Data_Sheet_1_Sources of Male and Female Students’ Belonging Uncertainty in the Computer Sciences.PDF

Belonging uncertainty, defined as the general concern about the quality of one’s social relationships in an academic setting, has been found to be an important determinant of academic achievement, and persistence. However, to date, only little research investigated the sources of belonging uncertainty. To address this research gap, we examined three potential sources of belonging uncertainty in a sample of undergraduate computer science students in Germany (N = 449) and focused on (a) perceived affective and academic exclusion by fellow students, (b) domain-specific academic self-efficacy beliefs, and (c) perception of one’s individual performance potential compared to that of fellow students in the field. Perceived affective and academic exclusion by fellow students and domain-specific academic self-efficacy beliefs were significant predictors of female students’ uncertainty about belonging in computer science. The perception of one’s individual performance potential in comparison to that of fellow students, however, was a relevant predictor of both male and female students’ belonging uncertainty in computer science. Our findings imply an expanded view of the theoretical concept of belonging uncertainty that goes beyond mere concerns of social connectedness.

归属不确定性（Belonging Uncertainty）被定义为学术场景中个体对自身社会关系质量的普遍担忧，现有研究证实其是影响学业成就与学业坚持性的关键因素。然而迄今为止，针对归属不确定性成因的相关研究仍较为匮乏。为填补这一研究空白，我们以德国449名本科计算机科学专业学生为研究样本，考察了归属不确定性的三类潜在来源：一是感知到的来自同伴的情感排斥与学业排斥，二是领域特异性学业自我效能信念，三是相较于同领域同伴的个体学业表现潜力认知。研究结果显示，感知到的来自同伴的情感与学业排斥、领域特异性学业自我效能信念，可显著预测女性计算机科学专业学生的归属不确定性；而相较于同领域同伴的个体表现潜力认知，则对男女学生的归属不确定性均具有相关预测效力。本研究结果拓展了归属不确定性的理论概念，使其内涵超越了单纯的社会联结担忧。