Factors predicting sense of university belonging of undergraduate nursing science students: Secondary analysis

Abstract

Abstract

A sense of belonging to the institution is a key factor in supporting the academic and professional development of nursing students. This study aimed to examine the predictive factors of institutional belonging among undergraduate students in the Bachelor of Nursing Science program. A descriptive research design was used with secondary data. The participants included 563 purposively selected students from the second to fourth year at the Ramathibodi School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University. The research instruments consisted of four questionnaires: (1) a demographic data form, (2) a student-related environment assessment, (3) a sense of university belonging assessment, and (4) a happiness in study assessment. The content validity was reviewed by three experts. The instruments were pilot-tested with 30 nursing students who had similar characteristics. The reliability coefficient was 0.94. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple regression.

The results showed that satisfaction in study, student characteristics, peer characteristics, year of study, and faculty characteristics were statistically significant predictors of a sense of institutional belonging (p < 0.05). These variables explained 36.4% of the variance in students’ sense of belonging (R² = 0.364). The findings suggest that building a positive learning environment, encouraging supportive relationships among students and faculty, and promoting student satisfaction and self-esteem can help strengthen a sense of belonging to the institution among nursing students.