Gathering Diverse Perspectives to Tackle “Wicked Problems”: Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Educational Placement

Among students receiving behavioral health and special education services, racial/ethnic minority students are consistently overrepresented in settings separate from general classrooms. Once separated, many young people struggle to improve academically and face significant difficulty upon trying to return to a general education setting. Given the complex, ongoing, and multifaceted nature of this challenge, racial/ethnic disproportionality can be identified as a “wicked problem,” for which solutions are not easily identified. Here, we describe our community-engaged research efforts, eliciting perspectives from relevant partners in an ongoing dialogue, to better integrate diverse stakeholders’ perspectives when attempting to address such disparities. We conducted focus groups and qualitative interviews with members of three stakeholder groups: community-serving organizations, individuals with lived experience of behavioral health conditions, and state-level policymakers, with a shared interest in addressing racial and ethnic disparities. Participant responses illustrated the “wickedness” of this problem and highlighted the need for additional supports for students, families, and school personnel, increased collaboration across relevant systems and agencies, and reduced barriers related to funding. Overall, this methodology bridged differing perspectives to develop, in concert with our partners, a shared language of the problem and a core set of issues to consider when seeking to effect change.     

Bridging separate communities: the aspirations and experiences of minority ethnic religious education teachers in England

This article takes as its starting point concerns about community separation that arose in 2001, following outbreaks of violence in English urban centres, and again in 2014, following the so-called ‘Trojan Horse’ case. Despite a series of reports which have highlighted the need to address ‘separation’, promote ‘meaningful contact’ between those who differ in terms of ethnicity and worldview and identify teachers of religious education (RE) as key players, researchers have paid no attention to teachers of RE from minority ethnic and religious backgrounds. The article draws on a qualitative study of teachers from Hindu, Muslim and Sikh backgrounds to explore their concerns about pupils’ perceptions of separation and the ways in which they attempted to address these in white majority and Muslim majority schools. Communication research and studies based on social capital theory are used to suggest that the teachers used ‘bonding’ and ‘bridging’ strategies as means of encouraging pupils to explore their perceptions of separation, engage in a mediated form of meaningful contact with ‘the Other’ and expand their thinking. The conclusion calls for further research in to the strategies reported and for policy makers to support the recruitment, training and career development of minority ethnic teachers of RE.     

U.S. ethnic minorities' attitudes towards Whites: The role of shared reality theory in intergroup relations

In the current research, we suggest that shared reality, the belief that one perceives the world the same way as another group, can predict attitudes towards that group. We tested shared reality theory in the context of American ethnic minority groups' (i.e., African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinas/os) attitudes towards White Americans. In surveys of two samples recruited from different geographical locations in the USA, we tested predictions derived from different theories of intergroup relations. Using mediational analysis, we defined models to assess the extent to which shared reality theory predicted—directly and indirectly—prejudicial attitudes towards Whites. We tested the model derived from shared reality theory against other theoretical alternatives. Taken together, the results of the research indicated that shared reality predicts attitudes towards White Americans among these three ethnic groups. Thus, shared reality is a relevant, though largely overlooked, factor in intergroup dynamics.     

Relation of Individualism–Collectivism and Ethnic Identity to Spiritual Transcendence Among European Americans,Asian Indian Americans,and Chinese Americans

The hypothesis that spirituality is influenced by individualism–collectivism and ethnic identity is investigated among European Americans (EAs), Asian Indian Americans (AIAs), and Chinese Americans (CAs) who completed measures of individualism–collectivism, ethnic identity, personality, and spiritual transcendence (ST). Data analyses indicated that EAs scored higher than both AIAs and CAs on the ST. Separate regression analyses on ST with demographics and personality as covariates and individualism–collectivism and ethnic identity as independent variables indicated that collectivism significantly predicted ST for EAs and AIAs, and resolution of ethnic identity significantly predicted ST for Chinese Americans.     

No Postmaterialists in Foxholes: Postmaterialist Values,Nationalism, and National Threat in the People's Republic of China

In this article, I present findings from a survey experiment in which Chinese university students exposed to a treatment designed to increase feelings of national threat were—based on their responses to the four‐item postmaterialism values‐priority battery—significantly more likely to be classified as “pure materialists.” These findings are presented in support of the proposition that perception of a hostile international environment may tend to exaggerate citizens' authoritarian and nationalistic sentiments at the expense of more democratically favorable value orientations. Media and political figures in the West who rail against the evils of China's authoritarian leadership might believe that they are championing and encouraging democratic aspirations among the Chinese people, but might instead be inciting impulses and attitudes that are far less “democracy‐friendly.”     

Ethnic Identity in Emerging Adults in Sub‐Saharan Africa and the USA,and Its Associations with Psychological Well‐Being

Ethnic identity as a social dimension of identity is argued to be developmentally important for psychological well‐being. However, the relationships between these constructs are mainly examined in Western contexts, amongst dominant–non‐dominant groups. We investigate ethnic identity across the mainstream group of a prototypical Western society (the USA) and several multi‐ethnic sub‐Saharan African countries (Cameroon, Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia), as well as how it relates to psychological well‐being. A total of 1255 university students (61.8% females, M_age = 20.94 years, SD = 2.97) completed a questionnaire with ethnic identity and psychological well‐being measures. Results indicated that ethnic identity was most salient in two different South African ethnocultural samples and least salient in a mainstream US sample. These results suggest that groups that are more exposed to ethnic strain in multicultural societies tend to have more salient ethnic identities. Furthermore, the underlying structure in the ethnic identity psychological well‐being relationship was similar across groups. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Italian American Ethnic Identity Persistence: A Qualitative Study

This study explores the persistence of ethnic identity among second- and fourth-generation Italian American emerging adults. In particular, the relational and college influences affecting its development were examined. The findings indicate that a distinct Italian American ethnic identity persists in this population, although it evolves with distance from the immigrant generation. We found that Italian American identity is relationally dynamic and shaped by many factors, most notably, family ethnic socialization, peer relationships, college experiences, ethnic pride, exposure to Italian culture, and life transitions. These findings extend our understanding of the cyclical nature of ethnic identity development within a specific ethnic group and the unique cultural forces shaping the identity of Italian Americans.     

Ethnic Speech and Ethnic Action as Ethnic Behavior: Part 2. Validation of the Brunel Ethnic Behavior Inventory

This study sought to validate the Brunel Ethnic Behavior Inventory (BEBI) as a measure of two aspects of “doing” (i.e., ethnic speech and ethnic action) among the “ways of ethnicity” identified by Verkuyten. It also evaluates the construct validity of the BEBI alongside the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure-Revised (MEIM-R) and evaluates the BEBI and the MEIM-R (the latter of which measures exploration as “thinking” and commitment as “feeling” among ways of ethnicity) regarding criterion-related validity. Across two samples (n = 120 for Sample 1 and n = 148 for Sample 2), the BEBI and the MEIM-R performed suitably with regard to construct validity. However, the BEBI arguably performed better with regard to criterion-related validity (i.e., in predicting scores on life satisfaction, flourishing, positive and negative moods, and positive and negative emotions). Implications for validation studies on ways of ethnicity are discussed.     

不同民族文化对负性情绪调节的影响:来自ERPs的证据

采用认知重评和表达抑制策略考察不同民族文化对负性情绪调节主观体验和事件相关电位活动的影响。结果发现,汉族和少数民族文化个体在两种策略下均呈现负性情绪感受显著降低,并且汉族表达抑制的情绪体验得分低于少数民族。此外,负性情绪图片相比中性图片诱发了更大的P2成分,表达抑制相比认知重评在额-中区诱发了更大的P3成分。更重要的是,900~1200ms时间窗内,汉族个体认知重评和表达抑制后LPP波幅均降低,但少数民族文化个体仅在认知重评条件表现出LPP波幅的显著下降。以上结果表明不同民族文化背景下负性情绪调节的效果不同。     

From segregation to intergroup contact and back: Using experiments and simulation to understand the bidirectional link

Research on intergroup contact has mostly viewed desegregation as a necessary condition for contact to unfold its power to reduce prejudice. Through residential and school choices, however, prejudice also contributes to segregation. To shed light on this bidirectional link, we conducted two survey‐based experiments with stratified quota samples of German adults. In Study 1, respondents with less contact and more prejudice indicated a lower likelihood of renting an apartment in a neighborhood with a larger proportion of minority members, although housing quality and crime rate were held constant. In Study 2, similar results were obtained for the likelihood of enrolling their child at a school with a larger proportion of minority students. Building on these results in a computer simulation, we find that because contact only reduces prejudice, but does not produce pro‐minority preferences, spontaneous desegregation is unlikely to occur even under the most favorable structural and economic conditions.