Project info
Project name
6.3 Ethnic Diversity, Norms and Networks
Work package
- Inclusion
Sustainability threat
- Feedback Cycles
Challenge
- Dealing with diversity
Study info
Description of Study
Ethnic minorities from more traditional countries tend to hold more negative views towards homosexuality compared to the native population in Western Europe. Assimilation theory predicts that the differences in these attitudes between natives and ethnic minorities diminishes over time because of exposure and contact between these groups. The role of ethnic classroom composition in this process of cultural assimilation is poorly understood. Therefore, this article examines the role of the country of origin of adolescents and their classroom peers in the assimilation of attitudes towards homosexuality. Using two-wave panel data on 18,058 students in 867 classrooms in England, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, we find that the attitudes in classroom peers’ country of origin are positively associated with attitudes towards homosexuality in the first wave but have no effect on subsequent changes in these attitudes over a two-year period. This positive association is weaker for Muslim minorities in Germany and for students with a higher share of co-ethnics in England. Together, these results suggest that the classroom is an important socializing context in the formation of cultural values, and that its influence is relatively uniform.
Study research question
To what extent does the ethnic classroom composition explain (changes in) attitudes towards homosexuality?
Collection provenance
- External data
Collection methods
- Longitudinal survey
Personal data
Yes
External Source
Source description
Downloads and data access
File formats
- Stata
Data types
- Structured
Languages
- English
Coverage start
Coverage end
01/11/2010
01/09/2013
Spatial coverage
The Netherlands
Sweden
England
Germany
Collection period start
01/11/2010
Collection period end
01/09/2013
Variables
Unit
Unit description
Sample size
Sampling method
Individuals
Students
18,058
Stratified sampling
Hypothesis
Theory
The more positive the classroom AHCO (a) the more positive the attitude towards homosexuality at wave 1, and (b) the more positive the change in attitude towards homosexuality between wave 1 and wave 3.
Assimilation theory
The larger the share of co-ethnics in the classroom, the larger the positive effect of classroom AHCO on (a) attitude towards homosexuality at wave 1, and (b) change in attitude towards homosexuality between wave 1 and wave 3.
Model of Intergenerational Integration
The larger the distance between student AHCO and classroom AHCO, the smaller positive effect of classroom AHCO on (a) attitude towards homosexuality at wave 1, and (b) change in attitude towards homosexuality between wave 1 and wave 3.
Model of Intergenerational Integration
The positive effect of classroom AHCO on (a) attitude towards homosexuality at wave 1, and (b) change in attitude towards homosexuality between wave 1 and wave 3 is smaller for Muslims compared to non-Muslims.
Model of Intergenerational Integration
Variable type
Variable name
Variable description
Dependent variable
Attitudes towards homosexuality
—
Independent variable
Ethnic classroom composition
—
Discipline-specific operationalizations
Conflict of interest
-
Data packages
CILS4EU wave 1/3
Data package DOI
https://doi.org/10.4232/cils4eu.5656.3.3.0
Description
The study is a panel survey of adolescents designed to study the complex causal mechanism of structural, social, and cultural integration of adolescents with migration background.
Accessibility
Restricted Access
Repository
GESIS
User license
Retention period
Publications
Attitudes towards homosexuality among native and ethnic minority adolescents in Western Europe: the role of ethnic classroom composition
International Journal of Intercultural Relations
Documents
Filename
Description
Date
Ethics
Ethical assessment
No
Ethical committee