Please find herein: 15 Examples of ‘Belonging’ at Canadian Universities

This post is unfinished, but should be useful to researchers none-the-less.

[I intended to provide a possible framework for a research project as I did in Series A: https://keepinganeyeonedi.ca/2023/09/20/series-a-edi-concepts-in-canadian-universities-part-4-of-5-inclusion-inclusive-excellence/]

Here is a word document with citations for the 15 examples used in this post:

Canadian Universities BelongingDownload

Possible subheadings for a research project outline:

What is belonging?

Belonging Brands and corporate advertising

Belonging and Student Experience,

Belonging versus a sense of belonging

Belonging and wellness initiatives

Not-belonging

You belong, and you don’t.

Mandatory belonging

Examples from Canadian Universities.

Possible research questions:

What is Belonging?

What is a sense of belonging?

Is not belonging (or not feeling a sense of belonging) better for innovation? E.g. the renegade on the fringe?

Is ‘belonging’ a sugar-coated way of saying ‘conform’?

Are Canadian universities fostering belonging/ a sense of belonging through hive-mind activities — protests, petitions, cancelations — and band wagons? See, Canadian University Student Petitions: Race, Oppression, CRT., https://keepinganeyeonedi.ca/2023/04/14/friday-reading-list-14-04-2023-theme-canadian-university-student-petitions/

Belonging by mobbing? See, Canadian Academic, emeritus: Kenneth Westhues. Expert: “Workplace Mobbing in Academe and Beyond”, https://keepinganeyeonedi.ca/2024/05/10/canadian-academic-emeritus-kenneth-westhues-expert-workplace-mobbing-in-academe-and-beyond/

See, Psychopathy and its implications for diversity initiatives and training (this entry includes implications for ‘belonging’) : https://keepinganeyeonedi.ca/2024/05/19/friday-reading-list-30-12-22/

Well being

Occupational Health and Safety

UN Social Development Goals

15 Examples of ‘Belonging’ at Canadian Universities

From this point on…

Bibliographer’s Notes in red font.

Quotes in black font or preformatted boxes.

University of Regina

Well-being and Belonging

What is meant by spiritual well-being? 

Strengthen connections with ourselves.

We recognize the importance of well-being and belonging to the success of our students, faculty, staff, and community. The University of Regina is committed to creating space where everyone feels part of the community. We embrace the ideals of the medicine wheel that describes the need for us to have balance on our journey of emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. We foster the success of our students, faculty, and staff by valuing their health, safety, and well-being.

University of British Columbia

Belonging and Social Inclusion

And, for those students who despise group work and collaboration? Who, when forced into group work, peer assessment, and collaborative learning, do not feel “psychological safety, trust …”? And who worry, often rightly, that peer assessment and working collaboratively sabotages their learning — and possibly their GPAs? 

Research indicates that there is an important link between students’ learning environment and their feeling of a sense of social belonging during their post-secondary education (Braxton, Milem & Sullivan, 2000; Meeuwisse, Severiens, & Born, 2010)...

Cooperative learning environments may positively contribute to students’ sense of belonging (Braxton, Milem & Sullivan, 2000; Meeuwisse, Severiens, & Born, 2010).There are many tools and activities that promote cooperation and collaboration that could be employed in the online environment to foster connection. Peer assessment has become an integral part of active and collaborative learning environments; peer assessment allows students the opportunity to actively take part in shaping their own learning as well as help their classmates improve their learning (Cassidy, Richard & Bailey, Daniel, 2018; Van Gennip, Segers, & Tillema, 2010).

Moreover, research indicates that peer assessment as a collaborative learning intervention contributes to higher levels of psychological safety, trust, and interdependence among peers (Van Gennip, Segers, & Tillema, 2010).

Cornell University

Belonging at Cornell

Ought one bring her authentic self to work? There are aspects of people’s personalities (and certain habits) that are best left at home. What is an “authentic self”? What are genuine feelings of belonging – genuine as opposed to false feelings? How would one know the difference? How would one know what counts as a genuine feeling of belonging?

In which sense is the following a metric (See also, “Selected References and Measures” on this page) ? How does one measure feelings? What if I’m feeling-fluid? 

About the metric 

Belonging is the feeling of security and support when there is a sense of acceptance, inclusion, and identity for a member of a certain group. It is when an individual can bring their authentic self to work. When employees feel like they don’t belong at work, their performance and their personal lives suffer. Creating genuine feelings of belonging for all is a critical factor in improving engagement and performance. It also helps support business goals.

Why belonging matters at Cornell University?

... A sense of belonging is what unlocks the power and value of diversity."

Personal boundaries anyone? Why should others be encouraged to share their personal stories, and why should I care? Why should I believe these stories? What is meant by “purposeful storytelling”? What if I don’t want to be seen? Will I be seen as a team player if I refuse? What if my story recounts an experience of being pressured to participate in purposeful storytelling? 

Actions and Initiatives 

Engage in purposeful storytelling. 

Encourage employees to share their individual stories. Understanding aspects of another person’s story can dissolve interpersonal barriers and help show the many layers, dimensions and experiences about a person we otherwise would not know. It helps people be seen.

Mount Royal University

You Belong Here

"You belong here. Up front or behind the scenes. On the side of a mountain, in the rain forest, or at home in your community. You belong here. Leading a movement, heading to grad school or starting your dream career. And because where you start makes all the difference to where you end up, you belong here at Mount Royal University.

Read more about the students, alumni, faculty and community members who shape Mount Royal University into the right place for you:" 

Trent University

You Belong Here

And if you don’t answer yes to one of more of these questions, what? 

You Belong Here  

Fostering Inclusion and Wellbeing 
Looking for new community connections and supports for your academics and wellbeing? 

- Do you identify as 2SLGBTQ+? 
- Are you a mature student (21+)? 
- Are you the first in your family to go to university? 
- Are you Indigenous? Black? Racialized? 
- Are you a student with a disability? 
- Are you a student in the Degree Progression Pathway Program? 
- Are you experiencing challenges in transitioning to university? 

If you answered yes to one or more of those questions, You Belong Here (YBH) is designed to support you!

University of Toronto

You belong here.

See, University of Toronto: “The Division of People Strategy, Equity & Culture.” A problem with syntax., https://keepinganeyeonedi.ca/2024/05/18/university-of-toronto-the-division-of-people-strategy-equity-culture-a-problem-with-syntax/

"You belong here.

Everyone has a part to play in realizing the University’s commitment to fostering an intentionally inclusive community.

We feel tremendous pride in our community’s diversity and the continuous efforts made to build a more inclusive university. We celebrate all our community’s achievements, large and small, to recognize the people who go above and beyond in their commitment to advance inclusion and remind us that everyone belongs at U of T."
  • University of Toronto. “Culture, Community is Our Strength,” The Division of People Strategy, Equity and Culture, https://people.utoronto.ca/, accessed 18 May 2024

Western University (UWO)

You Belong Here

"When you choose Western you are choosing your new home. With high-quality education, a great location and a variety of supports available, you will see why we are a top destination for international students around the globe."

University of Waterloo

I Belong, You Belong, We Belong

On March 22, the Student Success Office (SSO), Waterloo Undergraduate Student Assocation (WUSA), and the Graduate Student Association (GSA) held the first Waterloo @ the Intersections event. The inaugural “On Belonging” was a thought-provoking and engaging event that brought together students from across the university to discuss one important question: How has the experience of community shifted for you, for me, for us since the pandemic began?

This event sounds like a Theatre of the Oppressed performance. See, Policing Humour in Canadian Universities, Part 3: Court Jesters and Morality Plays: https://keepinganeyeonedi.ca/2023/08/15/policing-humour-in-canadian-universities-part-3-of-3-court-jesters-and-morality-plays/ 

The event took place in the Black and Gold room, Student Life Centre (SLC), and featured six live student performances, each exploring different aspects of the topic through poetry, music, and spoken word.The performances were powerful and emotive, encouraging the audience to reflect on their own experiences and feelings of belonging in this time of change.

Throughout the event, the audience was encouraged to participate in the discussion, with opportunities for open-mic, small-group discussions, and, for those who are introverted, a large board where students could add post-it notes answering the question, “where do you feel like you belong?” This created a supportive and welcoming atmosphere, where attendees could share their own thoughts and connect with others who were also grappling with this important issue.

University of Waterloo

Sense of belonging

I suppose if you cancel a speaker, or fire a faculty member who has gone awol from the safety agenda, you don’t have to worry about either of them having a sense of belonging. So, amended, “we hope all individuals [except for those we’ve barred or booted] will be able to experience a sense of belonging?” 

"Our hope is that all individuals at the University of Waterloo will be able to experience a sense of belonging through responsive environments, caring community, and social connections."

What is the referent for “a defined group”? : 

What does this priority mean? 

We understand sense of belonging to be the “degree to which an individual feels respected, valued, accepted, and needed by a defined group” (Strayhorn, 2018, 87). The Wellness Collaborative has identified two important mechanisms by which Waterloo will foster sense of belonging for students and employees: 1) responsive environments and caring community, and 2) social connections.

At Waterloo, a responsive environment and caring community is characterized by recognizing and acting on the unique needs that individuals experience within their learning, working and living environments. In order to ensure responsiveness and care to these unique needs we must critically examine the structural barriers that exist in achieving a sense of belonging.

Systemic barriers are related to an individual’s identity (e.g., ethnicity, race, Indigeneity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, language, physical and mental ability, and/or socio-economic status), which may be experienced through racism, discrimination, stereotypes, prejudice, and bias. Systemic barriers also stem from how the institution operates.

A sense of belonging can also be impacted by social connections that are fostered with others at Waterloo. For students these one-to-one connections may include their instructors, supervisors, classmates and other social peers. Similarly, for employees this will be impacted by relationships with colleagues, mentors, leaders and sense of team cohesion.

i) What is the number of students “who reported…”? Ten? One hundred? ii) Have the students changed or has the university changed? Has there been an increase in students’ expectations that the university will coddle them that may result in lower satisfaction with “the university’s concern shown….”

The following is an utterly meaningless statement:

The percent of Waterloo students who reported that they were satisfied with concern shown by the university has declined over time among both first year and graduating year students.

Paraphrase: One of our goals is that we instil a measure of guilt to ensure your utmost efforts to give others a sense of belonging, and be a good steward of the university grounds (or earth? no parameters have been stipulated for “the land”): 

What does success look like? 
Students and employees: 

- Feel a sense of responsibility towards the campus and the land on which it resides

Bafflegab:

Action group and next steps

Our actions must engage and centre individuals or our university community who experience systemic barriers including Black, Indigenous and people of colour, and individuals living with disabilities, as well as the intersectionality of these. Work is currently underway to engage our wider-university community in our priority areas to ensure that actions address the structural elements that hinder the responsiveness and care of our institution. If you’re interested in contributing to this, please connect with us through our Contact us form.

Concordia University

Identity, Belonging and Agency

Note that this presentation is a Free Session!, by which cannot be meant Gilpin-Jackson is presenting for free. Someone foot the bill. 

A conversation on Identity, Belonging and Agency with Yabome Gilpin-Jackson 

This open dialogue will invite participants into reflection on the narratives of their lived experiences that fundamentally shape their personal and professional lives. Participants will experience readings that invite reflection on 3 questions that form the bases of the  Identity/Belonging/Agency developmental framework informed by the facilitator’s practice of using lived experience narratives in creative writing.

- Who am I?
- Where do I belong?
- What am I called to?

Readings will be from the short story and flash fiction collections Identities (Black identity politics/dynamics), Ancestries (belonging & rootedness) and Destinies (agency) followed by open Q+A. Overall, this session is an invitation to unpack how our identities and anchoring to places and spaces of belonging grounds us and our choice to exercise agency moves us towards whatever we are called and destined to be and do. All are welcome and will benefit from this developmental exploration of self-in-society, from all intersectional identity groups.

By the end of the session, participants will have:

- Engaged in Q+A with the facilitator and author of Identities, Ancestries and Destinies.

St. Francis Xavier University

You Belong @ X

"You Belong @X is a 60-minute, self-directed Moodle course that: 

- Introduces students to the Harassment and Discrimination Policy (updated August 2021). 

- Helps students identify their personal social identities and explains how identities impact our experiences in university.  

- Describes how racism impacts people in Nova Scotia, Canada, and around the world by defining race, racism, and racialization, recognizing the role unconscious/ implicit bias plays in racism and how microaggressions relate to race. 

- Teaches students to identify and practice awareness of racism when it is happening, as well as practice ways to address racism on campus. 

- The module explains where to go for more information, link to specific supports and services on and off campus that are foundational to this policy."  

OntarioTech University

Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging

Let’s disambiguate ‘all’ (last word, last sentence). Is ‘all’ a quantifier, or is all used as indexical as I ‘all-what or -whom’? Because EDI is a barrier to some. 

As part of the institution’s commitment to Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB), the following document has been created to guide and empower faculty and staff in supporting the collective effort of incorporating DIB principles in all that we do, including the design and enhancement of curricula at the university.

While developing new programs and courses and/or enhancing existing curricula, consider the integrated themes and questions in the document below to help support Ontario Tech University’s commitment to enabling equitable and barrier-free access and participation in education for all.

Oh, there’s a lot of tension in the following principle from the document linked at this site, https://shared.ontariotechu.ca/shared/department/opp/Governance/Quality%20Assurance/Other-QA-docs/demonstrating-principles-of-dib-in-curriculum-design-and-enhancement-final-jan-2024.pdf

You’re safe to say anything that doesn’t impinge on the ‘psychological safety’ of another. 

Part Two:

DIB themes and questions for consideration

Belonging, inclusion and psychological safety

Psychological safety is “the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes, and that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking” (Amy C. Edmondson, 1999).

Does your course promote psychological safety for students to discuss and share differing viewpoints that may sit outside of traditional norms (e.g., cultural, geographical, or other)?

Describe specific strategies you have used or can integrate to promote psychological safety in the classroom. (Part 2, Page 2)

University of Ottawa

Building Belonging

Introduction 

As part of our commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI), we recognize the ways in which racism negatively affects the health and wellness of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) including staff, students and faculty members on our predominantly white uOttawa campus. As such, we need to work on building a sense of belonging for everyone if we are to achieve the shift in culture that will lead to lasting positive change.

We have a “responsibility to educate ourselves on the various … of all members of our Faculty community?” What a stupid assertion.

“This knowledge is indispensable and essential for creating and maintaining… for all.” Bullshit. In fact, this invasiveness might damage a professional environment and certainly cross personal boundaries. 

The action plan  Purpose and values

The Faculty of Arts is composed of many individuals from diverse backgrounds. We have a responsibility to educate ourselves on the various realities, experiences, assets, achievements and concerns of all members of our Faculty community. This knowledge is indispensable and essential for creating and maintaining an environment that prioritizes the fair and equitable access to safety, well-being, and equal opportunity for all. ...

We must go beyond knowledge to action; we must not only understand the various realities lived within our Faculty but also actively work towards enhancing the everyday experience of all members of our community. ...

York University

Identity, Home, and Belonging

Bafflegab: 

The research cluster ​on Identity, Home and Belonging first emerged informally in 2020 ​through the collaborative efforts of emerging and established scholars from different disciplines, ​all associates of the Centre for Feminist Research at York University. ​The research cluster brings together academic researchers, practitioners, graduate and undergraduate students seeking to understand gender-based interpretations of identity, home and belonging, ​emphasizing an integrative anti-racist and anti-colonial feminist perspective. ​In particular, the concepts of identity, home and belonging are problematized by local, national and international power structures, ​including patriarchy, ​imperialism and colonialism, ​racisms and neo-liberalism. ​​Although often understood as personal spaces, an integrative anti-racist feminist and anti-colonial perspective recognizes that identity, home and belonging are all informed by ​these national and international structures of unequal power. 

We follow contemporary anti-racist and anti-colonial feminist geographers in analysing: “(1) the ways that identity, home and belonging are shaped by their location in space, whether conceived of at the level of the household, the nation or globally; (2) the ways in which specific places become imbued with particular social meanings; and (3) "the ways in which meanings and representation associated with certain places are contested, negotiated, and transformed through individual and collective action” (Falah and Nagel, 2005, p. 4). ​Thus, we understand identity, home and belonging as spaces that are shaped by and given contested meanings within unequal patriarchal, racialized, colonial contexts. 

Furthermore, we ​emphasize that “feminist practice can render permeable the boundaries between classrooms and communities, research and lived experience, academic and everyday knowers (Addleson & Potter, 1991, p. 275).  In this way we include and integrate many forms of knowledge and ways of knowing, ​scholarly, activist and from lay people, while expanding our understanding of identity formation, home and modes of belonging. 

The objectives of this research cluster are as follows: 

- To provide spaces in which members are invited to critically query, reflect on, discuss issues of identity, home, and belonging. 

- To interrogate how identity, home and belonging are shaped by structural inequalities and (re)produced through gender relations and roles in the neo-liberal, (post)colonial and globalized era, as well as the ways that women challenge these inequities in their own struggles to give meaning to their identities, homes and belonging.  

- To challenge modes of oppression that have defined the personal and social spaces and relationships of identity, home and belonging; in particular, to appeal to decolonizing, cosmopolitan, antiracist, indigenous and other practices as methods for women to reinvent their sense of self, connect to their own memory, their home space and how they choose to belong in a local, national or global community.   

- To advance feminist research activities on gender, race, class, indigeneity, disability, sexuality, and other women's issues relevant to identity, home and belonging.   

- To contribute to the development of empowering initiatives at a local, national and international level, through the sharing of our experiences, memories, ​knowledges and resources and by encouraging discussion between academics, activists and members of our communities. 

Additionally, activities of this cluster will include the following: 

- Meeting periodically to share their research interests, questions, findings and other concerns relevant to the foci of this research cluster. 

- Producing and sharing knowledge nationally and/or internationally as well as within and beyond the academy through events held annually, such as workshops, panel discussions, symposiums and conferences. 

- Working towards collectively publishing their work. 

Toronto Metropolitan University

Five ways to cultivate belonging at TMU

What on earth is it for “diverse identities and experiences” to be celebrated? What is it to “celebrate our intersections and differences”?

Words requiring an indexical: “matter” to-whom? ; “affirmed” by-whom; “valued” by-whom? How-so and for what? 

There are many factors that contribute to student success. At the top of this list is a sense of belonging and questions like: “Am I seen and heard? Do I matter here?” I believe that belonging becomes possible when diverse identities and experiences are celebrated, people are included, and groups across identities can feel safe, affirmed and valued. ... 

With teams of dedicated individuals working together to embed equity, diversity and inclusion across campus, there are many ways that students can find and build belonging on campus.    

Explore these five actionable opportunities:

... Embrace TMU’s values of equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization 

...Find ways to centre under-represented experiences, celebrate our intersections and differences and contribute to removing barriers in the classroom, workplace and on campus. 

So, belonging is created by dividing everyone up into affinity groups? Belonging-talk is so twaddled. 

Discover identity-affirming spaces and networks

TMU is home to over 600 clubs and groups which bring students around shared interests and experiences together. These student-led groups focus on everything from outdoor activities and volunteering in the community to connecting over shared courses and backgrounds. The Ted Rogers Pride Alliance, Jewish Legal Network, Black Nursing Student Association, Hindu Students Association, Muslim Students Association and the Organization for Latin American Students for example, bring together students of shared identities. 

TMU has intentionally created many spaces on campus where students can study, work and collaborate, including an entire Student Learning Centre. We also have spaces specifically for students that may require intentional support. The Black Student Lounge, Indigenous Student Centre and International Student Support offer affirming places where students across marginalized identities can heal, access resources and find connection in shared experiences.

For TMU faculty and staff seeking identity-affirming spaces, community networks such as the Immigrant Employees Community Network, Parent Network and Positive Space Faculty and Staff Network can help foster community and address barriers on campus.