Gatt, Charisse (2023) Why Aren’t They Here? Belongingness as a Predictor of Attendance at Synchronous Classes for On-campus and Online University Students. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Declining rates of class attendance are a concern for universities around the world due to its relationship with academic achievement and attrition rates. The research regarding reasons for non-attendance as well as demographic and psychological predictors of attendance have been well established for on-campus students, however, online students have received little empirical attention. This study aimed to explore and compare the reasons for non-attendance
and a sense of belonging, for on-campus and online students, and determine if belonging is a predictor of attendance. Participants (N = 215) were university students who completed an online survey that measured a sense of belonging to school, belonging to university, attendance rates, and reasons for non-attendance to synchronous classes. Analysis revealed that online and on-campus students have similar reasons for not attending class, such as access to digitised learning materials and work commitments. Online students experience a stronger sense of belonging to school and university compared to on-campus students. Multiple regression analyses suggest that generally, belonging to school and belonging to university do not uniquely predict attendance. This is with the exception of belonging to university which, for online students, was a significant predictor. The findings suggest a sense of belonging, either to school or university, is developed and experienced differently between on-campus and online students. Further research, including developments of valid measurements, is needed to understand belonging from the perspective of online students and its relationship with attendance to synchronous classes.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Current – Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Wellbeing (1 Jan 2022 -) |
| Supervisors: | Carla Jeffries |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 20 May 2025 03:08 |
| Last Modified: | 20 May 2025 03:08 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | attendance, online, on-campus, belonging, belonging to school, belonging to university. |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52339 |
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