Building Belonging Among Minority Students Through Diverse Representation in the Curricula

Description

This study utilised a three-tiered belonging framework comprising cohort belonging (to the programme / ‘classroom’), university belonging (students’ perceptions of belonging to their institution) and industry belonging (students’ perceived connection to their future professional field). Focusing on teaching content, the study explored the influence of representation in the curricula on the three tiers of belonging.

Adopting a qualitative research approach, interviews were conducted with black and minority ethnic, first-generation, working-class students at a UK higher education institute. Thematic analysis informed a conceptual model of the relationship between representation in the curricula and students’ belonging.

Comprising the educational network, curricula content, and pedagogical approaches/methods, representation in the curricula had the greatest impact on cohort belonging, whilst university belonging was largely absent. Despite representation in the curricula, persistent equality, diversity and inclusion issues within the industry hindered the ability of the curricula to facilitate a sense of industry belonging.

Period	20 May 2025
Event title	Association of National Teaching Fellows Symposium
Event type	Conference
Location	United KingdomShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International