Is the Grass Always Greener? Access to Campus Green Spaces Can Boost Students' Sense of Belonging

Autor/inn/en	Thompson, Chloe A.; Pownall, Madeleine; Harris, Richard; Blundell-Birtill, Pam
Titel	Is the Grass Always Greener? Access to Campus Green Spaces Can Boost Students' Sense of Belonging
Quelle	In: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 24 (2023) 8, S.1842-1858 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1467-6370
DOI	10.1108/IJSHE-11-2022-0349
Schlagwörter	Parks; College Environment; Sense of Community; Well Being; Foreign Countries; Psychological Patterns; United Kingdom + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Freizeitpark; Hochschulumwelt; Well-being; Wellness; Wohlbefinden; Ausland; Großbritannien
Abstract	Purpose: An important facet of student's sense of belonging is students' relationships with, and time spent in, the university campus. The purpose of this paper is to explore the notion that access to campus "green space", including parks, fields and gardens, may bolster students' sense of belonging, improve well-being feelings and promote place attachment. Design/methodology/approach: The authors surveyed students in different locations (including three green and one non-green campus spaces) across a large UK campus-based Northern institution. 146 students participated in the study in one of the four campus locations. The authors investigated how being in green spaces on campus may impact students' sense of belonging, well-being and place attachment. The authors also qualitatively explored students' perceptions of campus spaces through Ahn's (2017) 10 Words Question measure. Findings: Analyses demonstrate that students surveyed in green spaces reported significantly more positive sense of belonging, compared to students surveyed in non-green campus spaces. Campus location did not impact well-being, however. Students associated green spaces on campus with "calm", "positive emotion" and "nature" words and non-green spaces with "busy", "social" and "students". Practical implications: Taken together, the results of this paper suggest that access to green spaces can be important for campus sense of belonging. Thus, efforts should be made to ensure the sustainability of these important spaces across university campuses. Originality/value: This study crucially examines how occupying green spaces on university campuses may impact students' feelings of belongingness. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that uses field-based methods to understand students' feelings whilst occupying green spaces. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01