The contribution of student activities to citizenship education: a study of engagement at a South African research university

Abstract

This study seeks to determine to what extent undergraduate students in a research university in South Africa are involved in activities that contribute to citizenship education. The research design involves a case study at the University of Cape Town (UCT) whereby an electronic survey, called the Student Experience at the Research University-Africa (SERU) survey, was indigenised to fit the South African context and it was conducted at UCT. The survey had a census design and all undergraduate students at the university were invited to participate. At the end of 2012 a sample of 861 surveys were analyzed using SPSS to determine the activities students were involved in during the research period.