The study draws on longitudinal data covering four years of college among a sample of students from low-income backgrounds, with histories of adverse childhood experiences, who enrolled at more than 150 four-year institutions. Analyses investigate factors that influence the emergence and development of students' sense of campus belonging, with…

This article is part of a longitudinal study on academic sense of belonging (SB) in engineering, which uses narrative analysis to examine development of meaning-making systems (MMS). Featuring narratives of three students of color, findings show that over time, some students experienced subject-object shifts in their perceptions of SB, as well as…

Black men's experiences in education are often marked by isolation, imposter syndrome, and racial microaggressions. This qualitative case study, guided by the five enactments of Cross and Fhagen Smith's (2001) model of Black identity development, explored the experiences of 20 Black men doctoral students as they navigated and continually redefined…

To mark ACPA's 100th anniversary, this paper will review what we currently know about the impact of one of the most consequential technologies for this generation of college students: social media. Social media have had significant effects on the lives of college students today and will continue to shape college student life going forward.

This qualitative study examined the experiences of 14 LGBTQ+ college students in healthy intimate relationships with a focus on the ways that romantic partners give and receive affection. Framed through a consideration of "love languages," this study challenges and extends what have become socially normative strategies for demonstrating…

Utilizing narrative inquiry, this study collected individual interviews to understand how nine Black students who experienced the carceral nexus of foster care navigated college. Utilizing BlackCrit and Community Cultural Wealth as a theoretical framework, findings show how the foster care system was dehumanizing and stripped students of their…

Peer socialization agents (PSAs; e.g., resident assistants, orientation leaders) are trained to facilitate belonging through formal socialization initiatives. We used secondary qualitative data analysis, in combination with a critical constructivist approach, to explore PSAs' sense of belonging and the contexts in which they experience it through…

Early college high schools (ECHSs), which combine high school with the first two years of college, have grown in popularity nationwide. Research suggests ECHS participation has positive impacts on college enrollment and completion, but little is known about how ECHS graduates experience university life. Using a framework of college belonging and…

In this duoethnography, the co-authors share their experiences and reactions to trauma as student affairs practitioners in the wake of a car and knife attack at Ohio State University. Our goal in sharing these stories is for readers to join us as collegiate educators in this journey of exploring trauma and the healing process. We want to continue…

Of the research examining undergraduate students' belongingness, monolithic approaches to LGBTQ+ student studies are common. Bisexual, pansexual, and other multi-gender attracted students (also known via umbrella terms such as plurisexual, bisexual+, or multi-sexual spectrum) are relatively understudied, despite calls for a more thorough…

This article describes through the lens of self-authorship development the meaning-making processes of South African postgraduate psychology students who are expected to undergo significant growth as they journey towards becoming mental health professionals. Reflective writing tasks and individual interviews of 4 postgraduate students were…

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to examine how Asian American college students made sense of themselves as racialized beings during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that saw a drastic increase in anti-Asian hate. We were particularly interested in how emotions that students experienced in response to racism shaped their meaning-making of…

While biographical sketches of many publicly elected leaders in the US exist, little is known about the connection between serving in college student government and running for or serving in elected public office after college. This phenomenological study explored the experiences of 19 former college student government officers in elected,…

Antonio Duran Nancy E. Thacker Darrow LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other minoritized genders and sexualities) and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities contend with oppressive realities on and off college campuses. Family relationships--families of origin and chosen families--have garnered attention…

Frontline student affairs educators' work puts them in close contact with students, both socially and emotionally, meaning that they may experience a unique pressure to balance and represent both the priorities of their organizations and students' needs and interests (Perez, 2016). Given that institutional policies and practices to respond to…