Tools
Tools
Edmunds, Kelly 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5351-3721
(2025)
Building Belonging in Biological Sciences.
In:
Accessibility, Inclusivity and Diversity in Education and Beyond.
Springer, pp. 17-36.
ISBN 978-3-031-81794-6
Abstract
Students in Higher Education (HE) are reporting record high levels of anxiety alongside lower levels of self-efficacy, and these are contributing to an engagement crisis. Students are struggling to engage with their studies as they manage declining mental health—poorer mental health than that reported by the wider population—and increasing numbers of students are juggling their studies alongside paid work, just to meet their basic living costs. University life brings many new opportunities, both social and academic. For an increasing number of students, growing external demands on their time mean they are making hard choices about which education opportunities to engage with. Biosciences courses present specific opportunities to perform experiments, make use of new equipment and engage in trial-and-error as part of the scientific method—all activities which can often lead to failure, the consequences of which for a student already managing challenges with their mental health, financial situation or time pressures, can be to disengage further from their studies. One way to mitigate the impact of these factors on student engagement and success is to help students build a strong sense of belonging within their studies. This chapter sets the context for some of the challenges facing our students, with a focus on student belonging and how this links to academic success. Drawing on examples from across different UK biosciences departments, this chapter explores how we can embed activities into our biology teaching which encourage students to experiment whilst also building a growth mindset and a stronger sense of belonging. The examples shared will cover aspects of the important transition into HE through to a range of activities that can be embedded into teaching and assessment at various points throughout the student journey.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | sdg 4 - quality education,sdg 10 - reduced inequalities,sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/quality_education |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences |
| UEA Research Groups: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Higher Education Research Practice Policy and Scholarship Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Biosciences Teaching and Education Research |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Sep 2026 09:10 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Sep 2026 09:10 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/104605 |
| DOI: | isbn:978-3-031-81794-6 |
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