Cureton Debra, Jones Jenni, Hughes Julie
University of Wolverhampton City Campus, Wolverhampton, West Midlands UK.
University of Wolverhampton Business School, Wolverhampton, UK.
Postdigit Sci Educ. 2021;3(1):223-241. doi: 10.1007/s42438-020-00204-6. Epub 2020 Dec 21.
An increasing body of literature considers the role of belonging and social connectivity in undergraduate student success. The core tenet of this research is that relationships are crucial to the development of a sense of belonging. However, within the Higher Education (HE) sector, our processes, and therefore how we interact with students, are becoming more and more automated. None more so than during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 'new normal' in HE. This paper considers how we, as a profession, might support each student's developing sense of belonging within a sector that is shifting towards increased digitalisation. This is achieved through considering the political agenda that drives the creation of digital education and some of the assumptions that underpin the movement towards it. As a result, a theoretical platform is created to consider the areas where digitisation impacts on teaching staff, and on students, and how this relates to each student's sense of belonging within HE. The inclusion of two case studies has provided the opportunity to answer two key questions: (1) What is important to students developing a personal sense of belonging in HE during their first few weeks in a university? (2) How can the differentiated human touch be provided by 'third space' professionals both in person and virtually?
越来越多的文献探讨了归属感和社会联系在本科生学业成功中的作用。这项研究的核心原则是，人际关系对于归属感的形成至关重要。然而，在高等教育（HE）领域，我们的流程，以及我们与学生互动的方式，正变得越来越自动化。在新冠疫情期间以及高等教育的“新常态”下更是如此。本文探讨了作为专业人士，我们如何在一个日益数字化的领域中支持每个学生发展归属感。这是通过考虑推动数字教育创建的政治议程以及支撑向数字教育迈进的一些假设来实现的。结果，创建了一个理论平台，以考虑数字化对教师和学生产生影响的领域，以及这与每个学生在高等教育中的归属感有何关联。纳入两个案例研究提供了回答两个关键问题的机会：（1）对于学生在大学的最初几周内培养个人在高等教育中的归属感而言，什么是重要的？（2）“第三空间”专业人员如何在面对面和虚拟环境中提供有差异的人文关怀？
