University students with a higher sense of belonging have previously been found to experience higher levels of academic engagement, motivation, achievement, and self-confidence. This article compares findings from a survey on student sense of belonging and retention distributed to Australian students prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 ( n = 570) and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 ( n = 620). At both time points, students who considered dropping out of university had a significantly lower sense of belonging than those who had not considered leaving their studies before completion. Sense of belonging was positively correlated to levels of enjoyment and motivation in university. For students whose parents had both completed university, levels of belonging were found to be significantly higher than first-generation students prior to, but not during, the COVID-19 pandemic. Belonging is connected to students’ self-reported enjoyment of learning. When students feel connected to their university community, they are more likely to continue their studies.

中文翻译：

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归属感、享受、动力和保留：COVID-19 大流行之前和期间大学生的归属感

此前研究发现，归属感较高的大学生的学术参与度、积极性、成就和自信水平较高。本文比较了 2019 年 COVID-19 大流行之前 (n = 570) 和 2021 年 COVID-19 大流行期间 (n = 620) 向澳大利亚学生分发的关于学生归属感和保留感的调查结果。在这两个时间点，考虑退学的学生的归属感明显低于那些在完成学业之前没有考虑退学的学生。归属感与大学的享受程度和动机呈正相关。研究发现，对于父母均已完成大学学业的学生来说，归属感水平明显高于 COVID-19 大流行之前而非期间的第一代学生。归属感与学生自我报告的学习乐趣有关。当学生感到与大学社区有联系时，他们更有可能继续学习。