Advanced search
Add to list

Ethnic school context and the (sub-)national identifications of pupils

Orhan Agirdag (UGent) and Mieke Van Houtte (UGent)
(2010)
Author
Organization
Abstract
Abstract In various European countries, policymakers strive for educational desegregation to enhance pupils’ national identifications. Since little empirical evidence supports such a policy and social identity theorists emphasize the importance of context, this article examines the impact of ethnic school composition—measured by the proportion of non-natives and ethnic heterogeneity—on the national (Belgian) and sub-national (Flemish) identifications of pupils. Multilevel data analyses by surveying 2,845 pupils (aged ten to twelve) in sixty-eight Flemish primary schools reveal differential effects for natives and non-natives. While the proportion of non-natives at school is negatively associated with non-native pupils’ identifications, it is positively related to native pupils’ identifications. In general, the ethnic heterogeneity of the school is negatively associated with pupils’ national and sub-national identifications. Our findings indicate that the relation between ethnic school composition and pupils’ identifications is mediated by the latter’s interethnic friendships. The consequences of these findings for educational policy are discussed. see also: Agirdag, O. (2009) All languages welcomed here. Educational Leadership, vol. 66, no. 7, pp. 20-25. Agirdag, O. (2010) Exploring bilingualism in a monolingual school system: insights from Turkish and native students from Belgian schools, British Journal of Sociology of Education, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 307-321.
Keywords
school diversity, ethnic school composition, educational segregation, sub-national identification, national identification

Citation

Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:

MLA
Agirdag, Orhan, and Mieke Van Houtte. Ethnic School Context and the (Sub-)National Identifications of Pupils. 2010.
APA
Agirdag, O., & Van Houtte, M. (2010). Ethnic school context and the (sub-)national identifications of pupils. Presented at the XVII ISA World Congress of Sociology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Chicago author-date
Agirdag, Orhan, and Mieke Van Houtte. 2010. “Ethnic School Context and the (Sub-)National Identifications of Pupils.” In .
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Agirdag, Orhan, and Mieke Van Houtte. 2010. “Ethnic School Context and the (Sub-)National Identifications of Pupils.” In .
Vancouver
1.
Agirdag O, Van Houtte M. Ethnic school context and the (sub-)national identifications of pupils. In 2010.
IEEE
[1]
O. Agirdag and M. Van Houtte, “Ethnic school context and the (sub-)national identifications of pupils,” presented at the XVII ISA World Congress of Sociology, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2010.
@inproceedings{1014023,
  abstract     = {{Abstract
In various European countries, policymakers strive for educational desegregation to enhance pupils’ national identifications. Since little empirical evidence supports such a policy and social identity theorists emphasize the importance of context, this article examines the impact of ethnic school composition—measured by the proportion of non-natives and ethnic heterogeneity—on the national (Belgian) and sub-national (Flemish) identifications of pupils. Multilevel data analyses by surveying 2,845 pupils (aged ten to twelve) in sixty-eight Flemish primary schools reveal differential effects for natives and non-natives. While the proportion of non-natives at school is negatively associated with non-native pupils’ identifications, it is positively related to native pupils’ identifications. In general, the ethnic heterogeneity of the school is negatively associated with pupils’ national and sub-national identifications. Our findings indicate that the relation between ethnic school composition and pupils’ identifications is mediated by the latter’s interethnic friendships. The consequences of these findings for educational policy are discussed.

see also:

Agirdag, O. (2009) All languages welcomed here. Educational Leadership, vol. 66, no. 7, pp. 20-25.

Agirdag, O. (2010) Exploring bilingualism in a monolingual school system: insights from Turkish and native students from Belgian schools, British Journal of Sociology of Education, vol. 31, no. 3, pp.  307-321.}},
  author       = {{Agirdag, Orhan and Van Houtte, Mieke}},
  keywords     = {{school diversity,ethnic school composition,educational segregation,sub-national identification,national identification}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  location     = {{Gothenburg, Sweden}},
  title        = {{Ethnic school context and the (sub-)national identifications of pupils}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}