Sense of belonging and acceptance of diversity: the case of undergraduate students at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract

The data for the current study came from a sample of undergraduate students at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and was aimed at gauging students' attitudes towards and perceptions of social cohesion in the country. Even though almost three-quarters of the students felt that they belonged in the country, there was no uniformity in the students' sense of belonging in the country. Less than a quarter of the students felt that they were included in the country's democratic processes, while less than half of them said that they were patriotic to the country. Moreover, the level of students' acceptance of the country's diversity was rather low. But, while the students' sense of belonging in the country was higher than their acceptance of diversity, both measures of social cohesion were highly racialised. The importance of race was evidenced by the fact that on the issue of acceptance of the country's diversity, coloureds and Indian/Asian South Africans were much more accepting of the country's diversity than black Africans and whites. On the issue of belongingness in South Africa, Indian/Asians and black Africans were much more likely than coloureds and whites to have a greater sense of belonging in the country.