Supporting entrepreneurship students’ sense of belonging in online virtual spaces

Abstract

Universities globally are aspiring to grow through investing in the delivery of online learning programmes. However, the attrition rate for online learning is high. It has been noted that those students with a sense of belonging to their course experience increased enjoyment and reduced anxiety and are therefore less likely to withdraw. Yet too often programme design guidance to support a sense of belonging for student communities focuses on localised, full-time and young students rather than older, globally dispersed, time-starved students such as those in the online entrepreneurship programme that is the subject of this paper. The authors explore how a sense of belonging in entrepreneurship students can be supported effectively in a virtual learning space throughout their online degree studies. The research presented adopts an interpretivist perspective and includes interviews with eight students studying a 1-year top-up degree in a UK higher education institution. The teaching and support staff interviewed were based solely in the UK. The data collected were examined using thematic analysis. The paper contributes to the debate about what a sense of belonging means in a virtual space for entrepreneurship students and identifies how such students can feel connected and supported to finish their course.