The identification of a suitable definition of connectedness to guide this research was a key task, given that the terms ‘‘bonding4, ‘belonging5’ and ‘engagement6’ appeared to be used interchangeably when discussing connectedness. In 2003, interdisciplinary American researchers devised a national strategy, known as the Wingspread Declaration, for improving school connectedness, and defined connectedness as ‘the belief by students that adults in the school care about their learning and about them as individuals’ (Blum, 2005, p.16.). Despite the usefulness of this definition, the amount of available literature relating to the general notion of ‘connectedness’ required significant culling before attempting this review. In this regard, a pivotal review by Libbey (2004) categorizing student connectedness terminology, defined school connectedness as ‘the study of a student’s relationships to school’ (p. 274), which includes relationships with teachers, other adults and peers in educational settings, which provided a first sharpening of the focus of this review.
Whilst Libbey’s review drew on health and educational sources spanning from 1974 to 2003, it did not claim any one particular construct as being superior. However, the identification of nine overlapping themes related to school connectedness, listed in Table 2.1, established a useful categorization that begins to indicate that mechanisms of caring, supportive relationships are associated with students doing better, as measured by health and academic outcomes (Libbey, 2004). These themes and categories clearly resonated with the intent of this investigation, and this was further supported by the comment by Libbey (2004) that ‘whether examining academic performance or involvement with a range of health behaviours, young people who feel connected to school, that they belong, and that teachers are supportive and treat them fairly, do better’ (p. 282).
Additional input from Karcher, Holcomb & Zambrano, (2008), which helped link the various definitions, suggested that connectedness is not just a ‘feeling’ but ‘a reflection of ‘basic attachment and bonding with (i) people, (ii) places, and (iii) activities’. It is these deliberate
4
Bonding is an ‘umbrella term to encompass a student’s relationships to school’ (Libbey, 2004, p. 274) and is often used interchangeably with connectedness. Bonding indicates emotional and involvement links between students and supportive conditions (Karcher, Holcomb & Zambrano (2008).
5
Belonging is the degree that individuals feel accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in their social setting (amended from Goodenow, 1993).
6
Engagement is the time and energy students devote to educationally sound activities inside and outside of the classroom, reports on how student activities related to learning and development’ (Kuh, 2005, p.2 )
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connections, as shown under Table 2.1, and their associated impacts that educational providers are keen to monitor.
Table 2.1
School Connectedness Measures by Themes (Libbey, 2004) and Categories (Karcher, Holcomb & Zambrano, (2008)
A key notion here is that although it may be argued that the diversity of connectedness terminology and research detracts from a more precise understanding of connectedness, and whether it is felt or reflected by the student, it is nevertheless essential that educational staff and policy makers gather knowledge from diverse educational and community sources in order to provide supportive conditions and facilitate better outcomes for their diverse student populations.
As a consequence, for the purposes of this review, university student connectedness is defined as supportive relationships experienced in conjunction with significant people (family, peers, students, university staff and community), in appropriate places, with relevant activities. This review will examine available contributions to connectedness research, and identify claimed associated benefits and its potential impact in the tertiary sector. Because of the paucity of experimental research carried out to date in the tertiary sector, conclusions reached on the basis of this review will tentatively accept that the benefits of connectedness found for higher secondary school students will provide a useful foundation for our work with tertiary level students.
The purpose of this literature review is to two-fold:
Theme Bonding Categories
1. Academic Engagement activities and place
2. Belonging place
3. Discipline and Fairness activities and place 4. Extracurricular Events activities
5. Likes School place
6. Peer Relations people
7. Safety all
8. Student Voice all
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(i) to understand the origins, influences and associated outcomes of connectedness including the complex interplay between risk and protective influences in a variety of educational and community settings; and
(ii) to address the literature gap regarding the state and relevance of connectedness for tertiary students, including the relationship to student behaviours and outcomes.
Information obtained from this review will inform and guide the development of a cross- campus intervention, at a regional Australian university campus, designed to positively influence the level of student connectedness. Outcomes of this intervention will be the central concern of this thesis, and will be measured using a variety of academic and health variables.
The following section provides an understanding of the scope of student connectedness research from 1985-2017, including a shift in approaches where risk underpinned the research direction to the inclusion of a broader range of populations and settings signifying investment in school settings to assist positive development of students. An early educational focus was essential to understand the origins, influences and associated outcomes of connectedness, as the construct has been ‘borrowed’ to underpin university support activities.