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Do I Belong Here? Exploring Immigrant College Student Responses on the SERU Survey Sense of Belonging/Satisfaction Factor. SERU Consortium Research Paper. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.13.10

Authors :
University of California, Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education
Stebleton, Michael J.
Huesman, Ronald L.
Kuzhabekova, Aliya
Source :
Center for Studies in Higher Education. 2010.
Publication Year :
2010

Abstract

The immigrant college student population will likely continue to increase. This exploratory study addresses the questions: To what extent does sense of belonging/satisfaction of recent immigrant college students differ from non-immigrant college students? Do perceived self-ratings of belonging vary by immigrant generations? This research draws on a new extensive data source, the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) survey. Survey data from the 2009 SERU is based on the responses from 55,433 undergraduate students from six-large research institutions from across the United States. Findings suggest that immigrant students' perception of their sense of belonging and satisfaction is significantly lower than their non-immigrant peers' perceptions. Immigrant college students--whether they were a recent immigrant that arrived in the country as a child, or arrived later as a teenager or young adult, or are the children of parents born outside the U.S. (2nd generation)--consistently reported lower levels of belonging/satisfaction as compared to their 3rd or 4th generation (i.e., non-immigrant) peers. Responses within the immigrant generation groups were similar. The following implications were highlighted: effective practice and application strategies for student affairs practitioners and faculty members who work directly with immigrant college students; policy development suggestions for both academic and student affairs administrators; future research inquiries for scholars who are interested in this fast growing population of college students. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

Details

Language :
English
Database :
ERIC
Journal :
Center for Studies in Higher Education
Publication Type :
Report
Accession number :
ED511966
Document Type :
Reports - Research