From school physics classes to successfully starting a physics degree

Markus S. Feser, Thorid Rabe & Inka Haak

Making the transition from school to university is a crucial stage in the educational biography of students. Social as well as academic factors play a decisive role in ensuring that this transition runs as smoothly as possible. An important social success factor increasingly becoming a focus of educational research in recent years is called Sense of Belonging. This article aims to take a closer look at the influence of the Sense of Belonging in school physics classes on physics students' academic success.

Put simply, the term Sense of Belonging describes our subjective perception of feeling connected to a certain group of people. We usually belong to several groups at the same time: We have a circle of friends, are perhaps active in a sports club, live in a neighborhood and are active in a certain online community. We develop different Senses of Belonging to these groups, some of which are closely linked but can still be distinguished from one another.

For physics students to succeed in their studies, two Senses of Belonging are particularly important: the Sense of Belonging to their own university - University Belonging - and their Sense of Belonging to Physics as a scientific discipline - the so-called Sense of Belonging to Physics. The latter manifests itself, among other things, in the extent to which students feel connected to and recognized by people who are academically involved in physics. Sense of Belonging to Physics is an expression of students (re)negotiating and positioning their own identity in relation to the disciplinary culture of physics. Having a positive relationship with their specific social norms, practices and routines is crucial for their self-identification as prospective physicists and has an impact on their academic success in physics studies.

Previous research has shown that a strong Sense of Belonging to Physics is particularly important for physics students in the introductory phase of their studies. Students who experience a strong Sense of Belonging to Physics are less likely to drop out or change subjects. This Sense of Belonging gives them emotional stability and security and thus strengthens their resilience to the challenges of studying. What is interesting is that the development of a Sense of Belonging to Physics in students does not just begin when they start their studies. Developing a Sense of Belonging to Physics can begin at school, as school physics classes are a kind of first contact with the discipline of physics and its culture for many students. A strong Sense of Belonging can develop through the initial engagement with physics topics and the support experienced from teachers and classmates. It is reasonable to assume that these experiences not only have a positive effect on interest in physics, but also influence how strongly students feel connected to the subject later in their physics studies; however, this connection has not yet been systematically investigated.

The impact Sense of Belonging in school physics classes

Our study addresses this research gap and investigates how the Sense of Belonging students experienced in physics classes during their school years influences their decision to drop out of university. Our analysis draws on a survey of 263 first-year physics students at 20 German universities in 2022, funded by the Max-Traeger-Stiftung. The students were asked about their retrospective Sense of Belonging in school physics classes, their current Sense of Belonging to Physics, their University Belonging and their intention to drop out or change subject. The data collected was evaluated using a mediation analysis. A mediation analysis is a statistical method that can be used to investigate whether and how the relationship between two variables is mediated by a third variable (the so-called mediator). It is often used to better understand which steps or mediators influence the relationship between two variables.

The results of our data analysis clearly show that a strong Sense of Belonging in school physics classes significantly reduces the risk of dropping out or changing studies. However, it is worth noting that our data does not show a direct effect of this earlier Sense of Belonging. Our mediation analysis shows instead that the Sense of Belonging in in school physics classes has an indirect effect on students' intention to drop out or switch via the current Sense of Belonging characteristics in their studies (here the mediator). Our analysis also shows that the Sense of Belonging to Physics in the degree program contributes about four times as much to reducing the intention to drop out or switch as the students' general University Belonging. These findings underline the importance of promoting the Sense of Belonging to Physics at school. Physics students who developed a strong Sense of Belonging in school physics classes also feel a stronger Sense of Belonging to Physics during their studies and, to a lesser extent, to their university. Positive experiences of belonging at school therefore support the successful process of identity development and positioning of physics students in the introductory phase of their studies, which has a lasting effect on their academic development. In other words, students who feel a Sense of Belonging in school physics classes take these positive social experiences with them to university and benefit from them, possibly even throughout their higher education.

Conclusion

These results have important implications for educational research and practice. They underline how it is not enough for school physics classes to focus solely on teaching skills and abilities related to content and working methods. Equally important is facilitating identity processes in relation to the subject culture of physics and fostering students' social embeddedness. For universities, this means increasing their efforts to foster the Sense of Belonging to Physics, especially among first-year students. A stronger focus on the social connectedness of students in physics could help to increase their chances of academic success and reduce drop-out rates in physics studies. Implementing mentoring programs or strengthening student representatives for first-year students might be promising approaches.

In conclusion, the Sense of Belonging in school physics classes play a decisive role in the course of studies at university. A strong Sense of Belonging to Physics, which is already fostered at school, could be a key to improving student satisfaction and academic success in physics.

About the authors:

Dr. Markus Sebastian Feser is a postdoctoral researcher at the IPN in the Departments of Physics Education and Knowledge Transfer. His research topics include (teacher) identity and Sense of Belonging in science teaching and learning processes. feser@leibniz-ipn.de

Prof. Dr. Thorid Rabe is Professor of Physics Education at the Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg. Her research interests include identity negotiations in physics, teacher professionalization and climate education. thorid.rabe@physik.uni-halle.de

Dr. Inka Haak is a researcher in Physics Education at the Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg. Her research focuses on the introductory phase of physics studies, with a particular interest in learning groups and identity negotiations of student teachers. inka.haak@physik.uni-halle.de

Further literature:

Feser, M. S., Haak, I., & Rabe, T. (2023). Sense of belonging among firstyear physics students in Germany: Exploring intergroup differences and correlations. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(11), em2345. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13656

Feser, M. S., Rabe, T., & Haak, I. (2024). Echoes of social experience: Tracing the link between a sense of belonging in school physics classes and physics students’ persistence in higher education. European Journal of Physics, 45(4), 045704. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6404/ad4c2a

Feser, M. S., Haak, I., & Rabe, T. (2023). VeSPBe – Vergleich von Studieneingangsphasen in Physik hinsichtlich des Sense of Belonging von Studierenden. Dokumentation der Erhebungsinstrumente und deren deskriptive, quantitative Ergebnisse. http://dx.doi.org/10.25656/01:26178