Improving Intergroup Relations Among Youth Summary of a Research Workshop (2000) / Chapter Skim
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Improving Intergroup Relations Among Youth
Improving Intergroup Relations Among Youth
Pages 1-24
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From page 1... ...
The study of interethnic and interracial interactions and relationships among youth, also called intergroup relations, has become a critical, complex, and challenging field in recent years. America's changing demographic profile has forced a redefinition of the dynamics of diversity.
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For example, population estimates suggest that the number of adolescents in the United States will continue to increase during the next several decades, from nearly 36 million adolescents ages 10 to 19 in 1993, to 43 million in 2020 (Bureau of the Census, 19961. As the nation becomes more varied in terms of the cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds of its citizens, this diversity is reflected in the student bodies of many public schools, where youth from a wide variety of backgrounds come together.
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Against the background of an increasingly diverse America, as well as a rich body of research that spans decades but that largely stopped in 1980s, the Workshop on Research to Improve Intergroup Relations Among Youth convened an interdisciplinary group of researchers, representatives from federal and state governmental agencies, foundations, national and international organizations, and educators to examine early findings from 16 research projects funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The lead researchers, all university-based, presented their observations, thoughts, findings, and suggestions for ongoing research.
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Several studies emphasized interventions intended to prevent violence ancl interracial ancl interethnic conflict among youth. Most of the studies centered on ways to prevent or reduce prejudice among middle school ancl high school age youth, but several studies examinecl younger chilclren.
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First, it does not provide a comprehensive synthesis of the research findings of the 16 projects, nor does it provide a full discussion of either the successes or the problems of each project; the workshop considered each project very briefly, using a standard format. Workshop participants were given a general format for their presentations they were asked to present the aims of the study, describe methods used, and report the major findings.
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" David Hamburg, chair of the workshop, chair of the Forum on Adolescence, and former president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, asked the assembled workshop participants. "Education, through the family, schools, media, and community organizations, can be successfully turned into a force to reduce intergroup conflict.
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The contexts in which interactions occur, attitudes develop, feelings are expressed are a critical influence on those attitudes and on the ensuing behavior (Schofield, 19951. The contact hypothesis, originally proposed after World War II by Gordon Allport and others, emphasizes four major variables for positive benefit: cooperative interaction, equal status among participants, individualized contact, and individualized support for the contact (Stephen and Stephan, 19961.
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Workshop participants agreed that not only is it important for researchers, community leaders, school principals, and teachers to develop a common understanding of positive intergroup relations, but it also is essential to hear from young people in particular about how they understand and experience race, ethnicity, culture, and general race relations. There was considerable discussion at the workshop regarding the impor
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Another important point was brought up at the workshop: although positive intergroup relations may have the potential to build bridges between groups and reduce tensions, failed efforts to bring people together can have the opposite effect, intensifying tensions, heightening conflicts, and reinforcing stereotypes. For example, Stepick referred to an incident that took place after a Haitian dance performance at a football pep rally, in which the terms "boat people" and "Haitian" became epithets among students in a Miami school.
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Also important is the community in which the child lives, and the messages the child encounters; later on, peers, teachers, school officials, and community leaders have significant influence. Margaret Beale Spencer, who has long been involved in research on the development of racial attitudes, explained that racial awareness begins as early as age 3, with racial identity developing between the ages of 5 and 7.
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In the context of how society thinks of race and race relations, many white youth do not give a lot of thought to the meaning of their racial group membership, but for minority youth, such thoughts can be ever-present. Relevant to these general issues, in a study conducted at four schools in Denver, Colorado, workshop participant Phyllis A
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School policies and practices can strongly influence intergroup relations. These include tracking, which usually offers differentiated classroom opportunities for students who demonstrate different learning styles or levels of achievement; cooperative learning projects, which can lead to the development of positive relations; extracurricular activities, such as sports and community service; specially designed multicultural curricular materials; and programs like school-wide assemblies.
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Hanh Cao Yu of the Social Policy Research Institute discussed her research, which was conducted in six diverse secondary schools in the state of California. She emphasized the importance of schools acknowledging group clifferences, observing that black students were more often the targets of inconsistent tracking, low ability grouping, disciplinary policies, ancl general societal cliscrimination.
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Every program that was attempting to improve intergroup relations among young people, in every school, must take into account students' varying needs and levels of readiness to grapple with tough issues. In a Southern California study headed by Michele Foster of Claremont Graduate University, a sharp contrast emerged among elementary schools in a single district as to how the schools handled intergroup relations among young people from diverse backgrounds, in terms of both the tone set in the schools and classroom activities.
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Learning to promote positive intergroup interaction should be part of every teacher's training. Studies have shown that teacher training in multicultural education can have a positive impact on teachers' ability to work and interact effectively with ethnically diverse student populations (Stephen, 19991.
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Tatum's course included discussions of what she refers to as "foundational concepts," which include prejudice, racism, internalized oppression, and the distinction between passive and active racism. Tatum underlined the importance of increasing teachers' understanding of the student's background, training teachers in effectively discussing issues such as racism and stereotyping, and helping teachers to have high expectations for students of color, including academic achievement.
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One study conducted in Houston used methods proven successful in preventive medicine and public health to change dangerous attitudes and, ultimately, behavior. The project sought to positively influence students' attitudes regarding intergroup relations and reduce intergroup hostility by encouraging them to write and distribute stories through the school newsletter.
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Sports teams provide opportunities for young people from different backgrounds to get to know each other in important ways as fellow team members. As suggested by Patricia Marks Greenfield, lead researcher on a University of California based study of whether sports teams promote racial tolerance and intergroup relations, sports teams have the potential to meet the criteria of equal status contact between majority and minority groups.
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The study had three major findings: white students were more likely to report same-race friendships than black students at any particular time; the shift toward friendships with children of the same race occurred more frequently for white students than for black students; and at any point in time, there is much variation in the children's own reports of same- and different-race friends. Black girls were more likely than black boys to report same-race friendships; Hughes explained that it may be related to boys' greater involvement in sports teams.
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(People Respecting Other People) program, in which students from a variety of backgrounds were recruited to join; they then conducted survey research and interviews, working both to increase the student body's awareness of their school's ethnic and racial attitudes and relations and to enhance the school's multicultural climate.
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It is at home where young people get their primary information, both implicitly and explicitly, about their own racial and ethnic identity, and where they pick up attitudes about other groups. (Workshop participants also noted parenthetically that sometimes, as young people grow up, the tables may turn and children may teach their parents.)
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Flanagan's research suggests that opportunities provided by the media that enable young people and adults to discuss current events can help youth see the connections between their own lives and the larger world and may promote intergroup tolerance. Furthermore, Flanagan's work also suggests that some young people are aware of how the media sometimes use
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The video was most effective for inspiring changes in knowledge, followed by changes in attitude; the least influenced aspect was behavior. According to Graves, in general, white children were less likely to endorse inclusive strategies, exhibit positive racial attitudes, or engage in positive intergroup interactions than other groups of children.
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Chan also observed that these interventions are relatively small in scale, and that one major racist act in a school has the potential to wipe out positive effects. He called for attacking the challenges of intergroup relations on a broad "ecological" basis, involving the media, schools, parents, grandparents, and others, as well as the political leadership.
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