Implicit Attitudes of Elementary School Students Toward People With a Migration Background

• In Event: Attitudes, Stereotypes, and Stereotype Threat: Development, Effects, and Intervention

Abstract

As a consequence of large migration movements, classrooms have become increasingly diverse (OECD, 2016). In Germany, the largest group of students with a migration background is of Turkish origin. Large performance assessments have repeatedly shown performance gaps between students with a Turkish migration background and peers without a migration background (Haag, Böhme, & Stanat, 2012). One explanation is the threat that minority students experience in performance situations because they are aware of a negative performance stereotype towards their social group (e.g., Steele & Aronson, 1995). Negative performance-related stereotypes have been conceptualized as the cognitive component of negative attitudes towards social groups. The school is a central socialization context, in which social identities are negotiated and intergroup attitudes are shaped (c.f., Hannover & Zander, 2017).
In Germany, to date, only few studies have systematically investigated children’s attitudes towards Turkish people. However, research on German adolescents indirectly showed that they expect students with a Turkish background to have lower competencies (Martiny, Mok, Deaux, & Froehlich, 2014).
Several factors may shape the extent of attitudes (Maio, Haddock, & Verplanken, 2019). In-group/Out-group favoritism, which may be reflected in identification with country of origin and of residence, is one factor and is related to social cognitions (e.g., Aboud, 2003).
Thus, the present study investigates (1) whether students hold negative performance-related attitudes already at elementary school age, (2) whether the extent of negative attitudes differs for students with a Turkish background and students without a migration background and (3) whether the identification with the country of origin and the country of residence, respectively, predicts these attitudes.
The sample consisted of 247 German fourth-graders (18.2% Turkish migration background). Students (43.7% female) were on average 9.90 years old (SD=0.84). The investigation was conducted in classrooms by trained instructors and lasted two lessons. First, implicit attitudes were measured using an Implicit-Association-Test focusing on performance-related aspects like smart, stupid or gifted. Thereafter, students answered sociodemographic questions and questions on identifications with the country of residence, and origin, respectively. Reliabilities were high (≥.83). Response latencies were computed according to Greenwald, Nosek, and Banaji (2003). Analysis of variance and (multiple) regression analyses were conducted.
Results showed that, overall, elementary school students held negative attitudes towards people with Turkish background (MDmeasure=0.23, SD=0.36, t(242)= 9.76, p<.01). This effect was driven by the group of students without migration background who held more negative attitudes towards Turkish people compared to students without a background (Mwithout=0.29, SDwithout=0.35; Mwith=-0.04, SDwith=0.10, F(1,241)=33.13, p<.01, η=.12). In the subsample of Turkish students we found that, by trend, identification with the country of residence (Germany) was predictive for negative attitudes towards people with a Turkish background (B=0.36, SE=0.08, p<.05).
The results advance our knowledge on elementary students’ implicit attitudes towards people with Turkish background and help, in a next step, to better understand threat effects. They also point to the necessity of exploring the importance of identity as predictors of negative attitudes. Increasing our knowledge about these interrelations can inform practitioners in educational settings about which components should be targeted in interventions.

Authors

• Justine Stang-Rabrig, TU Dortmund University

• Sabrina König, TU Dortmund University

• Theresa Heibel, Free University of Berlin

• Elisabeth Höhne, Leibniz Universitat Hannover

• Bettina Hannover, Freie Universität Berlin

• Lysann Zander, Leibniz Universitat Hannover

• Nele McElvany, TU Dortmund University