Link Between Academic Engagement and Sense of Belonging in First-Year University Students

Academic Engagement

Academic engagement is a key aspect of the educational process for students, which is important for higher education institutions given its relationship with achieving good academic performance and reducing dropout rates among first-year students (López-Angulo et al., 2024).

Academic engagement is understood as a consequence of high motivation reinforced by personal and contextual elements. It consists of three dimensions: the cognitive dimension, which refers to the voluntary investment of effort to understand complex ideas; the behavioural dimension, which involves student participation in class, their behaviour, and participation in extracurricular activities; and the affective dimension, which encompasses both positive and negative emotions experienced when interacting with peers and teachers (Fredricks et al., 2004; Assunção et al., 2020). From the perspective of self-determination theory as a three-dimensional model, academic engagement integrates behavioural, emotional, and cognitive components, which are reflected in students’ active participation in academic, social, and extracurricular activities (Fredricks et al., 2004).

Research on academic engagement has experienced significant growth, focusing mainly on motivation, emotional factors and the relationships established between teachers and students, all factors that directly influence student engagement (Loyola-Carrillo et al., 2025). In this process, factors such as adaptation to the new educational system and the adoption of learning methodologies that favour the acquisition of knowledge contribute to better academic performance and higher retention rates (Freiberg-Hoffmann et al., 2025). By comparison, low engagement leads to a greater intention to drop out of university (Álvarez-Pérez et al., 2024).

University Dropout

Different factors affect the decision to drop out of a study programme, which can be categorised into personal and contextual factors. As stated earlier, this is also determined by the student’s level of engagement. According to Díaz (2008), those with high motivation and social and academic integration favour remaining in the university. He also states that remaining in the university produces a dynamic balance of factors over time that involves academic, social, and institutional aspects. If one of these weakens, it forces the others to respond to the student’s needs. However, in that case, the balance may be broken and the students may drop out of their studies to pursue an activity that provides them with greater benefits.

The effects of dropping out are multiple. On a personal level, it could reproduce the poverty among dropouts (Donoso & Schiefelbein, 2007), as the lack of degree reduces available job offers. This in turn, could generate feelings of regret, frustration, and disappointment for not having obtained the expected performance (Cortés-Cáceres et al., 2019; Pérez et al., 2025).

At the level of the family, dropout impacts the use of resources to pay for the years spent in college. At the institutional level, dropout hinders the allocation of resources and the accreditation process of higher education institutions, reducing the enrolment of first-year students since the quality of the education received is called into question (Castro et al., 2021; Toledo & Rojas, 2019). At the governmental level, it affects the efficiency of public spending (Améstica-Rivas et al., 2021).

Taking into account the above, it is crucial to understand ways through which to decrease drop out levels. Passeggia et al. (2023) found that previous positive academic experiences favour high academic engagement and high subjective well-being, a scenario that decreases the intention to drop out. Similarly, fostering social support and sense of belonging in students reinforces their subjective well-being (Maluenda-Albornoz, Berríos-Riquelme et al., 2024), thus reducing school attrition rate.

Based on the foregoing discussion, higher education institutions can prevent dropouts in line with SDG 3, which promotes “healthy lives and well-being” (Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y Familia, n.d. -a), using welcome programmes and programmes that promote equal opportunities (Lira, 2024; Sanhueza et al., 2017) and offering programmes related to emotional and psychological support, as strategies to increase student retention and support (Suárez-Montes & Díaz-Subieta, 2015). In line with SDG 4, which refers to “Quality Education,” governments and educational institutions must guarantee an education that promotes social mobility for their students, lifting them out of poverty (Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y Familia, n.d. -b).

In the Chilean education system, first-year student dropout rates reach 23.5% overall, and 17.3% for the university system in particular, which has decreased by 3% between 2019 and 2023 (Servicio de Información en Educación Superior [SIES], 2024). Despite this, gaps in access to quality education that enable the training and employment of young people are still identified (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores [MINREL] et al., 2022).

COVID-19 and Motivation

Some of these expressions and dimensions of academic engagement were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as social distancing was established as the main preventive measure to reduce the chances of infection. Distance education, thus, emerged as the only possible option to ensure the continuity of learning (Potra et al., 2021).

Virtual education allowed for the development of intercultural skills, as well as better preparation for an increasingly international labour market and the possibility for more students to access global experiences without the economic or logistical barriers of traditional exchanges. International virtual exchange programmes (IVEs) that emerged as a key tool in higher education, especially after the pandemic, accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in academia (Weaver et al., 2024). They not only ensured the continuity of learning in emergency situations but also proved to be a valuable and durable option in the long term (Rasli et al., 2022).

This dual mode of teaching – face-to-face and digital – has remained even after the pandemic. This has allowed flexible and accessible students’ training, eliminating the limitations of space-time, the use of physical materials, and providing freedom to decide when and how to study, allowing them to move from one subject to another (Cunningham & Billingsley, 2003). In addition to enabling more people to access higher education, especially those who live in remote areas or have difficulty travelling, these platforms also help improve digital skills, which are very important in today’s workplace, by offering a variety of programmes, courses and specialisations for different interests and needs (Rodrigues et al., 2024).

However, for this to work properly, it is important that all people have access to these platforms in an equitable way. People who do not have access to the Internet or devices increase the digital divide, limiting the have-nots from benefiting equally from these technologies (Madariaga et al., 2020).

Digital platforms have transformed the forms of educational interaction, facilitating distance learning that enable students to connect and access learning materials at any time and place. However, for this modality to be truly effective, it is necessary for students to develop skills such as autonomy, self-regulation and engagement, becoming more responsible for their own learning process (Cabero-Almenara & Palacios-Rodríguez, 2021). Therefore, cultivating digital skills alongside self-regulation and motivation during the educational process is essential for strong academic performance in the university context (Pinto et al., 2023).

Indeed, motivation, which is part of the self-regulation process, is a crucial element in a student’s education in an online environment (Pintrich, 2004; Zimmerman, 2002). It can be intrinsic, generating higher levels of well-being, extrinsic, mobilised by external rewards and punishments, or even lead to demotivation, directly influencing students’ commitment to their learning (Ryan & Deci, 2017). It is therefore necessary to consider socio-emotional aspects in the educational process that foster motivation, as well as to recognise and address experiences that affect students’ education (Cabello et al., 2022).

Contemporary teachers, in addition to being in charge of the teaching-learning process, must be constantly updated in the use of ICTs to guide and facilitate student learning so that they can function in today’s world (Guamán-Gómez et al., 2023). Thus, one of their roles is to enable students to adapt to technological changes to help generate a satisfactory experience of incorporation into their first year of university.

Sense of Belonging

Welcome activities facilitate the adjustment of students to the new educational environment, allowing integration into the culture of their careers, meeting peers and forming friendships, and promoting the construction of a sense of belonging that is vital for their transition process and continuity in the university (Sanhueza et al., 2017).

In this same line, students belonging to the Program for Access to Higher Education (PACE, in Spanish), an initiative that seeks equity of access by accompanying students in the transition to higher education, reported higher levels of emotional engagement and lower levels of behavioural disconnection (transgression of norms) compared to students who were not part of this program, thus favouring integration and academic success (Lira & Pérez-Salas, 2022).

Belonging is the psychological sense of feeling valued in the university community (Hausmann et al., 2007). Feelings of belonging play an important role in first-year and first-generation students entering the university system: they favour the development of behavioural engagement, increasing class participation (Gillen-O’Neel, 2021).

Students with a higher sense of belonging tend to be more motivated, more academically self-confident, and have higher levels of engagement and academic achievement (Pedler et al., 2022). Positive relationships with friends and faculty are essential for the development of a sense of belonging and perseverance in degree attainment (Anistranski & Brown, 2023; Garza et al., 2021).

The relationships established with peers and teachers are especially relevant for developing a sense of belonging (Bazignan & Rojas, 2024). Through innovative practices that involve students in their learning, teachers foster a sense of belonging, helping students to develop interest in and understand complex content, which reduces their anxiety (Pressimone & Torsney, 2025).

Among online programme students, feeling supported and valued by the educational community through introductory videos, flexible deliveries (dates) and collective feedback, increased the sense of belonging, in addition to reducing stress (Adlington et al., 2024). This has been found to increase performance and satisfaction with their studies (Zhao & You, 2024). In this sense, social support and sense of belonging are positively related to academic engagement, allowing integration into the educational system (Maluenda, Bazignan et al., 2022; Maluenda-Albornoz, Berríos-Riquelme et al., 2023).

These findings are consistent with research indicating that student involvement in their learning process increases belonging, thus decreasing attrition in first-year students (White et al., 2025). Moreover, it heightens their motivation and their emotional and cognitive engagement (Cadavis, 2024; Maluenda-Albornoz, Díaz-Sepúlveda et al., 2022).

Sense of belonging has a direct influence on emotional engagement. This contributes to students developing greater interest and increased motivation for their educational process. On the other hand, there is an indirect effect mediated by self-efficacy on cognitive engagement. For instance, motivating the understanding and mastery of academic content, likewise has indirect effect on their behavioural engagement such that academic hardiness (resilience and determination) enables active participation in activities and compliance with the requirements of the different subjects (Luo et al., 2022; Yi et al., 2024). Additionally, it has been shown that the sense of belonging and emotional engagement reduce the intention to drop out (Rojas et al., 2024).

Based on the above, it is relevant to understand the relationship between the sense of belonging and the three dimensions that make up academic engagement, in students who accessed higher education remotely. The following hypotheses are proposed:

• Sense of belonging is positively and significantly related to emotional engagement.

• Sense of belonging is positively and significantly related to cognitive engagement.

• Sense of belonging is positively and significantly related to behavioural engagement.

Additionally, we will analyse whether there are differences between the scores of the variables corresponding to the sense of belonging and academic commitment, according to the career of entry.

Participants

A non-probabilistic convenience sample was taken from a universe of 1200 students from 13 undergraduate programmes that make up the engineering faculty of a Chilean university, during the COVID 19 pandemic. A total of 554 students participated, corresponding to 46.2% of the total universe. Of these, 416 were men and 138 were women, corresponding to 75.09% and 24.91% respectively. Their ages range between 17 and 19 years (x = 18; SD = 1.2).

Design

The present study has an associative design of comparative type, with a time cross-section (Ato et al., 2013).

Procedure

Students were invited to participate in the research voluntarily by their career managers. If they accepted, they were sent the informed consent form digitally, informing them of the research objective, the possibility of withdrawing from the study and the confidentiality but not anonymity of the data. No incentive was given to participate in the study. The instruments were sent via Google Forms® and were filled out from April to May of 2021, corresponding to the first academic semester of the year in Chile. The training was carried out using the framework of emergency virtual education. Statistical analysis was performed with Jasp 0.17.2.1 software.

Instruments

The instrument used to collect the variable of sense of belonging was constructed ad hoc using a Likert scale of 1 to 5, in two items: 1. “Up to now, to what degree have you felt welcomed by the engineering faculty?” and 2. “Up to now, to what degree have you felt welcomed by the career you entered?”

Academic engagement was measured using the University Student Engagement Inventory (USEI) developed to collect three dimensions (cognitive, emotional, and behavioural) (Maroco et al., 2016). The instrument was adapted for the Chilean population, obtaining three specific factors and one general factor, consistent with its English version in the Portuguese population. Good fit indices were reported for a two-factor model [x2 (75) = 210.276, p < .001; RMSEA = .047 (95% CI .040, .055); CFI = .967; TLI = .954]. The reported reliability was acceptable ω = .719. On the other hand, an ωH = .843 was obtained for the general factor, while the three subscales reported values of ωHS = .044 in the behavioural dimension; ωHS = .517 in the emotional dimension; and ωHS = .403 in the cognitive dimension. The items were distributed in the survey as follows: 5 items measuring voluntary effort to understand the ideas studied (cognitive dimension), 5 items measuring affect in interaction with peers and teachers (emotional dimension), and 5 items measuring participation in academic activities (behavioural dimension) (Maluenda, Varas et al., 2020).