaction with faculty to be significant to students’ academic success and overall campus experience (Gloria et al., 2005). In addition, for at least one participant, having a Latinx professor was particularly influential in boosting his sense of belonging and connection to the university, which is in sync with previous research (Nunez, 2009). Advisors, too, played a role in shaping students’ experience both through providing academic advisement and through helping students establish a connection and relationship with the professors, which constitute a new finding to extant literature. Also new to the literature is the importance of brief, casual interactions that resonated with the Latinx engineering students in this study. While it is perhaps impractical to urge professors to meet with all students on a regular basis, our findings show that simply greeting students in the halls and sharing other brief encounters can help students feel seen, important, and connected to campus. An additional implication for future practice is for engineering faculty and advisors to establish clear communication channels with one another so they can communicate as necessary about students’ needs and progress within the program.

Our findings also highlight the importance of peers and campus organizations in shaping students’ sense of belonging. In accordance with previous research (Strayhorn, 2008), peers were a significant aspect of students’ connection to campus. Students met peers through attending student organization events, and vice versa, they learned about organizations through friends. Campus resources and certain student affairs offices were also discussed in relation to campus student organizations, and a unique finding of this study was in relation to students’ special connection to the College of Engineering.

For the Latinx dual credit engineering majors in this study, gaining a sense of comradery and connection with other students in the College of Engineering helped them feel like they belonged within a particular group or home within the broader university environment. This was a notable finding, considering that dual credit students enter the university having already earned college credit, which means they do not necessarily belong to a true “freshman” or “sophomore” class. For the dual credit students in this study, belonging to the College of Engineering was how they connected and found their niche. Therefore, future studies should explore opportunities and challenges in relation to how dual credit students connect with the department or college that houses their major. More information from such a study could help determine if there are particular best practices university departments should employ to better draw in dual credit students.

Next, Latinx students found class sizes and college academic expectations as key obstacles to their perceptions of sense of belonging. More specifically, classes held in large auditorium-style rooms limited faculty–student interactions, which is key developing a connection on campus (Nunez, 2009; Strayhorn, 2012). Furthermore, the participants in this study gained a sense of accomplishment and confidence after earning dual credits, but when they began their courses at a 4-year institution, they questioned their place. Uncertainties emerged as they transitioned to a new space with heightened expectations. Since belonging is tied to academic motivation (Green et al., 2016), it is important to maintain student support when they begin to question their abilities. Future research is needed to understand how expectations differ between 4-year courses and dual credit courses. In addition, dual credit instructors can work with professors at 4-year institutions to foster collaboration and to ensure curriculum alignment.

In addition to academic challenges, the participants in this study highlighted the challenges associated with transportation and commuting to campus. Since many of the students lived within the surrounding area, they decided to remain with family while enrolled in college. These familial connections not only provided support but also created additional expectations for students to help with family obligations. Consequently, students spent time commuting to campus, which limited their ability to become involved in campus organizations or activities outside of engineering. Campus organizations are instrumental to Latinx students’ perceptions of belonging (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Solorzano & Villalpando, 1998), and institutions can explore ways to connect students who are in high-demand fields like engineering. Institutions can also investigate housing options that do not require students to live on campus 7 days a week. Additional research should explore the influence of how successful commuting students manage their responsibilities in order to offer best practices to other students.

Finally, our findings indicate the participants had lower perceptions of belonging when they felt like an outsider. For instance, because they were advanced in coursework, participants felt disconnected from their first-year peer group; they had trouble connecting to older students in their classes. In another example of feeling like an outsider, Edward shared his frustration and embarrassment when attending job or internship fairs without the appropriate professional attire. All of these experiences can lead to feelings of isolation, which inhibit students’ connections to the campus, and can ultimately lead to their departure from the university. These findings reveal that a strong sense of belonging is fostered outside of the classroom. Future research is needed to explore ways to connect all first-year students, even when they have accumulated a substantial number of dual credits.

Conclusions

Higher education institutions are confronting an immediate need to prepare engineers to meet heightened workforce demands. Too often, underrepresented students do not pursue engineering fields, or they withdraw from the program without a degree or credential. Dual credit programs are one strategy to prepare students for the rigors of engineering programs and to preview college life, but scholars have yet to examine how experiences in dual credit influence students’ belonging. This study expands upon our prior knowledge of Latinx students’ sense of belonging and highlights some of the challenges students can encounter in their pursuit of engineering degrees. The findings from this study can be helpful to administrators and faculty who are striving to foster belonging among students in order to promote retention.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was funded by the Greater Texas Foundation.

ORCID iD

Taryn Ozuna Allen

Author Biographies

Taryn Ozuna Allen is associate professor in higher education leadership at Texas Christian University. Her research interests focus on the college-going experiences of underrepresented students.

Melissa Laird Thompson is an enrollment guide at the Corinth Campus of North Central Texas College. She earned her doctorate in K-16 Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Shalun Collins is a doctoral student in the K-16 Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program at the University of Texas at Arlington.

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