Inclusive classroom climate development as the cornerstone of inclusive school building: review and perspectives

Education institutional guidelines around the world agree that building more inclusive schools is a priority. The reality of school practice, however, belies this institutional will. To help fill the gap, this theoretical review documents the value that the construct of classroom climate brings to research and practice in terms of inclusive school development. The article firstly points out that the current main challenge is to develop Inclusive Mainstream Teaching (IMT) in diverse classrooms. Indeed, IMT is needed in all classrooms to guarantee the effectiveness of special accomodating measures in schools that are targeted at special education needs students. Intervening at classroom level is both a pragmatic and powerful way of developing inclusive schooling. However, developing IMT in the classroom remains a challenge for both teachers and researchers. Thus this review documents the central role that classroom climate should play in the development of IMT. More precisely, the factors of classroom climate that are associated with inclusive outcomes are identified. We also highlight how these factors and the measurements associated with them are efficient tools to guide IMT development. These measures are proximal, sensitive, complementary, and pragmatic indicators of effective IMT. Such indicators are very useful in helping research empirically document effective IMT, ensure that any small improvement is assessed, monitor teachers' progress, and assist their professional growth. Theoretically positioned as a mediator between inclusive teaching in mainstream classrooms and inclusive school outcomes, inclusive classroom climate is a tool that appears to be effective in supporting IMT development and, consequently, in the establishment of more inclusive schools.

Navigating race in a racially diverse environment: An experience sampling study on the daily use of race in conversations within Hawaii

As the United States grows more racially diverse, it is imperative to understand whether being in a racially diverse environment impacts conversations about race. This study examines whether exposure to, and interactions with racially diverse others relate to whether people talk about race, the frequency with which people talk about race, and their comfort with doing so within the racially diverse context of Hawaii. We employed experience sampling to measure whether people had conversations about race, how frequently conversations about race occurred and their comfort in those conversations, and whether their exposure to and interactions with racially diverse others predicted these behaviors. Exposure to and interactions with racially diverse others were not significant predictors of race-related conversations (and their comfort with said conversations). However, interactions with racially diverse friends was related to greater likelihood of discussing race, more frequent discussions of race, and more comfort with race-related conversations. These findings illustrate the importance that interactions with cross-race friends have for improving intergroup relations.

Using fiction to improve intergroup attitudes: Testing indirect contact interventions in a school context

The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of an intervention using indirect intergroup contact for improving intergroup attitudes in schools, in particular anti-Roma prejudice. Vicarious contact—a form of indirect intergroup contact—can be experienced through fictional book characters, who can serve as positive role models in terms of intergroup attitude improvement. A vicarious contact experiment was conducted with sixth grade students (N = 177) from three Slovak elementary schools, using passages from the Harry Potter series. A three-group pretest-posttest design was adopted; experimental condition 1 involved reading passages without subsequent discussion, experimental condition 2 involved reading the same passages followed by a discussion, while the control group was not involved in any activities. There was a significant improvement of intergroup attitudes in experimental condition 2 compared to the control group, while condition 1 did not show any such improvement. The first contribution of the study is in tackling conceptually distinct mediators of the intervention’s effect – perspective taking and narrative transportation. The second contribution is in demonstrating the added value of discussion in interventions focused on prejudice reduction in schools.

Reducing Prejudice Through Promoting Cross-Group Friendships

Around the globe, individuals are affected by exclusion, discrimination, and prejudice targeting individuals from racial, ethnic, and immigrant backgrounds as well as crimes based on gender, nationality, and culture (United Nations General Assembly, 2016). Unfortunately, children are often the targeted victims (Costello & Dillard, 2019). What is not widely understood is that the intergroup biases underlying systemic racism start long before adulthood with children displaying notable signs of intergroup bias, sometimes before entering grade school. Intergroup bias refers to the tendency to evaluate members of one’s own group more favorably than someone not identified with one’s group and is typically associated with prejudicial attitudes. Children are both the victims and the perpetrators of bias. In this review, we provide evidence of how biases emerge in childhood, along with an analysis of the significant role of intergroup friendships on enhancing children’s well-being and reducing prejudice in childhood. The review focuses predominantly on the context of race, with the inclusion of several other categories, such as nationality and religion. Fostering positive cross-group friendships in childhood helps to address the negative long-term consequences of racism, discrimination, and prejudice that emerges in childhood and continues through to adulthood.

Crossing ethnic boundaries? A social network investigation of defending relationships in schools

Prosocial peer relationships, such as defending against victimization, are beneficial for integration. Using the concept of multiple categorization, this study considers the extent to which similarity in gender, being in the same classroom, and similarity in network position regarding bullying or victimization contributes to the formation of cross-ethnic defending relationships among children. Longitudinal social network models were applied to complete school-level networks of 1,325 children in eight multi-ethnic elementary schools. Although same-ethnic peers were more likely to defend each other than cross-ethnic peers, similarity in gender, being in the same classroom, and similarity in network position in bullying fostered cross-ethnic defending. Moreover, being in the same classroom increased the likelihood of cross-ethnic defending even more than it did same-ethnic defending. A better understanding of how multiple categorization contributes to positive relationships between peers of different ethnic backgrounds may help to promote interethnic integration in multi-ethnic classrooms.

Stereotypes in the face of reality: Intergroup contact inconsistent with group stereotypes changes attitudes more than stereotype-consistent contact

In a longitudinal two-wave study we examined the effects of positive and negative intergroup contact on outgroup attitudes in participants who perceived positive, negative, or ambivalent group stereotypes. We focused on stereotype-consistent contact, occurring when the valence of participants’ contact matches the valence of the perceived group stereotype (e.g., negative–negative), and on stereotype-inconsistent contact, occurring when the valence of contact contradicts the valence of the group stereotype (e.g., positive–negative). In relations of the Czech majority ( N = 890) with two distinctly stereotyped minorities, the Roma and the Vietnamese, stereotype-inconsistent contact predicted changes in attitudes better than stereotype-consistent contact. In the case of negatively stereotyped groups, positive intergroup contact is a viable way to improve attitudes. For positively stereotyped groups, negative contact can worsen attitudes, while positive contact does not have any attitude-improving effect. Interventions aimed at improving outgroup attitudes need to be applied with caution, considering the valence of group stereotypes.

I (dis)like the way you (dis)like them: The role of extended contact on social distance and attitudes towards the ingroup

While extended intergroup contact has been commonly studied in the context of prejudice reduction, less is known about its implications for processes related to the ingroup. Through three correlational and one experimental studies (total N = 897) conducted in two different intergroup contexts (Turkey and United Kingdom), we investigated whether extended intergroup contact relates to social distance and attitudes towards ingroup members as a function of outgroup attitudes. We also investigated ingroup identification and perceived ingroup morality as potential mediators in these associations. Correlational studies demonstrated that especially when outgroup attitudes were more negative, participants' positive (but not negative) extended contact was related to a more negative evaluation of the ingroup; whereas when outgroup attitudes were more positive, extended contact was associated with positive attitudes towards the ingroup. We found experimental evidence for the suggested relationships in relation to ingroup social distance. Findings are discussed in the light of vicarious dissonance theory and deprovincialization hypothesis.

Contact Capacity and Its Effect on Intergroup Relations

Although intergroup contact is an effective means to improve intergroup attitudes, it does not always have a positive impact on them. This study introduces contact capacity as a factor that may impede intergroup contact. Longitudinal social network data ( N = 6,600; M age = 14.87 years) was collected in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden and used to accurately calculate participants’ out-group, in-group, and total contact. Multilevel models (L1: students, L2: school classes) showed that the total amount of contact at Wave 1 negatively predicts individuals’ out-group friends at Wave 2 while controlling for out-group attitudes, existing out-group friendships and sociodemographic variables. An additional robustness check showed that this effect holds true for future in-group friendships. The study highlights the importance of contact capacity for whether people engage in intergroup contact and the contribution of social network analysis to contact research.

Reducing transphobia: comparing the efficacy of direct and indirect contact

Purpose

The transgender community faces prejudice and stigma and is one of the most ostracised groups in society. One of the ways to reduce prejudice is through intergroup contact. This may be achieved through direct or indirect contact. The purpose of this paper is to compare the impact of direct and indirect contact on reducing transphobia.

Design/methodology/approach

Direct contact was achieved through a transgender speaker panel and indirect contact involved a video presentation. In total, 159 students enroled in undergraduate courses at a prominent university in India were enlisted for this study. Perceptions regarding transgenders were measured using the genderism and transphobia scale. Perceptions were measured at three different time points – before the contact, immediately after the contact and one month post contact.

Findings

Results indicate that both direct and indirect contact cause a significant immediate decrease in transphobia at the post intervention stage. However, only direct contact caused significant reduction at the follow-up stage (one month after the intervention). Direct contact also effected a greater reduction in transphobia than indirect contact.

Research limitations/implications

This study extends previous research that shows that speaker panels involving sexual minority speakers can result in reducing stigma (e.g. Croteau and Kusek, 1992). The present study shows that such speaker panels can also be useful for reducing stigma against transgender individuals. Another important outcome of this study is the relative effectiveness of direct contact in reducing transphobia compared to indirect contact. Direct contact resulted in greater reduction in transphobia both at the post-test and follow-up stages compared to indirect contact.

Practical implications

The results of this study may benefit HR practitioners and policy makers in designing workplace initiatives and policies in creating an inclusive workplace. This study shows that meaningful interaction with transgenders would be a key step in reducing stigmatisation. Since direct contact is rarely expensive or time consuming, it can be a valuable tool to improve the integration of transgender individuals within society. Therefore, students and employees may be encouraged to interact with transgender individuals through panel discussions and workshops. Indirect contact may be used as a preliminary intervention in certain cases where direct contact may be difficult to organise.

Social implications

The stigma faced by transgender individuals has a significant negative impact on their quality of life (Grant et al., 2014; Reisner and Juntunen, 2015). It is, therefore, necessary to recognise and reduce prejudice against transgenders at both the college and school levels as well as in work organisations. Educators and managers have a significant role to play in this societal change. This study shows that stigma reduction can be achieved in a fairly simple way through contact theory.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to investigate Indian students’ perceptions of transgenders. It improves on earlier studies using similar interventions in two main ways. First, this study includes a follow-up assessment, which was not performed in most studies. Second, random assignment of participants to one of two conditions improves the reliability of the findings.

Indirect contact in social networks: Challenging common interpretations of the extended contact hypothesis

According to the extended contact hypothesis, direct intergroup contact is not necessary for prejudice reduction; it suffices to know that ingroup friends have outgroup friends. However, extended contact is typically measured in a way that does not clarify whether people know the outgroup friend of their ingroup friend or whether they are even direct friends. A social network approach is used to compare extended contact when ingroup friends’ outgroup friends are not direct friends (open triads) to when there is a direct friendship with some (mixed triads) or all of the ingroup friends’ outgroup friends (closed triads). Results from a nonprobability sample in the US predicting feelings toward Black people ( N = 313) and from a representative sample in the Netherlands predicting attitudes toward immigrants ( N = 818) show that extended contact reduces prejudice only when some of the outgroup friends of one’s ingroup friends are known. This suggests that the extended contact effect should not be interpreted as providing a solution for situations where direct contact with outgroup members is not possible.

The Extended Contact Hypothesis: A Meta-Analysis on 20 Years of Research

According to the extended contact hypothesis, knowing that in-group members have cross-group friends improves attitudes toward this out-group. This meta-analysis covers the 20 years of research that currently exists on the extended contact hypothesis, and consists of 248 effect sizes from 115 studies. The aggregate relationship between extended contact and intergroup attitudes was r = .25, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [.22, .27], which reduced to r = .17, 95% CI = [.14, .19] after removing direct friendship's contribution; these results suggest that extended contact's hypothesized relationship to intergroup attitudes is small-to-medium and exists independently of direct friendship. This relationship was larger when extended contact was perceived versus actual, highlighting the importance of perception in extended contact. Current results on extended contact mostly resembled their direct friendship counterparts, suggesting similarity between these contact types. These unique insights about extended contact and its relationship with direct friendship should enrich and spur growth within this literature.

Attitudes Toward Immigrants Among the Youth

Abstract. In recent years in our increasingly globalized world in many countries we have seen the rise of anti-immigrant feelings among the youth. This has resulted in both discrimination against immigrants and negative psychological outcomes which harm both the individual and hinder social integration within society. In this article, we highlight how psychological research can play an important role in informing the design and conduct of educational interventions based on intergroup contact theory that are aimed at reducing prejudice toward immigrants. We review recent research showing anti-immigrant attitudes among the youth across the globe, and how these attitudes are related to parental and peer relationships. Research indicates that a color-blind approach to prejudice reduction among youth is not helpful and, in contrast, it suggests a more effective approach could be a multicultural approach to diversity, which celebrates both group differences and similarities while promoting social integration through quality contact between different social groups. Recent psychological research shows that this contact can take many forms, ranging from direct contact (i.e., cross-ethnic friendships), to extended contact (i.e., reading a book in which someone from your group has a positive interaction with someone from another group) and even imagined contact (i.e., engaging in imagined play involving characters from different groups having positive relations). The findings of this research demonstrate that it is possible to challenge anti-immigrant attitudes when and where they develop in young people.

Developmental Dynamics of Intergroup Contact and Intergroup Attitudes: Long-Term Effects in Adolescence and Early Adulthood

Intergroup contact represents a powerful way to improve intergroup attitudes and to overcome prejudice and discrimination. However, long-term effects of intergroup contact that consider social network dynamics have rarely been studied at a young age. Study 1 validated an optimized social network approach to investigate intergroup contact (N = 6,457; Mage  = 14.91 years). Study 2 explored the developmental trajectories of intergroup contact by applying this validated network approach in a cross-sequential design (four-cohort-four-wave; N = 3,815; 13-26 years). Accelerated growth curve models showed that contact predicts the development of attitudes in adolescence, whereas acquired attitudes buffer against decreasing contact in adulthood. Findings highlight the potential of social network analysis and the developmental importance of early intergroup contact experiences.

Studying Positive and Negative Direct and Extended Contact: Complementing Self-Reports With Social Network Analysis

Traditionally, studies of intergroup contact have primarily relied on self-reports, which constitute a valid method for studying intergroup contact, but has limitations, especially if researchers are interested in negative or extended contact. In three studies, we apply social network analyses to generate alternative contact parameters. Studies 1 and 2 examine self-reported and network-based parameters of positive and negative contact using cross-sectional datasets ( N = 291, N = 258), indicating that both methods help explain intergroup relations. Study 3 examines positive and negative direct and extended contact using the previously validated network-based contact parameters in a large-scale, international, and longitudinal dataset ( N = 12,988), demonstrating that positive and negative direct and extended contact all uniquely predict intergroup relations (i.e., intergroup attitudes and future outgroup contact). Findings highlight the value of social network analysis for examining the full complexity of contact including positive and negative forms of direct and extended contact.

Reducing intergroup bias through intergroup contact: Twenty years of progress and future directions

Classic research on the contact hypothesis focused on the direct relationship between the antecedents (conditions under which contact occurs) and the outcomes (primarily, the reduction of prejudice) of intergroup contact. Recent work has taken a broader view of contact processes and effects. We review key developments over the past 20 years, identifying different forms of contact, factors that mediate and moderate the effects of contact, and both the nature and temporal stage and the varied outcomes of contact. We then identify several research directions to address pressing theoretical and practical issues. These issues concern (a) group processes and intergroup relations, (b) intergroup contact in the context of multiple categorization, (c) structural- and individual-level processes, (d) a broader range of individual-level outcomes (e.g., health), and (e) impact on social change. Contact theory and research provides a comprehensive conceptual foundation, allied to a range of powerful empirical techniques, for important new advances and practical applications for improving intergroup relations and producing more equitable outcomes across groups.

Promoting Inclusion Via Cross-Group Friendship: The Mediating Role of Change in Trust and Sympathy

To understand the conditions fostering positive outcomes of inclusive schooling, this two-wave study examined the role of individual change in trust and sympathy for adolescents' cross-group friendships and inclusive attitudes toward students with low academic achievement. Cross-group friendships, intergroup trust, intergroup sympathy, and inclusive attitudes were obtained from surveys completed by 1,122 Swiss adolescents (M_{age T1}  = 11.54 years, M_{age T2}  = 12.58 years) from 61 school classes. Results from a parallel latent change score model revealed that the number of cross-group friendships positively related to individual change in trust and sympathy; this growing trust and sympathy in turn predicted adolescents' inclusive attitudes. These findings are discussed regarding theories of intergroup contact and inclusive schooling.

Strengthening Purity: Moral Purity as a Mediator of Direct and Extended Cross-Group Friendships on Sexual Prejudice

The present research investigated whether enhanced perceptions of moral purity drive the effects of intergroup cross-group friendships on the intentions to interact with homosexuals. High-school students (N = 639) reported their direct and extended cross-group friendships with homosexuals as well as their beliefs regarding the moral character of the sexual minority. Participants further reported their desire to interact with homosexuals in the future. Results showed that both face-to-face encounters and extended contact with homosexuals increased their perceived moral purity, which in turn fostered more positive behavioral intentions. Results further revealed the specific role of moral purity in this sense, as differential perceptions along other moral domains (autonomy and community) had no mediation effects on behavioral tendencies toward homosexuals. The importance of these findings for improving intergroup relations is discussed, together with the importance of integrating research on intergroup contact and morality.

Understanding the Selection Bias

Research has found that prejudiced people avoid friendships with members of ethnic outgroups. Results of this study suggest that this effect is mediated by a social network process. Longitudinal network analysis of a three-wave panel study of 12- to 13-year-olds (N = 453) found that more prejudiced majority group members formed fewer intergroup friendships than less prejudiced majority group members. This was caused indirectly by the preference to become friends of one’s friends’ friends (triadic closure). More prejudiced majority members did not have a preference for actively avoiding minority group members. Rather, they had the tendency to avoid friends who already had minority group friends and thus could not be introduced to potential minority group friends. Instead they became friends with the majority group friends of their friends. This research shows how a social networks perspective can further our understanding of the processes underlying intergroup contact.