The Dynamics of Students' Sense of Belonging to University: A Phenomenological Study

The current study aimed to investigate the lived experiences of students' sense of belonging to the university. To achieve this goal, qualitative and descriptive phenomenological methods were used. According to the principle of saturation, the research participants included 19 students from the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and the University of Birjand in the academic year of 2018-2019, who were selected using the purposeful sampling method and were studied with semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was conducted using the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method. The research findings led to 5 main themes, 14 sub-themes, and 50 meaning units. The analysis of the interviews revealed five main themes including university climate (Autonomy-Supportive environment, attitude toward university, facilities) interaction with professors (emphasis on academic growth, respect, intimacy, empathy, and support), interaction with peers (relationship closeness, modeling), social participation (extracurricular activities and perceived membership) and interpersonal factors (self-efficacy beliefs and academic engagement). The results showed that the student's positive and negative experiences of belonging to the university are influenced by a combination of intra-personal, interpersonal, and contextual factors that play a major role in their university life.