Contact between foreign and South African students at University of the Witwatersrand in the era of xenophobic attacks against foreigners

Abstract

Intergroup contact and the experience of xenophobia by foreign students in international universities have been well documented. However few studies have investigated contact among students from different nationalities in the universities and how factors such as xenophobic attacks influence their interactions. The current study examined the predictors of contact towards South Africans in a sample of foreign students who were pursuing higher education in South Africa (N = 119). Findings indicate that meta-stereotypes, valence of experience, number of friends, and xenophobia awareness predicted foreign student’s desire for interaction with South African students (51% variance explained).However identification with the home country was not a significant predictor. The findings attest to the importance of factors that contribute to contact between students from different nationals in universities. The Meta stereotypes and the friendships that students have determines the type of contact that will occur, however their awareness of xenophobia and the valence of experience play a pivotal role in explaining this relationship