Exploring Sense of Belonging, Socioacademic Integrative Moments, and Learning Communities Related to ELs’ Persistence Based on Reenrollment Decisions in Community Colleges

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to create a model of English learners’ (ELs) persistence based on theory and empirical research. Findings from this research informs community college educators in helping ELs persist and guide future research regarding this important student population. Method: We examined ELs’ persistence using structural equation modeling (SEM) based on data from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) among a U.S. national sample of 6,872 ELs. SEM was informed through the means of measurement models for latent variables. Reliability and validity were assessed through Cronbach’s alpha, principal component analysis, and fit indices. Results: Our results show that (a) sense of belonging had significant and positive direct effects on ELs’ persistence based on reenrollment decisions, (b) socioacademic integrative moments had significant and positive direct effects on ELs’ sense of belonging, and (c) learning communities had significant and positive direct effects on ELs’ socioacademic integrative moments and sense of belonging. Contributions: Community colleges offer broad access to postsecondary education for ELs, or students in the process of learning English as a second or other language. As a whole, our study contributes to a better understanding of how ELs may persist in their academic studies. We further discuss the implications of our findings in light of policy, practice, and future research.

Analysis of Wattpad E-Community: A Model-Based Virtual Collaboration

“…In addition, the findings are also congruent to the related literature and studies from (Abdelmalak, 2015;Abubakar & Garko, n.d.;Bâcă, 2020;Garza et al, 2021;IŞIKLI & Tarakcioglu, 2017;Murdock & Williams, 2011;Naji et al, 2019;Spiridon et al, 2020) which, in one way or another, all recommended the idea of building a virtual community of learners for an enhanced and maximized educational experience.…”

Academic integration in higher education: A review of effective institutional strategies and personal factors

“…Smith (2015) found that learning communities are useful in getting students to study together and this leads to higher academic performance. In another study, Garza et al (2021) found that the use of these learning communities assisted international students to socialize with one another and learn from each other. Interactions among students during meetings within these learning communities are thought to be beneficial in terms of academic persistence (Fergy et al, 2011).…”

Early and Dynamic Socio-Academic Variables Related to Dropout Intention: A Predictive Model Made During Pandemic

“…It has been observed that the perceived social support and the interpersonal relationships that students establish with their peers, teachers and members of the university campus are fundamental aspects to develop a sense of belonging [40][41][42][43][44], an aspect inversely related to the dropout intention. This is because social support and positive interactions are essential for the development of a sense of belonging in university students [40,45]. The support of peers and parents has also shown to influence the sense of belonging to the institution and has been linked to a greater institutional engagement [46].…”

“…The sense of belonging is defined as the perception of membership or feeling part of the educational organization (study program) in which they study [61]. Feeling belonging to the career implies that the student feels valuable and respected in their own educational program [40,[43][44][45][62][63][64][65][66]. It implies a perceived bond between the student and others, which unites them to a group or community, even in difficult moments or in the face of challenges [67], and the impulse that mobilizes them to create and maintain meaningful and lasting interpersonal relationships [68].…”

“…It has been observed that high levels in the sense of belonging in university students contributes to increasing their levels of participation, being able to seek help in the face of difficulties, feeling less alone, anxious or depressed, increasing the use of self-regulation strategies and raises levels of academic self-confidence and motivation [64,66,77]. In addition, various investigations have observed that the sense of belonging turns out to be a direct predictor of study engagement, dropout, and permanence in studies [40,41,45,65,66,73,[77][78][79][80].…”