Engendering a Sense of Belonging to Support Student Well-Being during COVID-19: A Focus on Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 4

Abstract

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.

Belonging, wellbeing and stress with online learning during COVID-19

“…This study is part of a larger international study that explored the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on student wellbeing in eight countries (Blignaut et al 2021;Plakhotnik et al 2021, 12). This article reports on data from a South African university, ethical clearance number H20-EDUERE-024 and conformed to the requirements of the Research Ethics Committee where clearance was obtained.…”

“…The reaction to the state-imposed, unprecedented hard lockdown (the period of data collection for this study), was a knee-jerk move by higher education institutions to a variant of online teaching and learning, aptly coined "emergency remote teaching and learning" (Blignaut et al 2021). It was clear that the online space at that point was simply used as a repository of the information uploaded by university academics (many of who were novices to teaching in the online space).…”

Sustainable Development Goals in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Review

“…However, not only technical and curriculum support are key components for success, but well-being and affective support are also determinant factors influencing education success [79,86]. These issues can be developed through the encouragement of a feeling of belonging and identification with the University, so the students have certainty that they are going to be supported and pushed to achieve their degree [87]. In Algeria, similar issues were found: internet access, technology access, motivation and previous knowledge of online teaching culture, and correct teacher's online training are key factors in making education sustainable in the future [88].…”