Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Sense of Belonging in Higher Education for STEM Students in the United States and Mexico

Gustavo Morán-Soto, Aradaryn Marsh, Omar Israel González Peña (), Matthew Sheppard, José Isabel Gómez-Quiñones and Lisa C. Benson ()
Additional contact information
Gustavo Morán-Soto: Department of Basic Sciences, Instituto Tecnológico de Durango, Durango 34080, Mexico
Aradaryn Marsh: Department of Engineering and Science Education, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
Omar Israel González Peña: Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Science, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
Matthew Sheppard: Department of Engineering and Science Education, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
José Isabel Gómez-Quiñones: Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Science, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
Lisa C. Benson: Department of Engineering and Science Education, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 24, 1-19

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic generated worldwide negative effects on college students’ stress levels and motivation to learn. This research focuses on the lack of development of a sense of belonging in engineering students due to online classes during the pandemic and possible differences experiencing online classes between students from different contexts and cultures. Data were collected from 88 Mexican and 139 U.S. engineering students during the Spring 2021 semester using ten survey items asking students’ perceptions of the effects of taking online courses during the COVID-19 pandemic on their sense of belonging in their major. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted, aiming to determine the effects of taking online classes on students’ sense of belonging in engineering. Findings stressed the poor sense of belonging that engineering students may have after taking online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic when they missed opportunities to develop meaningful relationships with their peers and professors due to the lack of good communication. Consequently, students had uncertainties about successful learning during the pandemic in both Mexico and the U.S. Thus, activities such as accessible office hours, study groups, and meetings with mentors and tutors should be promoted to help students recover from the lack of a sense of belonging in the engineering major generated during online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: post-pandemic; coronavirus; higher education; engineering students; remote classes; online classes; distance education; information technologies; students’ perceptions; educational innovation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/24/16627/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/24/16627/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:24:p:16627-:d:1001021

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().