Relations Between Concrete School Diversity Models and Ethnic Achievement Gaps: Does the Domain Matter?

• In Event: Sense of Belonging: School, Campus, and Classroom Climate

Abstract

Research shows that how schools deal with ethnic-cultural diversity, or the School Diversity Model (SDM) they adopt, is associated with students’ achievement, and that these associations are mediated by school belonging. However, it is not yet clear whether one and the same SDM (e.g. pluralism, assimilationism, color-blindness) may have different associations with school belonging or achievement depending on whether schools apply them to the domains of languages, religions, curriculum or identities. Therefore, we focus on how the domain-specific perceptions of SDMs among primary school students in Flanders are related to mathematics achievement, via school belonging. Our results highlight the importance of a domain-specific approach, as associations between SDMs and achievement are different depending on the domain that is considered.

Authors

• Roy Konings, KU Leuven

• Orhan Agirdag, KU Leuven

• Jozefien De Leersnyder, KU Leuven