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The purpose of this study is to investigate new faculty’s sense of belongingness to an educational institution within their first two years of teaching. The primary motivation is that of faculty retention, as building a committed community of instructors may ultimately impact the success and retention of students.
Methods:
This research is a mixed methods study designed to gauge new faculty’s sense of belonging within the university community. Built upon a theoretical foundation of social identity and social construction, the researchers are using a combination of quantitative surveys and qualitative phenomenological inquiry to investigate how participants define mentoring, and the extent to which they feel they are a part of their teaching peer group. Participants completed qualitative and quantitative intake assessments when the program began to establish baseline information.
The researchers paired 10 experienced faculty mentors with new faculty protégés. The protégés were defined as new faculty who were employed at a university within a Midwestern state for less than two years. Mentors were defined as seasoned faculty who have been employed at a university in a Midwestern state for more than five years. The participants were asked to complete the Levett-Jones Belongingness Scale Workplace Experience (BSWE) tool to obtain quantitative data related to belongingness. The Belongingness tool tests for efficacy, esteem, and connectedness. At the completion of the introduction to mentoring session, paired individuals were asked to engage in a trust exercise to establish their perceptions of trust in leadership and mentoring.
Results:
The results from the quantitative study indicated that there is a significant difference in the variables of esteem and connectedness, as new faculty do not feel that they are supported in their new role.
The question in the belongingness tool related to esteem indicated the protégés do not feel that they fit in, do not perceive a sense of belonging, and feel like an outsider. In addition, protégés in this study do not feel they get support from colleagues, are not understood, are not accepted, are not welcomed, do not feel part of things, and do not like where they work. The questions in the belongingness tool related to connectedness indicated the protégés perceive that their ideas and opinions do not matter, colleagues do not notice when they are absent, and that their colleagues do not confide in them.
Results from the qualitative component indicated there is an importance of belonging among the individual participants and the institution’s need to foster a sense of community to which employees can belong. Utilizing a structured mentoring program to build that community is instilling feelings of value among participants, which, in turn, could heighten their sense of belonging.
The results indicate there is an importance of belonging among participants in the study. An institution needs to foster a sense of community to which employees can belong. Utilizing a structured mentoring program to build that community is instilling feelings of value among participants, which, in turn, could heighten their sense of belonging.
Conclusion:
Extrapolating from preliminary findings, the researchers have reason to conclude that opportunities for new employees to come together in structured programs that imbue a sense of value, such as those that provide mentoring, can build and reinforce the sense of institutional and professional belonging that leads to retention. Though this study is limited to new faculty within a single higher education institution, the program built here has the potential for broader application, and could also be used to good effect among nurses and nurse educators.
Supportive measures should be initiated to enhance esteem and connectedness in the entry level educator. Data from this study was utilized to redesign a formal mentorship program where mentors were paired with protégés. The paired groups will participate in the formal mentorship program focusing on supportive and valuing exercises to enhance esteem and connectedness for the newly employed educator to improve the sense of belongingness.