Exploring belonging through connections across the student life course

Updated Sep 07, 2026

Belonging can change as students move through university. Julianne K. Viola, Luke McCrone and Martyn Kingsbury propose looking at the connections students choose and sustain across their student life course.

What the study covers

The paper draws on 117 interviews with 48 participants at one UK university specialising in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine and business. Interviews took place during a five-year study spanning 2019–2024. Accounts of pre-arrival experiences were retrospective; participants were not all followed from before entry through to graduation.

The authors argue that institutional expectations of belonging can constrain how students are expected to participate. Their proposed lens of connecting gives more attention to agency, changing identities and relationships. This is an interpretation of qualitative evidence, not a trial demonstrating that a particular programme works better.

The publisher’s abstract and indexed methods were accessible for this review. Complete results and discussion were not retrieved, so detailed typologies and earlier quotations have not been retained. Evidence from one specialist institution should not be assumed to describe every university.

An editorial application

Ask students which connections matter to them and whether they can participate in ways that fit their circumstances. Review the assumptions behind belonging questions and avoid treating attendance at one kind of activity as the only sign of connection.

When comparing responses over time, account for changes in who responded and what they were asked. Explore the meaning of a change with students before prescribing an intervention.

Reference

Julianne K. Viola, Luke McCrone and Martyn Kingsbury. “Beyond belonging: connecting across the STEMM + B student life course.” Studies in Higher Education. DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2025.2612098.

Reviewed 7 September 2026 against accessible publisher sections. The headline and conclusions now distinguish a conceptual proposal from demonstrated effectiveness. This is a limited-access review.