Abstract

In the present era, belonging is valued more than ever in contributing to students' attained success. This makes achieving a sense of belonging easier and is now necessarily coupled with positive transition, retention, and completion rates (Tang et al., 2023). Many educational researchers have noted that a solid sense of connection and belonging is constitutive irrespective of the context of learning, with global impacts on engagement and academic success. At the same time, there is a unique set of challenges in building connections that could influence students' feelings of belonging and familiarity, as well as retention inspired by their peers (Peacock et al., 2020). The last two decades have seen many efforts to create a sense of belonging to an academic institution, considering the evidence that this helps student retention, satisfaction, and attainment. Many educational researchers regard establishing a sense of belonging and personal connection as essential matters independent of the learning environment (Edwards & Hardie, 2024). Learners need to see other people present in the online environment and to regard themselves as part of that group, thereby creating the feeling of "belonging" (Stoytcheva, 2021). This article features innovative techniques and good practices in creating digital communities that encourage and reinforce students' sense of belonging. Additionally, the researcher discusses such digital platforms, which can even be the 'key' to deeper-felt engagement, social connection, and academic belonging, anything that would have provided students with opportunities of support and value. Building online communities becomes even more important because it facilitates student interaction, retention, and success in hybrid and fully online learning environments.

Keywords: sense of belonging, online learning, digital community

How to Cite:

Grimmage, S., (2025) “Fostering Digital Communities in Higher Education: Unlocking Belonging”, Teaching and Learning Conference Proceedings 1(1).

Accompanying TLC Presentation Video