ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces a theoretically grounded approach for understanding the first-year experience (FYE) as a holistic and inclusive system that has the potential to facilitate or hinder students’ belonging as they transition into and through their undergraduate journey. This approach combines elements of two models for scholarship and practice in higher education that address issues of belonging and connection for first-year students. The first is legitimate peripheral participation, which was first introduced by Lave and Wenger and adapted to higher education and FYE by Young and Bunting. The second is the campus racial climate model that was first developed and championed by Hurtado et al. and expanded by several researchers. The combination of these two theoretical approaches creates an accessible, inclusive, efficient, and effective means of conceptualizing FYE that is easily illustrated in a model for research and practice. High-quality interactions among all students afford greater opportunities for engagement, connection, and belonging.
