SENSE OF EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL EQUALITY AMONG UNIVERSITY GRADUATES

Abstract

The issue of patriotism, nationalism, racism, and sensitivity between races is increasing. Many of it has caused debate in society. It encompasses all aspects of society from students, civil servants, professionals, and politicians. The case is frequently linked to claims of equality between two groups of different interests. The education system that is expected to play a role in shaping the community's thinking and behaviour is also disputed by some groups. The aim of the study is to investigate the perception of equality among graduates from the two dimensions of educational equality and social equality, so as to discover existing problems and propose effective countermeasures. The data is collected through a questionnaire adapted from Wang et al. (2020) and distributed to graduates at an established state private university. A total of 982 individuals participated in the study. Most of them are at diploma (49.7%) and degree (31.5%) program. The findings show that there is a low correlation between student acceptance on the education system and all components of education equality and social procedure equality, and a very low correlation to social opportunity equality and social outcome equality. This will open up a wide space for debate on the effectiveness of the education system in shaping people's thoughts and behaviours. Educational institutions have to ensure their programs are capable of enhancing students' understanding and awareness of equality issues in society. As for educators, they must realize that they are the most influential factor to contribute to shaping the thinking and behaviour of students for the society.