How all students can belong and achieve
- As schools are becoming more culturally diverse, it is crucial to understand how they can approach this diversity in ways that allow all students to feel included and do well. We focus on the manifestation of two related but distinct approaches to cultural diversity, namely equality and inclusion (i.e., promoting positive intergroup contact) and cultural pluralism (i.e., embracing students’ diverse cultural backgrounds as a resource), in the perceived classroom climate. Specifically, we test a model in which the link of cultural diversity climate at school and student outcomes (achievement, academic self-concept and general life satisfaction) is mediated by sense of school belonging, both at the individual and classroom level. Analyses are based on 1,971 students (61% of immigrant background; Mage = 11.53, SDage = 0.73, 52% male) in 88 culturally diverse classrooms in southwest Germany after their first year at secondary school. Individual- and classroom-level results suggest that both perceived equality and inclusion as well asAs schools are becoming more culturally diverse, it is crucial to understand how they can approach this diversity in ways that allow all students to feel included and do well. We focus on the manifestation of two related but distinct approaches to cultural diversity, namely equality and inclusion (i.e., promoting positive intergroup contact) and cultural pluralism (i.e., embracing students’ diverse cultural backgrounds as a resource), in the perceived classroom climate. Specifically, we test a model in which the link of cultural diversity climate at school and student outcomes (achievement, academic self-concept and general life satisfaction) is mediated by sense of school belonging, both at the individual and classroom level. Analyses are based on 1,971 students (61% of immigrant background; Mage = 11.53, SDage = 0.73, 52% male) in 88 culturally diverse classrooms in southwest Germany after their first year at secondary school. Individual- and classroom-level results suggest that both perceived equality and inclusion as well as cultural pluralism are positively associated with outcomes and this link is mediated by school belonging. There were no differences in the effects of (perceived) cultural diversity climate and school belonging between students of immigrant and nonimmigrant background, suggesting that dealing with cultural diversity in a constructive way is beneficial for all students attending multiethnic schools.…
Author details: | Maja Katharina SchachnerORCiDGND, Miriam SchwarzenthalORCiDGND, Fons J. R. van de VijverORCiDGND, Peter NoackGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000303 |
ISSN: | 0022-0663 |
ISSN: | 1939-2176 |
Title of parent work (English): | The journal of educational psychology |
Subtitle (English): | Effects of the cultural diversity climate amongst students of immigrant and nonimmigrant background in Germany |
Publisher: | American Psychological Association |
Place of publishing: | Washington |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Year of first publication: | 2019 |
Publication year: | 2019 |
Release date: | 2021/02/26 |
Tag: | achievement; cultural diversity climate; life satisfaction; multiethnic schools; school belonging |
Volume: | 111 |
Issue: | 4 |
Number of pages: | 14 |
First page: | 703 |
Last Page: | 716 |
Funding institution: | federal program "ProExzellenz" of the Free State of Thuringia |
Organizational units: | Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften / Department Psychologie |
DDC classification: | 1 Philosophie und Psychologie / 15 Psychologie / 150 Psychologie |
Peer review: | Referiert |