About the Presentation: Student belonging in times of changes
Belonging has captured the imagination of educators, researchers and policy makers in the academy. The isolation of the pandemic, appeals to equity and wellness, technological acceleration and widening access have contributed to the resurgence of interest in student belonging post-pandemic. And for good reason. Belonging is linked to positive self-perceptions of social acceptance, academic success, persistence and internal motivation, and is considered to protect medical students, at least in part, against stress and burnout. In this talk I will interrogate the concept of belonging from alternate theoretical perspectives, and present research with under-represented in medicine students as well as with higher education students in online learning. This work shows the complexity of researching belonging and the tensions that exist between desires to fix and foster an abiding ‘sense of belonging’, and the ways in which individuals experience belonging in multiple, affective and material ways.
About the Presenter: Rola Ajjawi
Rola is Professor of Medical Education in the Department of Surgery and Scientist at the Centre for Health Education Scholarship, at the University of British Columbia where she leads several programs of research into feedback and workplace learning cultures, student failure and success, and latterly belonging in health professions education. Her research has attracted over $ 3.5 million in funding. Rola is Deputy Editor of the journal Medical Education and chair of the International Association for Health Professions Education (AMEE) Research Committee. She was awarded a Karolinska Institutet Fellowship in 2021 for excellence in medical education research. She is the lead guest editor of a special issue of Teaching in Higher Education: Reconsidering the Role of Authenticity in Assessment in Higher Education and is editing a virtual special issue of the journal Medical Education on Gender Equity in Health Professions Education.