Assessing perspectives on departmental climate, culture, and sense of belonging in science.
Discipline: Science and Mathematics Education
Session: 1
Room: 2 - Inman
Alexandra Machrone - Florida International University
Co-Author(s): Melissa McCartney
Numerous studies highlight the critical role of student sense of belonging, along with university climate and culture, in recruiting, retaining, and graduating science undergraduates, particularly those from marginalized groups. While such research identifies broad systemic challenges, it often overlooks the unique climates and cultures within individual academic departments. This study explores faculty and student perceptions of climate and culture in biology, chemistry, and physics departments, examining how these factors influence students’ sense of belonging. Understanding these perceptions can pinpoint actionable strategies to enhance inclusivity and equity in science disciplines, addressing barriers to broadening participation.
Semi-structured cognitive interviews were conducted with 15 undergraduates and 15 faculty members from diverse institutions across the United States, selected to ensure representation across disciplines, institutional types, and roles. Interviews focused on experiences with departmental climate and culture, with data analyzed through deductive coding informed by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and the novel application of top-down and bottom-up ecosystem regulation to explain power flow in academic institutions. Inductive thematic analysis identified emergent themes, with inter-rater reliability ensured through iterative coding, consensus-building, and kappa values.
Results reveal distinct differences in perceptions between faculty and students. Faculty highlighted structural and institutional barriers to change, reflecting their immersion in long-term cultural systems and policy-making processes. Conversely, students emphasized daily interpersonal interactions as critical to their sense of belonging, reflecting their shorter tenure and limited access to institutional decision-making, as well as the importance of social relationships to student sense of belonging. While disciplinary differences emerged, they were less pronounced than differences between faculty and students.
These findings emphasize the need to address both systemic and interpersonal factors to foster inclusive departmental environments that enhance belonging. Future research will explore scalable methods to assess sense of belonging, climate, and culture within academic departments, offering tools for sustainable change without reliance on interviews or extensive qualitative analyses.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): NSF: IUSE
Faculty Advisor: Melissa McCartney, mrm10@buffalo.edu
Role: I have been a part of all aspects of the research. I created the interview protocol, conducted the interviews, led analysis and visualization, and have already began implementing this research into the next set of projects that I will complete for my dissertation.