Reframing Belonging in Higher Education: an Intersectional Ecological Model for Research, Policy, and Practice

Abstract This essay critically synthesizes recent theoretical and empirical developments on belonging in higher education. Although the concept has gained wide traction, significant gaps remain in how scholars conceptualize belonging, how they measure it, and how they account for the structural and political forces that shape students’ experiences. To address these shortcomings, I introduce the Intersectional Ecological Belonging Model (IEBM), a framework that brings intersectionality and ecological systems theory into conversation to illuminate the layered dynamics that structure belonging. The model traces how interactions within classrooms and advising relationships, cross-unit coordination, institutional policies, and national ideologies collectively produce uneven conditions of belonging—conditions that are especially consequential for students whose identities sit at multiple margins. I conclude by outlining implications for research, policy, and practice that move beyond individualized or superficial approaches toward structural transformation, advancing a more durable and justice-centered understanding of belonging in higher education.