Negotiating belonging in distance education: a qualitative study of students’ transition experiences

Purpose This study aims to examine how distance education (DE) students interpret institutional, pedagogical and relational signals; how belonging is enabled or constrained in digitally mediated environments and how these processes unfold during the early phase of DE. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in an interpretivist paradigm, this qualitative study draws on focus group data from 41 undergraduate students at two German distance-learning institutions. Adopting a practice-based and temporal lens, the study explores how belonging is produced, experienced and negotiated across the early study phase. Findings Early belonging in DE is anchored chiefly in organisational engagement rather than social embeddedness. Structural openness and the absence of shared temporal and spatial boundaries restrict early collective identification, rendering belonging thin and fragile. Over time, belonging may shift from an anticipated need to a felt experience grounded in relational practice, though this development is uneven and often recognised only retrospectively. Belonging in DE thus appears as a sociomaterially mediated and temporally delayed accomplishment. Practical implications The findings highlight the importance of proactive early communication and intentionally designed relational touchpoints to support DE students’ sense of belonging. They offer insights relevant to widening participation and supporting equitable student transitions in increasingly digitised higher-education contexts. Originality/value The study advances understanding of belonging in DE by foregrounding its temporal, relational and sociomaterial dimensions and by showing how institutional visibility and intentionally designed opportunities for connection shape early belonging trajectories.