Exploring the Relationship Between Sense of Belonging and COVID-19 Perceptions Among Undergraduate African American HBCU students (Poster 5)

• In Event: Friday Poster Session 4:55
  In Invited Poster Session: 2024 AERA Undergraduate Fellows Research Poster Fair

Abstract

Although stress, loneliness, and other mental health challenges significantly increased among college students during the pandemic, a strong sense of belonging remained important for college students of color and their mental health (Gopalan, et al., 2022). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between COVID-19 experiences and sense of belonging among a sample of African American students at an Historically Black College & University (HBCU). Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) was the theory chosen to explain the relationship between the variables. CRP involves student learning, cultural competence, and critical consciousness. All three are important when trying to understand student success (Ladson-Billings, 2020). After IRB approval was obtained, 181 undergraduate African American students were recruited from several sections of Introduction to Psychology as part of a larger study. Data were collected online via Qualtrics during the spring, summer, and fall 2023 semesters. A Pearson’s correlation revealed no significant relationship existed between sense of belonging and COVID-19 experiences (r=.10; p=.17). A possible explanation as to why no significance was observed could be the protective context of the HBCU. HBCUs highlight issues that are important to African Americans while providing access to higher education. Further, HBCUs provide students with skills needed in adulthood while celebrating African American heritage. These are the major tenets of CRP. However, it is also possible that because the sample are majority first-year students, they did not directly experience some of the effects of the pandemic as measured by our survey. Additionally, exploring the role of culturally relevant teaching experienced by the students who attend the HBCU is the next step in this research. It is possible that the relationship between COVID-19 experiences and sense of belonging does exist, if the role of culturally relevant teaching is considered.

Author

• Shamayah Drew, Winston-Salem State University