Determinants of Student Attitudes towards Cultural Diversity in Schools

Marija Buterin Mičić

Summary:  The aim of this study was to explore the possibilities of predicting student attitudes towards the schooling of children and youths of different ethnicities on the basis of selected social and demographic features, school achievement, knowledge of foreign languages, interethnic contacts and attitudes towards multicultural society, and school integration or assimilation. A survey research was used to collect data from selected secondary school students in Croatia. On the basis of regression analysis results, four variables appeared to be strong predictors of attitudes towards school integration of children from different ethnic backgrounds: attitudes towards multicultural society, ethnic status, interethnic contact, and gender. Moreover, three variables stood out as significant predictors of student attitudes towards school assimilation: attitudes towards multicultural society, ethnic status, and gender. The article discusses the implications for developing positive interethnic relations in schools and offers recommendations for further research.