Sense of belonging among first-year physics students in Germany: Exploring intergroup differences and correlations

Abstract

Within the present study, we investigated first-year physics students’ senses of belonging to physics and to their university given different backgrounds and prerequisites. Moreover, we explored whether, and to what extent, these two senses of belonging relate to characteristics that curtail students’ academic success and impact the dropout rate from physics programs. For this purpose, we conducted a voluntary, anonymous online survey at 20 universities in Germany. A total of 238 first-year physics students participated. The results of the present study not only align with those of previous research (e.g., the correlative results) but also extend the current state of research (e.g., the revealed intergroup differences) and provide starting points for future research. Conclusions are drawn from these results at the end of the paper.