Digital Capital and Belonging in Universities: Quantifying Social Inequalities in the Philippines

• Main Authors: Clamor, Wilfred Luis, Saloma-Akpedonu, Czarina
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2023
• Subjects: digital capital; belonging; social inequalities; universities; Philippines; digital divide; higher education; Education; Educational Sociology; Higher Education; Online and Distance Education; Social and Behavioral Sciences; Sociology; South and Southeast Asian Languages and Societies
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/sa-faculty-pubs/133; https://archium.ateneo.edu/context/sa-faculty-pubs/article/1132/viewcontent/feduc_08_1137121.pdf
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

This study examines social inequalities in Philippine universities that were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. A quantitative approach using a national sample of 677 university students was utilized to measure the mediating role of digital capital on social inequalities associated with belonging to academic spaces. For the purpose of determining direct and indirect impacts, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed. Sociodemographic (i.e., gender, age, type of residence, and family income) and educational (i.e., type of university, year in the university, and excellence criterion) characteristics were the direct predictors that were examined as exogenous variables for both digital capital and belonging. Results indicate that type of residence (β=0.200, pβ=0.220, p β=0.271, p β=0.087, p β=-0.207, p β=0.576, p β=0.116, p β=0.127, p β=0.156, p