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Negotiating belonging: a constructivist grounded theory of transfer students' experiences in STEM
Katya Hernández Holliday1, Saya Shahoy1, Stanley M Lo1
1University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA.
International Journal of STEM Education
|July 23, 2026
Summary
Community college transfer students negotiate belonging in STEM through internal motivation and external signals. Supporting their identity work is key for academic success and diversifying the STEM workforce.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Education
- Psychology
Background:
- Sense of belonging is vital for undergraduate persistence, especially in STEM.
- Community college (CC) transfer students, often from underrepresented backgrounds, are crucial for STEM workforce diversity.
- This demographic faces unique challenges, yet their sense of belonging remains understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how CC transfer students describe their sense of belonging in higher education.
- To identify experiences influencing their sense of belonging in academic settings.
Main Methods:
- Semi-structured qualitative interviews with 13 CC transfer students.
- Constructivist grounded theory methodology for data analysis.
Main Results:
- Belonging is a negotiated process influenced by internal factors (motivation, values) and external factors (institutional, familial, social messaging).
- Students' initial experiences of belonging were marked by an orientation toward building it, with varying levels of concern about "fit".
Conclusions:
- Belonging is actively negotiated by CC transfer students in STEM, integrating internal and external cues.
- Academic environments should offer opportunities for disciplinary exploration to support students' identity work.
- Designing transfer pathways and advising structures that acknowledge belonging as dynamic is crucial for student success.
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