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Access Type
Open Access
Document Type
thesis
Degree Program
Psychology
Degree Type
Master of Science (M.S.)
Year Degree Awarded
2014
Month Degree Awarded
February
Keywords
Intergroup relations, Perceived Norms, Classroom Composition
Abstract
Students’ perceptions of normative support for positive intergroup relations from teachers and school staff have been linked to a number of positive intergroup outcomes (Green, Adams, & Turner, 1988; Jugert, Noack, & Rutland, 2011). Additional studies testing the effects of ethnic proportions in classrooms show evidence for positive and negative intergroup outcomes between ethnic majority and ethnic minority students (e.g., Durkin et al., 2011; Vervoort, Scholte, & Scheepers, 2011). Still, research has yet to test simultaneously the effects of ethnic proportions in a classroom in conjunction with students’ subjective perceptions of normative support for positive intergroup relations. With a sample of Latino and White students from 44 classrooms in two public middle schools the current research tests (1) how two sets of perceived school norms (promoting positive intergroup relations and promoting fairness) predict levels of comfort with outgroup members and greater interest in cross-ethnic friendship, and (2) whether proportions of outgroup members in the classroom moderates the relationships between each set of perceived norms and the outcomes.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/4925377
First Advisor
Linda R Tropp
Second Advisor
Brian Lickel