ERIC Number: EJ1077879
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Nov
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1521-0251
EISSN: N/A
Knowing Me, Knowing You: Building Strengths Awareness, Belonging, and Persistence in Higher Education
Soria, Krista M.; Stubblefield, Robin
Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, v17 n3 p351-372 Nov 2015
This goal of this study was to examine the benefits of a campus-wide initiative to build first-year students' strengths awareness. The results of a survey of the first-year class (n?=?1,421) suggest a positive and significant relationship between students' strengths awareness and their belief that the strengths initiatives on campus positively influenced their sense of belonging. The results also suggest a positive and significant relationship between students' strengths awareness and retention to their second year of study. Qualitative analyses of survey data suggested strengths initiatives enhanced students' self-awareness and confidence, facilitated introductory conversations with peers through the development of a common language, and fostered friendships and a deeper understanding of others--factors that are hypothesized to have contributed to students' sense of belonging and retention.
Descriptors: College Freshmen, Student Attitudes, Group Membership, Interpersonal Relationship, Student School Relationship, Academic Persistence, Correlation, Qualitative Research, Self Concept, Self Esteem, Self Efficacy, Academic Achievement, Demography, Factor Analysis, Learner Engagement, Measures (Individuals), Models, Predictor Variables, Regression (Statistics), Statistical Distributions, Student Surveys, Student Characteristics, Talent Identification, Statistical Analysis, Least Squares Statistics
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A