Dissertation Defense Announcement Ed.D. Program: Nikita Pandit “Exploring the Relationship between Student Engagement and Sense of Belonging of South Asian American College Students: A Qualitative Study”
South Asian Americans (SAA) represent a rapidly growing population in U.S. higher education, yet little is known about their engagement experiences in student organizations (Rahma & Paik, 2017; Ruzicka, 2011). This qualitative phenomenological study explored engagement and sense of belonging among SAA undergraduate students at a diverse Northeastern university. Grounded in Desi Critical Race Theory (DesiCrit), the study addressed three research questions: (1) factors influencing participation, (2) barriers to engagement, and (3) how engagement contributes to sense of belonging. Data were collected through 15 semi-structured interviews and one focus group to explore students’ lived experiences with co-curricular participation and examine how institutional and cultural contexts shaped their engagement and sense of belonging.
Findings revealed that engagement and belonging were shaped by interconnected institutional, relational, cultural, and familial processes operating within campus racial microclimes. A welcoming campus climate, family support, peer networks, and intrinsic motivation facilitated participation and enabled students to claim identity, legitimacy, and belonging. Identity-affirming cultural spaces, leadership roles, and peer relationships strengthened belonging by reducing racial ambiguity and fostering recognition. However, engagement was constrained by structural, social, and cultural barriers, including limited access to opportunities, intra-community divisions, racialized stereotypes, and family-centered expectations that produced conditional belonging and required ongoing negotiation of identity and participation. Engagement functioned both as a pathway to belonging and as a site where SAA students navigated racialization and legitimacy.
Implications from this research highlight the need for further investigations into SAA students’ engagement experiences; institutional practices that strengthen early engagement pathways and expand identity-affirming cultural spaces; culturally responsive programming and ongoing cultural competency training for higher education professionals; and initiatives that foster inclusive campus climates and community-building among SAA students.