TY - JOUR
AU - Blignaut, Sylvan
AU - Pheiffer, Gary
AU - Grange, Lesley Le
AU - Maistry, Suriamurthee
AU - Ramrathan, Labby
AU - Simmonds, Shan
AU - Visser, Anja
PY - 2021
DA - November
TI - Engendering a sense of belonging to support student well-being during COVID-19: A focus on sustainable development goals 3 and 4
JO - Sustainability
VL - 13
IS - 23
DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/su132312944
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a plethora of inequalities in South Africa. These inequalities have had a direct impact on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 3 (good health and well-being) and SDG 4 (quality education) were the focus of this article. This article investigated how students enrolled at a South African residential university perceived the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their well-being, their success in completing their studies and their future career prospects. A quantitative survey research design was followed. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire from 537 students in a South African university. Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 27 was used to analyze the data. The results indicated direct influences on student well-being from concerns that arose from COVID-19 about future job concerns, degree completion, social support and belonging. The relationship between concerns about degree completion was moderated by a sense of belonging (social identification) but not by social support. The study has significant implications for how higher education institution governors and academics might consider reconceptualizing notions of student support, beyond the narrow, technical and basic curriculum support for degree completion, towards the affective and social as it relates to creating conditions for students to identify with and experience a profound sense of belonging.
PB - MDPI
UR - https://researchportal.hw.ac.uk/en/publications/e257f95c-be63-4d00-a995-5df7ae91f3c2
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
KW - Education
KW - Mental health and wellbeing
ER