Cultivating University Students’ Critical Sense of Belonging Through Community-Responsive Scholar-Activism

Our 13-year community-responsive scholar-activist research and service-learning endeavor aimed to strengthen retention by affirming undergraduate students’ sense of belonging and identities. This article examines findings related to students’ perceptions about their engagement in scholar-activism and offers analysis about the implications of these initiatives for universities interested in training students in community-based participatory research (CBPR) and engagement. Open-ended survey questions posed to 59 students were analyzed using summative content analysis. In our case study, community-responsive scholar-activist research and service-learning initiatives promoted a critical sense of belonging by providing opportunities for students to become aware of and contribute to the social, political, and economic needs of rural farmworkers. These activities also provided spaces for students to learn collaboratively with peers, project partners, and community members who share similar experiences and backgrounds, thereby nurturing a sense of identity and pride about their own immigrant and/or farmworking cultures. Likewise, this program provided opportunities for students to build relationships with faculty and staff dedicated to advocacy for scholars from racially, culturally, and linguistically marginalized communities, which can rectify a sense of exclusionary or censoring practices within the broader university community. Implications of this research suggest that incorporating community-responsive activist research and service-learning initiatives into university curriculums can provide undergraduate students with the support and skills needed to adapt to their new environment while engaging communities in fruitful collaborations.