When users press on site logo, or when they login, they land on Dashboard, which is considered as homepage. They can go to other sections of the system from the sidebar menu - Messages, Events etc. Those sections can have their own subsections.
When users go to other pages, should Dashboard be included in breadcrumbs as parent page, or is this separate independent section?
This is a good question about breadcrumbs and I will differ on the answer offered in this question Should 'Home' be included in website breadcrumbs?
I would ask yourself this question - Is there the use case where a user enters the site from the events page (if a users bookmarks that page and always enter from there, for instance)?
If the answer is yes, then having Dashboard as the initial breadcrumb can break the logic of the user. Since they have not originated from that spot. Thus, you should go for option 2.
If the answer is no, then I would follow the answer given by GotDibbs in the above cited question.
Nielsen Norman group says:
Start breadcrumbs with the Home link.
Breadcrumbs tell people their current location while offering one-click access to the higher site levels. The best practice is to start the breadcrumb trail with the Home link as it represents the highest level.
If your site shows breadcrumbs, don’t show Home in the site’s main navigation.
There’s no need to offer Home links in both breadcrumbs and the site’s navigation. Having the same link twice on the same page is a bad idea because it increases complexity needlessly. Duplicating links is one of the four major dangerous navigation techniques that cause cognitive strain.
