Naslov
Is an opportunity for contact enough? Importance of intergroup friendship in development of positive attitudes towards refugee children.

Autori
Stanković, Nikolina ; Vrdoljak, Antonija ; Jelić, Margareta ; Čorkalo Biruški, Dinka

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, neobjavljeni rad, znanstveni

Skup
Annual Congress of the Swiss Society for Research in Education, SIEF

Mjesto i datum
Lausanne, Švicarska, 12.09.2022. - 13.09.2022

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
refugee children, intergroup attitudes, intergroup emotions, intergroup contact, intergroup friendship

Sažetak
Refugee children have been enrolled in Croatian elementary schools only recently. Even though the number of refugee children is not large, they attend classes with their domicile peers, which offers an opportunity for a prolonged intergroup contact. This experience of intergroup contact can shape the attitudes of domicile children towards refugees. However, it is not clear if the mere presence of a refugee child in one’s class can be enough to shape the attitudes of domicile children. Social- psychological research has identified intergroup friendships as an especially powerful form of positive intergroup contact. Therefore, we could expect that domicile children’s attitudes towards refugees would be more positive if they have a friend who is a refugee, as opposed to merely attending the class with a refugee child. In order to explore the importance of both an opportunity for contact with a refugee child and intergroup friendships for children’s attitudes towards refugees, we have conducted a quantitative research in 24 elementary schools in Croatia, with approximately 1900 domicile pupils from 7 to 15 years old. Participants are divided into three groups – children who have never met a refugee child (approximately 1400 children), children who attend classes with refugee children, but do not consider them friends (approximately 400) and children who attend classes with refugees and consider them friends (approximately 150). All participants have filled out a questionnaire consisting of measures of intergroup attitudes: overall attitude towards refugee children, as well as cognitive (stereotypes), affective (intergroup empathy and anxiety) and behavioural (contact intentions) measures of attitudes. To assess the differences in attitudes between the three abovementioned groups, we compared them on five dependent measures. We expected participants with refugee friends to report more positive attitudes on all dependant variables. Furthermore, we expected that children who attend classes with refugee children, but are not friends with them, would have more positive attitudes than children who have no contact with refugee children whatsoever, due to the effect of the extended contact. Our results partially confirmed these hypotheses. Children with refugee friends expressed more positive attitudes than the other two groups, but the difference between children with no opportunity for contact with refugees and children who have an opportunity for contact but are not friends with refugees was small or insignificant. Altogether findings indicate the importance of supporting the development of intergroup friendships in classroom context.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Psihologija

POVEZANOST RADA