Recent Immigrant Students at Research Universities: The Relationship Between Campus Climate and Sense of Belonging

Immigration issues continue to generate attention and vigorous debate at national and international levels; some of these discussions involve immigrant students and issues pertaining to higher education (e.g., DREAM Act). Camarota (2007) noted that from 2000 to 2007, 10.3 million immigrants arrived—the highest 7-year period of immigration in United States history. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, 24.3 million immigrants were reported in 1995; that number grew to 31.8 million in 2001, and is at 37.6 million for 2010 (Camarota, 2010). Based on these immigration trends, immigrant students (defined broadly to include recent immigrants born abroad as well as refugees) will continue to pursue post-secondary education. Many of these individuals will be ethnic minority immigrants who are first-generation college students (Erisman & Looney, 2007). According to figures from the National Center for Education Statistics, more than 12% of the total undergraduate population is comprised of immigrant students (Kim, 2009); yet, research on this growing population remains scant and the literature on student development issues of immigrant groups is still emerging. Research suggests that immigrants’ college experiences are unique from other students and merit further inquiry (Szelényi & Chang, 2002). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between campus climate and sense of belonging for recent immigrant generations (i.e., foreign born) who attend large, public research institutions located in the United States.

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