International Journal of Intercultural Relations最新文献

With the progress of globalization, global competence (GC) is becoming crucially important for the younger generation. Many researchers have suggested that foreign language learning might be conducive to GC. To confirm the universality of previous findings, we conducted two studies using a sample of 177440 (Study 1) and 122942 (Study 2) participants from 27 countries to explore the relationship between foreign language learning and GC in different cultures. In our Hierarchical Linear Models, foreign language acquisition and foreign language use both positively predicted GC at the individual level, but these effects cannot be enhanced by cultural individualism. However, people in individualistic cultures tend to have a higher mean GC score than those in collectivist cultures. Foreign language learning has the potential to cultivate GC. We propose that cultural knowledge should be integrated into foreign language curriculum to foster both linguistic and cultural competence.

Research has documented how groups cope with perceived discrimination by enhancing their identification with their minority ingroup and reducing their identification with the majority outgroup. However, these patterns have not been consistent across contexts nor examined in relation to discrimination encountered online. Through a survey of PRC Chinese immigrants in Singapore, we examine how online perceived discrimination relates to attitudes toward the Singaporean host society via both ingroup and outgroup identification. We also test the role of intergroup mobility, the perceived level of opportunity ingroup members have to form relationships with dominant outgroup members, as a moderator of these relations. Results show that PRC Chinese immigrants who perceived more discrimination online identified more strongly with both their PRC Chinese ingroup and the Singaporean host society outgroup. In turn, greater PRC Chinese and Singaporean identification related to more positive attitudes toward Singaporeans. Moreover, intergroup mobility moderated these associations, such that the PRC Chinese who perceived greater mobility were more likely to strengthen their identification with Singaporeans as their online perceived discrimination increased. We argue that intergroup mobility beliefs may play a key role in shaping defensive responses to perceived discrimination.

Despite the persistent animosity between Palestinians and Israelis, the portrayal of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has undergone significant changes over time. The concept of normalization, integral to the peace process, has gained increasing prominence. Nevertheless, this concept has acted as a divisive force within the Palestinian political landscape in the West Bank, creating a clear divide between advocates and opponents. Employing a rigorously validated 19-item factorial questionnaire, the present mixed-method study endeavors to elucidate the perspectives of Palestinian university students regarding the stagnated peace process, the normalization of relations, and the security coordination with Israel. The findings of this study shed light on several intricate associations among the examined variables. They underscore that economic, political, and security considerations serve as pivotal factors contributing to the stance of Palestinian youth, wherein they show support for armed resistance and concurrently express opposition towards both normalization and security coordination with Israel. Ultimately, the study's culmination underscores a discernible pattern – that Palestinians could potentially embrace the prospect of normalizing relations with Israel and embarking on the path of peaceful coexistence, provided Israel acknowledges their rights and facilitates the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

In the West, public schools face the challenge of immigrant absorption. Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) argues that civil servants at the bottom of the hierarchy are the most significant in implementing policies. Based on interviews with twelve Israeli teachers, this study examines the conditions that lead teachers to become SLBs and how they influence policies related to migrant students on the ground and from the bottom up. As they play significant roles in immigrants’ lives, perhaps more than in other children’s lives, investment in appropriate training for these teachers is recommended.

The rapid influx of refugee students from Ukraine has posed challenges to the education system and teachers in Poland. In the current study, we aimed to determine how teachers in Polish schools, at various stages of education, assess their own competencies to work with Ukrainian refugee students. The sample consisted of 684 teachers who declared that they worked with refugee students from Ukraine. The results indicate that teachers generally rate their professional competencies for working with these students as sufficient, with teachers working in lower primary schools and schools in rural settings assessing them as higher than teachers working in upper-secondary schools and schools in urban settings. Implications for practice are discussed. Implications for practice are discussed.

People may sometimes bridge the emotional gap to dissimilar others by practicing indirect empathy: imagining how close others would feel in the situation of a person in need. The present study tests this claim in the context of refugee aid. Practitioners working with refugees (N = 119) reported how often they experienced direct empathy (i.e., imagining how they would feel in the situation of the refugees they were working with) and indirect empathy (i.e., imagining how their close ones would feel in the situation of the refugees). They also indicated the extent to which they perceived the refugees as similar to themselves and the extent to which they believed that the refugees they were working with had been forced to leave their country. Practitioners in refugee aid reported experiencing direct empathy more often than indirect empathy – but the prevalence of both was high. Perceived forcedness and perceived similarity positively predicted direct and indirect empathy with similar effect sizes. These findings shed light on a previously overlooked phenomenon: People working with refugees frequently experience indirect empathy. They imagine how their close ones would feel if they were forced to migrate. Knowing more about this process could contribute to improving training and coaching for people working in refugee aid.

Two preregistered experiments compared the effect of a counter-attitudinal strategy with a control and a reflective condition (Experiment 1, n = 689) or an outgroup-variability condition (Experiment 2, n = 634) on attitudes toward Moroccan immigrants in Spain, exploring the role of identity threat in the process among participants with high (vs. low) racism and ethnocultural empathy. Results showed that the exposure to counter-attitudinal content threatened the identity of high-prejudiced individuals, which was associated with negative attitudes (e.g., less positive perceptions of morality, sociability and competence, less openness to alternative information about Moroccan immigration and more agreement with punitive political actions toward Moroccans) compared to the control, reflective and outgroup variability condition. The strategy that emphasizes the variability of the outgroup indirectly improved attitudes toward migrants by eliciting less identity threat among low-prejudiced participants. These findings suggest the need for different interventions depending on the characteristics of the target.

Teacher-student-relationship quality is associated with academic success and, among ethnic minority adolescents, it can promote positive intergroup relations. However, most research has studied student or teacher reports only and rarely accounted for ethnic classroom heterogeneity. This study investigated teacher-student-agreement on relationship quality in minority and majority student-teacher-dyads and tested predictors of relationship quality in adolescence. The sample comprised 309 minority (M_age = 12.99, SD = 1.30) and 200 majority adolescents (M_age = 13.50, SD = 1.56) and their 28 majority teachers (M_age = 45.82, SD = 11.50). Teachers reported higher relationship quality than students. Correlations in student-teacher-dyads were similar for minority and majority students. A better school climate, teachers’ awareness of social heterogeneity and culturally responsive teaching predicted relationship quality in student reports, whereas teaching enjoyment predicted relationship quality in teacher reports. In minority dyads, higher student socioeconomic status (SES) and lower levels of discrimination were additional predictors for relationship quality in both student and teacher reports. Findings suggest different processes in how minority and majority student-teacher-dyads evaluate relationship quality.

The acculturation of domestic migrants has rarely been explored. Drawing on the bi-dimensional theory of acculturation, this study examined the strategies and determinants of urban acculturation among rural–urban migrants in China. Using data from a large survey project, we conducted latent class analysis (LCA), K-means clustering analysis, and midpoint scores analysis. Our findings suggested that the acculturation strategies of rural–urban migrants generally conform to Berry’s framework, with integration, assimilation, and separation as the dominant patterns. However, we identified a moderate integration pattern, instead of the marginalization pattern, through the application of LCA and K-means clustering analysis. Additionally, the acculturation strategies identified using the three methods exhibited a moderate degree of consistency. Furthermore, socioeconomic status, language usage, cultural differences, and social interaction play a significant role in shaping the acculturation of rural–urban migrants in cities. This study demonstrates that the acculturation of rural–urban migrants in host cities shares certain similarities with that of international migrants. However, it is also important to note the unique characteristics of rural–urban migrants.

Based on forty-eight qualitative interviews with Syrian refugee women and their families, this study explores the dynamics of Syrian-Egyptian marriages formed after displacement. Grounded in acculturation, marriage economics, and social exchange theories, I ask: what role is played by both cultural customs and displacement in dictating the Egyptian-(displaced)Syrian intermarriage trajectories and power dynamics in these unions? And how did Syrian women and Egyptian men leverage cultural differences to maximize their own benefits? The results outline how urfi (customary) marriage and marriage economic traditions differ between these two often homogenized (and continuously Orientalized) cultures, impacting the marital relationship’s nature, bargaining power and success. Beyond the passive exploitation narrative that hounds these highly stigmatized arrangements, the analysis illuminates how these marriages are often a result of immediate utilitarian and financial intersecting interests between the men and the women, they still carry long-term effects influencing the spousal balance of power. Nonetheless, some Syrian women leveraged cultural differences to maximize their gains and mitigate the implications of displacement and uprooting demonstrating a strategic and dialogical acculturation. The study concludes by highlighting the impact of displacement on marriage dynamics, shedding light on financial and power imbalances while highlighting how social and moral factors such as family support and socioeconomic factors influence the marriage dynamic. Contribution: The study sheds light on inter-Arab marriages in displacement contexts and broadens understanding within the larger spectrum of Arab marital dynamics, stimulating nuanced conversations about the sociology of marriage and family in the Arab world.