Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


OhioLink Wyatt Thesis 2024.pdf (529.92 KB)

Digital Accessibility Report

File List


OhioLink Wyatt Thesis 2024.pdf.accreport.html (7.9 KB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Which Relationships Matter Most for Students' Belonging, Self-Efficacy, and Computing Persistence? And How Does Student Identity Moderate These Relationships? Investigating the impact of relationships with faculty and peers on student belonging and persistence in computing

Wyatt, Lauren G
http://orcid.org/0009-0006-7628-3811
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1731082599323139

Abstract Details

2024, MA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Sociology and Criminology.
Feeling a sense of belonging positively impacts many facets of life, including educational and professional outcomes. For college students, a strong sense of belonging can influence their career paths and intentions to stay in college. However, women and racial/ethnic minorities often struggle with belonging in computing, which can diminish their desire to stay in the field. Existing research on belonging in college emphasizes the role of faculty and peers in promoting belonging, yet few studies have examined the relative impact of these different type of relationships. Furthermore, I could not find any studies that have examined the relative importance of faculty versus peer relationships for belonging within the field of computing. My thesis aims to fill this gap by exploring how relationships with faculty and peers uniquely impact students' sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and, in turn, their persistence intentions in computing. Additionally, I evaluate how these processes are moderated by students' gender and racial/ethnic identities. I find that for the overall sample, positive relationships with faculty have a greater direct impact on students’ sense of belonging in computing and computing self-efficacy than relationships with peers. In addition, I find that positive relationships with faculty also have a greater indirect impact on students’ computing persistence intentions than do positive relationships with peers. While these results are generally replicated across students of varying gender and racial/ethnic identities, there are some notable exceptions. This research increases our knowledge of how faculty and peer relationships impact students’ feelings of belonging, self-efficacy, and, in turn, persistence in a field of study. It also helps inform future interventions to broaden participation in computing by highlighting the relative importance of faculty relationships for marginalized students.
Susan Fisk (Advisor)
Clare Stacey (Committee Member)
Joshua Pollock (Committee Member)
Clarissa Thompson (Committee Member)
66 p.
Sociology
computing; persistence; race; ethnicity; gender; intersectionality; inequality

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wyatt, L. G. (2024). Which Relationships Matter Most for Students' Belonging, Self-Efficacy, and Computing Persistence? And How Does Student Identity Moderate These Relationships? Investigating the impact of relationships with faculty and peers on student belonging and persistence in computing [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1731082599323139

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wyatt, Lauren. Which Relationships Matter Most for Students' Belonging, Self-Efficacy, and Computing Persistence? And How Does Student Identity Moderate These Relationships? Investigating the impact of relationships with faculty and peers on student belonging and persistence in computing . 2024. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1731082599323139.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wyatt, Lauren. "Which Relationships Matter Most for Students' Belonging, Self-Efficacy, and Computing Persistence? And How Does Student Identity Moderate These Relationships? Investigating the impact of relationships with faculty and peers on student belonging and persistence in computing ." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1731082599323139

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1731082599323139
49
© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.