Developing Inclusive Youth: Promoting Positive Intergroup Attitudes in Childhood

• In Event: How to Address Prejudice and Discrimination in Childhood and Adolescence

Abstract

The experience of social exclusion and discrimination based on one’s race, ethnicity, and gender, is particularly debilitating for children. Children who feel excluded by their peers in school contexts are less likely to be motivated to attend school and to succeed academically. Moreover, when left unchecked, these issues have pernicious long-term negative consequences in adolescence and adulthood. Research on children’s social exclusion, intergroup bias, and cross-group friendships provides a basis for creating effective interventions in childhood to increase social inclusion and reduce prejudice and bias in school contexts.

The current study tested the effectiveness of a classroom-based intervention program, Developing Inclusive Youth (DIY), which included an animated interactive web-based curriculum tool focusing on peer social exclusion scenarios and a teacher-led classroom discussion. Third, fourth, and fifth grade children (N = 982) participated in a randomized control trial design study across 48 classrooms, 24 DIY and 24 Business-As-Usual (BAU). School demographics were majority White, but racially diverse: White (59.3%), Multiracial (10.6%), Asian American (8.9%), African American (6.7%), Latinx (4.6%), and Other (6.45%). Additionally, 48 teachers volunteered to participate across 6 elementary school sites (24 DIY teachers; 24 BAU teachers).

Classrooms assigned to the DIY condition participated in weekly sessions over 8 weeks, during which, participants engaged with the DIY tool independently for 15 minutes, followed by a 30-minute discussion. The interactive design of the tool allowed children to watch simulated peer interactions regarding intergroup social exclusion after which, children were asked to evaluate the characters’ emotions, decide what actions the characters would take, and provide reasons for their decisions. In most cases, exclusion decisions resulted in a loss of a friendship with sadness expressed by the target character; inclusion decisions resulted in newfound friendship and lessons learned.

It was hypothesized that intergroup attitudes and behaviors of children in the intervention group (after involvement in the program) would differ from those in the BAU group, after controlling for initial levels of attitudes and behaviors, participant gender, ethnicity, and grade. Pretest and posttest surveys, which included outcome measures of children’s intergroup attitudes, were administered one week prior to and one week following the program. The outcome measures of intergroup attitudes included children’s social reasoning about inclusion/exclusion, trait attributions, competency beliefs, and desire to play with individuals who varied by gender and were from a range of ethnic and racial backgrounds. Reliabilities for the outcome measures ranged from α = .800 to α = .951.

In line with our predictions, all posttest measures were significantly influenced by the treatment condition. Participants in the DIY program were more likely than participants in the BAU condition to evaluate social exclusion as wrong, report a desire to play with racial and ethnic peers, attribute more positive traits to different gender and ethnic groups, and express more positive beliefs about math and science competency beliefs for females, and Black/Latino, White, and Asian peers (ps<.001 to .005). Age-related changes and the implications of promoting positive intergroup attitudes and inclusivity during childhood will be discussed.

Authors

• Melanie A. Killen, University of Maryland - College Park
  Presenting Author

• Alexander P. D'Esterre, University of Maryland - College Park
  Non-Presenting Author

• Amanda Rose Burkholder, Furman University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Riley N. Sims, University of Maryland - College Park
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kathryn M. Yee, University of Maryland - College Park
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jacquelyn Glidden, University of Maryland - College Park
  Non-Presenting Author

• Katherine Verity Luken Raz, University of Maryland - College Park
  Non-Presenting Author

• Arvid Samuelson, University of Maryland - College Park
  Non-Presenting Author