Preaching and practicing multicultural education: Predicting students' outgroup attitudes from perceived teacher norms and perceived teacher–classmate relations

Publication date: Available online 22 July 2019Source: Journal of School PsychologyAuthor(s): Jolien Geerlings, Jochem Thijs, Maykel VerkuytenAbstractResearch on the role of teachers in bringing about positive interethnic attitudes among their students has largely focused on the norms teachers express about cultural diversity in the classroom without considering teacher's enactment of these norms in their relationships with students. The current study assessed to what extent students' ethnic outgroup attitudes are affected by perceived positive teacher norms about cultural diversity, together with perceived positive teacher-classmate interactions that may serve as an example to students. We investigated whether and how teacher norms and practices interact to affect students' attitudes, and whether these effects may differ for minority and majority students. Data was gathered in two waves among 186 native (majority) Dutch students, and 129 students with a Turkish-Dutch, or Moroccan-Dutch (minority) background in 29 4th–6th grade classrooms. Results showed that both majority and minority students expressed more positive attitudes towards ethnic outgroups when they perceived their teacher to have a positive relationship with their majority classmates, but only when supported by positive teacher norms. Ethnic majority students had more favorable outgroup attitudes when perceiving positive teacher relationships with minority classmates, but only in the absence of positive teache...

Source: Journal of School Psychology - July 23, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research