Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Molina, Danielle

Committee Member

Winkler, Christa

Committee Member

Moyen, Eric

Committee Member

Dyer, Jamie

Date of Degree

12-13-2024

Original embargo terms

Visible MSU only 6 months

Document Type

Dissertation - Campus Access Only

Major

Educational Leadership (Higher Edcuation Leadership)

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Counseling, Higher Education Leadership, Educational Psychology, and Foundations

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine organizational belonging among staff members working in higher education. While staff members are vital to the operations, maintenance and overall organizational function of higher education institutions, this group represents a seldom studied population. Given their essential role and the impact of the pandemic on work life perspectives, it is important to recognize the experiences of staff members and seek to understand current perceptions of organizational belonging with implications from retention to work quality. To measure organizational belonging, a modified survey developed by Blau et al. (2023) was used, looking at 4 scale measures: Acceptance, Be Myself, Connection, and Diversity Valued. Of the 3,533 surveys, 350 responses were used as the sample population for quantitative analysis using multiple regression models. The results suggest perceptions of organizational belonging of staff members in higher education are influenced by length of employment and individual demographics. Length of employment of 10 to 14 years was consistently negatively correlated across the scale measures, while employment of less than 1 year and the staff members classified as executive administration were positively correlated. Negative correlations were also found for gender and racial identification. Future research on staff members in higher education could look to leadership styles and other external factors within units to determine specific pressure points which may be creating negative correlations with longer term staff members and those identifying with underrepresented groups.

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