Jochem Thijs

Racist victimization among children in The Netherlands: the effect of ethnic group and school

Using data from a nation-wide study, this article examines the extent of racist victimization among Dutch, Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese children (10-13 years) in The Netherlands. The responses indicate that ethnic minority children are more often victim of racist name-calling and social exclusion than are Dutch children. Furthermore, Turkish children are more likely to face racism than Surinamese and Moroccan children. Using multilevel analysis, the effects of multicultural education and the ethnic composition of the school were also examined. If teachers reacted to incidents, this had a positive effect on racism. Furthermore, multicultural education was positively related to reported experiences with racist victimization, but this effect was only found for the Dutch children. In addition, a higher percentage of Dutch pupils was related to less racist victimization of the Dutch and to more victimization of the three ethnic minority groups.

School Satisfaction of Elementary School Children: The Role of Performance, Peer Relations, Ethnicity and Gender

The present study examines school satisfactionamong 1,090 Dutch and ethnic minority childrenaged between ten and twelve in relation totheir school context. Data were gathered in 51classes from 26 schools. Individual andclassroom variables were examinedsimultaneously, using multilevel analysis.Controlling statistically for general lifesatisfaction and teacher likeability, theresults show that the effects of educationalperformance and peer victimization on schoolsatisfaction were mediated by perceivedscholastic competence and social self-esteem,respectively. In addition, ethnic minoritygroups were more satisfied with school than theDutch pupils, and girls were more satisfiedthan boys. Multilevel analysis showed thatschool satisfaction was dependent on theclassroom context. The academic and socialclimate in the class had positive effects onthe level of satisfaction with school. Thepercentage of Dutch pupils, the percentage ofgirls and the number of pupils had nosignificant independent effects on schoolsatisfaction.

Multiculturalism among minority and majority adolescents in the Netherlands

The extent of culture maintenance by ethnic minority groups and their adaptation to majority group culture are two issues central to everyday thinking about multiculturalism. Using Social Identity Theory and a two-dimensional acculturation model as theoretical frameworks, the present study examines the attitudes of Dutch and Turkish adolescents in the Netherlands. Turkish adolescents were strongly in favor of culture maintenance, which was not seen to be contradictory to adaptation. In contrast, the Dutch were less in favor of culture maintenance and more in favor of adaptation, and saw these issues as mutually exclusive. In addition, among the Turks ethnic identification was positively related to culture maintenance and was not related to adaptation. Among the Dutch, identification was related negatively to culture maintenance and positively to adaptation. Furthermore, the perception and interpretation of responsibility for group discrimination affected the Turks views on multiculturalism. Agreement with cultural adaptation was lowest, among Turkish participants who strongly identified with their ethnic background as well as attributed discrimination to the out-group.

Supporting teachers’ relationships with disruptive children: the potential of relationship-focused reflection

A relationship-focused reflection program (RFRP) was developed that targeted teachers’ mental representations of relationships with specific children. Relative effectiveness was examined in a randomized comparative trial with repeated measures. Thirty-two teachers were assigned to the RFRP or the comparison intervention directly aimed at teacher behavior. Per teacher, two children (N = 64) were selected with above-median levels of externalizing behavior. Multilevel growth modeling was used to explore intervention effects on teacher-reported Closeness and Conflict, and observed Teacher Sensitivity and Behavior Management Quality. Teaching Efficacy was included as a moderator. The RFRP yielded changes over time in closeness for about half of the teacher–child dyads. In addition, teachers with high efficacy beliefs were more likely to report declines in conflict than low-efficacy teachers. Lastly, significant increases were found in observed sensitivity. These effects were different from those found in the comparison condition and provided preliminary evidence for the potential of in-depth reflection on specific relationships to promote teacher–child relationships.

Ethnic Discrimination and Global Self-Worth in Early Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Ethnic Self-Esteem.

Peer victimization based on ones ethnic group membership contributes to the problems and conflicts of ethnic minority children around the world. With ethnic discrimination, a part of the self is implicated. Hence, it is likely that being treated negatively on the basis of ones ethnicity has a negative influence on ethnic self-esteem and thereby on feelings of global self-worth. Following structural models of the self it was predicted that ethnic self-esteem mediates the relationship between ethnic peer discrimination and global self-worth. To test this prediction a large scale study (N= 2682) was conducted among Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese and Dutch young adolescents (aged 10 to 13) living in The Netherlands. Using structural equation analysis, we found the predicted mediation for all four groups of participants. In addition, to examine the precise role of ethnic discrimination we also considered other types and dimensions of peer victimization. Our distinction between reasons (personal and ethnic) and types (teasing/name calling and social exclusion form play) of peer victimization fitted the data adequately. Global self-worth was more strongly related to experiences with teasing and name calling than to social exclusion.

Intergroup Contact and Ingroup Reappraisal: Examining the Deprovincialization Thesis

According to the deprovincialization thesis, interethnic contact involves a reappraisal and distancing from the ingroup. Contact can broaden one’s horizon by acknowledging and recognizing the value of other cultures and thereby putting the taken-for-granted own cultural standards into perspective. The current research uses data from three surveys to examine the relationship between quantity of outgroup contact and ingroup distance (ingroup identification and ingroup feelings) among native Dutch participants. More positive contact with ethnic outgroups was expected to lead to a higher endorsement of multiculturalism, that, in turn, is related to a stronger distancing from the ingroup. Findings in all three studies support the deprovincialization thesis. In addition, in Study 3, mediation is found independently of outgroup threat. Findings across the three studies confirm the stability of the results and cross-validate the deprovincialization thesis.

Ethnic incongruence and the student-teacher relationship. The perspective of ethnic majority teachers

Among 36 ethnic-Dutch school teachers in the Netherlands, the present study examined the role of ethnic incongruence in perceived student-teacher relationship quality. Teachers rated their relationships with 59 Turkish-Dutch, 62 Moroccan-Dutch, and 109 ethnic-Dutch students attending grades 4 through 6 (M(age)=10.81 years, SD=1.05). On average, relationships were less favorable for the Moroccan-Dutch students only. However, the effects of ethnic incongruence were most pronounced among students with strong perceived inattention/hyperactivity and among teachers endorsing lower levels of multiculturalism (the view that different cultures deserve equal treatment). Results support the notion that ethnically incongruent relationships may be perceived as less favorable than ethnically congruent ones due to cultural misunderstandings and intergroup bias. Practical implications are discussed.

Multiple Identities and Religious Transmission: A Study among Moroccan-Dutch Muslim Adolescents and Their Parents.

This study investigates the relation between religious group identification and ethnic and national identity among Moroccan-Dutch Muslim adolescents (11-18 years) and their parents (n=369). Compared to their parents, adolescents showed higher national identification and lower religious and ethnic group identification. However, for adolescents and their parents, there were similar positive relations between Muslim and ethnic identifications, and both identifications were negatively related to Dutch identification. For early adolescents, parents religious group identification was strongly related to their religious identification and ethnic and national identifications. These associations were not significant for middle adolescents. It is concluded that research on children from immigrant Muslim families should not only focus on ethnicity but on religious identity in particular.

Psychological disidentification with the academic domain among ethnic minority adolescents in The Netherlands.

BACKGROUND Among ethnic minority group adolescents, experiences with discrimination and prejudice in school settings are thought to lead to a defensive detachment of the self from the school domain. That is, these adolescents may disengage their self-feelings from their academic performances causing the academic self to become a less important part of global self-worth. However, there is limited empirical evidence for this assumption and the existing research is on African American students. AIMS To examine among ethnic minority adolescents in the Netherlands the hypothesis that under conditions of perceived discrimination minority group members tend to psychologically disengage their self-feelings from educational performance. SAMPLES Study 1 was conducted among 161 Turkish students between 13 and 16 years of age. The sample in Study 2 consisted of 112 Turkish participants of 11 and 12 years of age. METHODS Two questionnaire studies were conducted and participants responded to questions on perceived academic performance, academic self-esteem, global self-worth and perceived discrimination in school. RESULTS In both studies, academic self-esteem mediated the relationship between perceived educational performance and feelings of global self-worth. More importantly, perceived discrimination in school moderated the relationship between academic self-esteem and global self-worth. Discrimination did not moderate the relationship between academic performance and academic self-esteem. CONCLUSION The results indicate that for ethnic minorities perceived discrimination in school can lead to psychological disidentification from the academic domain whereby global self-worth is less based on performances and competencies in the academic domain.

A Further Examination of the Big-Fish–Little-Pond Effect Perceived Position in Class, Class Size, and Gender Comparisons

Among early adolescents (10–12 years) in the Netherlands, this study examined the academic self-concept in terms of the big-fish–little-pond effect (BFLPE). The BFLPE implies that students in classes where the average achievement is low will have a higher academic self-concept than equally achieving students in classes where the average achievement is high. The social comparison process assumed to underlie this effect was examined by focusing on classmates’ average achievement and the perceived relative achievement position in the school class. It was found that the perceived class position mediated the relationship between classmates’ achievement and the academic self-concept. In addition, the effect of classmates’ achievement on perceived relative academic position was stronger in smaller compared to larger classes. Furthermore, it was investigated whether classmates’ gender was differently important for social comparison processes in the academic domain. It turned out that students’ academic self-concept was affected by the achievements of same-gender classmates. Achievements of opposite-gender classmates only had an effect on the academic self-concept when the number of these classmates was small. The findings of this study support the theoretical principles underlying the big-fish–little-pond effect and are relevant for debates about class sizes and the utility of academic selective schooling.