Date of Award
Fall 9-5-2025
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Eilene Edejer
Second Advisor
Pamela Fenning
Abstract
This research focused on recently enrolled undergraduates in programs including an academically required internship that bridges the transition between being a student at an IHE to being a professional in the field. Students who identify as LGBTQIA+ comprise a group referred to as Gender and Sexual Minorities (GSM) (Smalley, et al., 2018). The purpose of this research is to explore differences in the sense of belonging between students who identify as GSM their IHE versus experiences during their internship. The conceptual framework for this study draws on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1943), Chickering’s seven vectors of student development (1969), and Vaccaro & Newman’s development of sense of belonging for privileged and minoritized students (2016). A new concept—Situational Safety—is introduced. When the same person experiences a change in a sense of safety in different environments, I refer to this phenomenon as Situational Safety. This may trigger a retreat to a lower level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Prior research on this topic to date is almost non-existent. Learning more about how this environmental change from the IHE to the internship may impact GSM students’ sense of belonging is a primary outcome. A modified version of the Sense of Belonging Instrument (SOBI) initially developed by Hurtado & Ponjuan in 1995—called the GSM SOBI tool—was utilized to collect data. Analysis included running a paired sample t-test on the scores for GSM students, comparing their sense of belonging ratings between on-campus and at the internship. The results of my study demonstrate that GSM students report a lower sense of belonging in the internship site compared with their on-campus experience. My findings also support key factors that may contribute to persistence, including the significance of one important person, and future research.
Recommended Citation
Goldberger, Nancy, "Situational safety: exploring the relationship of environmental change & sense of belonging for GSM students in academic-required internships" (2025). Dissertations. 4230.
https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/4230
