Difference in Student Attitudes to School Teacher and Peers – Comparison of Majority Minority and Mixed Ethnicity Networks | Chapter 06 | Perspectives of Arts and Social Studies Vol. 3
How to integrate children from minority groups with majority population in school is of great interest and the focus in this chapter. Immigrant students are known to have better attitudes towards school compared to native students, but feel a weaker sense of belonging at school. The aim of this Swedish study was to evaluate further how students adapt to their school class with respect to ethnicity and gender. Data from the self-reporting of attitudes by 12-year old students in 77 classes were sampled and used in confirmatory factor analysis. Three school factors and four relational factors were identified. Social networks were made up of students who voluntarily and reciprocally chose each other to be with during breaks. The analysis of the choices was carried out using a Matlab program identifying reciprocal (bilateral) choices. Three categories of network were identified using the names of their members. Mixed ethnicity networks were compared to majority (Scandinavian), and minori...