“I am not just another number”: Do Engineering Teaching Assistants Feel Like They Belong, and Are They Representative?

Sense of belonging is the subjective feeling of being valued by the group, and has been linked to students' academic achievement, especially in STEM, and also to students' demographic characteristics. Demographically similar near-peers (e.g. teaching assistants, TAs) have an elevated influence on students' sense of belonging and therefore their academic success, which makes ensuring that TAs are representative of the students in high attrition programs an important point for equity. This study explores the demographic representation and sense of belonging in 244 TAs recruited to assist in high-enrolment first-year courses in physics, maths and computing at an engineering university. We found the TAs are demographically representative of the student body for many aspects (gender, sexual orientation, migration background) but not for first generation status and country of previous studies (migration background). TAs reported a high sense of belonging to the institution, their departments and their disciplines, mostly without correlation to aspects of their identity. Specific experiences that affected their sense of belonging featured themes related to social inclusion and academic success. These findings are relevant for improving the academic experience of all students, most particularly those facing additional barriers to success.