Attitudes toward refugees from Ukraine and other geographic areas among Slovenian eighth graders

• In Event: The interplay of socio-cultural dynamics and school environments significantly impacts students' experiences and perceptions.

Proposal

Background:
The European Union (EU) is a region of high migration between member states and side the EU. As a result, the EU is changing socially, culturally, and politically with all the challenges that this development brings. European society is becoming increasingly multicultural. Various studies show that public attitudes towards migrants influence public policies in this area (Brooks & Manza, 2006) or vice versa (Mettler & Soss, 2004), i.e. both influence each other. The literature examining theories of the policy process or policy cycle shows that public opinion is both influenced by policy and responds to that policy over time. That is, public opinion both constrains and guides the actions of policymakers (Jagers et al., 2019). Indeed, both continuously influence each other and gradually change public opinion on migration issues and policies: More inclusive policies are followed by more positive attitudes, and negative attitudes are followed by more restrictive migration policies (Callens & Meuleman, 2016). Therefore, it can be argued that policy is a factor that influences people’s attitudes toward migration issues. On the other hand, it is important to note that this relationship between policy and opinion is neither linear nor self-evident. For example, Hagendoorn and Poppe (2011) note that harmonious relations between the host and migrant populations have not been achieved in countries such as the Netherlands and the United Kingdom that have adopted multicultural policies, nor in countries such as Austria and France where such policies have not been adopted. Extensive research has been conducted in recent years to understand the attitudes of adult European citizens toward migration, and it is now known that there are significant differences in attitudes across European countries (Hainmueller & Hiscox, 2007; European Commission, 2018) and that political attitudes are determined by individual socioeconomic factors (Almond & Verba, 1989) and by other contextual factors such as age, education, personal experience, or migration background. “Understanding what drives these individual and cross-national variations in public support for or opposition to immigration is, therefore, a topic of central importance for scholars and policymakers" ” (Heath et al., 2019: 1). While empirical research largely agrees on the positive correlation between higher levels of education and pro-immigration attitudes, there are varying interpretations of the factors behind this relationship (Hainmueller & Hiscox, 2007; Cavaille & Marshall, 2018; Finseraas et al., 2018; Weber, 2020; Margaryan et al., 2021). The prevailing theory is that schooling, which improves knowledge, promotes tolerance and appreciation for foreign cultures, triggers attitudinal change and produces more immigration-friendly attitudes among better-educated citizens (Cavaille & Marshall, 2018). This implies that attitudes, regardless of how strongly they are held, can change when the citizens who hold them learn new facts or perspectives that challenge their previous thinking. However, it remains unclear what school and non-school factors contribute to more positive attitudes among better educated citizens. There is still much room for research in this area to uncover the various factors that influence (political) attitudes and to decipher the possible role of education in shaping citizens' attitudes toward migration issues. While there have been many opinion surveys among the adult population in different countries on migration issues, the only systematic international study among youth on civic issues, including migration, is the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS), conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). It is the largest comparative study of civic education, examining how young people are prepared for their role as (active) citizens in a world where the framework for democracy and civic participation is constantly changing. The study was first conducted in 2009 and will continue in 2016 and 2022; many European countries, including Slovenia, are participating. ICCS reports on 8th graders’knowledge and understanding of concepts and issues related to civics and citizenship, as well as their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours related to this area. The study collects extensive contextual data on the organisation and content of civic and citizenship education in the curriculum, teacher qualifications and experience, instructional practises, school environment and climate, and home and community support (Veugelers, 2021). More importantly, ICCS also collects data on students' attitudes and opinions on various issues related to migration, migrants, and immigrants’ rights in the new country of residence (Schulz et al., 2008). Data on students’ knowledge, as well as their attitudes, perceptions, and behaviours about specific European-related civic/social and political issues, institutions, and policies are collected in student tests, student questionnaire and the Regional European module. Findings from the 2009 European Regional Module have shown that in general, those 14-year-olds who have more positive attitudes toward other European citizens living in their country are also generally positive about equal rights for ethnic and racial groups and immigrants (Kerr et al., 2010). However, for the 2022 data collection, Slovenia as well as some other countries added an additional focus on refugees from Ukraine and comparing attitudes toward refugees from different parts of the world.
Research question: how do sociodemographic and personal (individual) characteristics of eighth graders in Slovenia, as well as their civic knowledge, »influence« attitudes toward immigrants and refugees, and how do these attitudes differ depending on the country from which refugees originate?
Methodology, data, and analysis: we will use four data sets: the ICCS 2022, a regular international questionnaire (for students' family SES), a European regional module (variables on migration issues), data collected for an additional (national) questionnaire (variables on different attitudes towards refugees from different geographical areas), and the ICCS cognitive test (results on civic knowledge). Regression analysis is used for the analyses.
Results: Due to the embargo on the 2022 ICCS cycle data until November 28, 2023 (and the European Module Questionnaire data until February 2024), the results will be presented for the first time at the 2024 CIES conference.

Authors

• Eva Klemencic Mirazchiyski, Educational Research Institute (Pedagoški inštitut) 68705093

• Plamen Vladkov Mirazchiyski, Educational Research Institute (Pedagoški inštitut) 68705093