Multicultural attitudes among adolescents

Abstract

In this study predictors of multiculturalism at the individual and classroom level are tested in a multilevel model. Previous studies attempting to find predictors of multiculturalism focused only on the individual level, possibly risking an attribution error. Multiculturalism is presented in this study as a notion stressing equal opportunities and minimizing discrimination as well as the conviction that the access to other cultures enriches ones own life. Using a sample of 448 adolescents from junior vocational education it was found that more ethnic diversity at the classroom level is positively related to adolescents’ support for multiculturalism. As such, this study supports the intergroup contact theory.