Residence Hall Architecture and Sense of Community

Abstract

This study of almost 600 students examines the relationship between sense of community and college dormitory architecture on the campus of a small residential liberal arts college in the Northeast. Respondents of all class years completed an online survey that included the Sense of Community Index and the Relationship dimension of the University Residence Environment Scale. Students also rated architectural characteristics about their dorms and provided background information. Results indicate significant differences in sense of community related to dormitory design, in particular a lower sense of community in dorms that are organized around clusters or suites. At the same time, these units in clusters are judged to be more positive in terms of basic architectural components, including thermal comfort, adequacy of bathrooms, and storage. Results are discussed in terms of recommendations to enhance a sense of community through design.

Evaluation of the Dormitories in the Physical and Psychological Requirements: The Case of Karabük Province

“…They correlated this result with the fact that Turkish people can adapt to the socially intensive environment due to the strong intrafamilial ties and friendships of Turkish society which differentiated from Western society with its culture. Devlin et al (2008) gave some pieces of advice on the development of social sense by the means of design. In the study, they stated that the organizations where the rooms were located around a center were more successful in the development of socialization, but large-scale dormitories left behind in this subject with the effects of noise and sharing spaces.…”

Constructing past, present, and future communities: Exploring the experiences of community among last‐dollar scholarship students

“…Other research has examined the characteristics of the university living experience, such as residential dorms (Devlin, Donovan, Nicolov, Nold, & Zandan, ), differences between on‐campus students and commuter students (Bronkema & Bowman, ), the size of the university (Lounsebury & Denuel, ), and the role of campus characteristics (e.g., inclusion, racial climate, and religious pluralism as predictors of SOC; Berryhill & Bee, ; Bottom, Ferrari, & Matteo, ).…”

How many factors does the sense of community index assess?

“…For 30 years the construct of psychological sense of community (SOC) has been an important construct to the field of community psychology and SOC research has been conducted in a wide variety of settings and populations, including university students. Sense of community has been examined in relationship to students' adjustment to campus housing (DeNeui, 2003;Devlin, Donovan, Nicolov, Nold, & Zandan, 2008), student transfer experience (Townley et al, 2013), student retention and burnout (Harris, 2006;McCarthy, Pretty, & Catano, 1990), and learning outcomes (Lichtenstein, 2005;Yasuda, 2009). A reliable and valid measure of antecedents to students' depression and anxiety exists (Bitsika, Sharpley, & Hartley, 2010), but one that assesses SOC lacks stable psychometric properties.…”