Intergroup attitudes of black learners attending a multiracial school and black learners attending a single race school
Date
2008-04-21T10:29:20Z
Authors
Moholola, Faith Mapula
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Desegregated schools have provided many learners of different racial and ethnic
groups the opportunity to encounter regular intergroup contact. However for those
learners who attend racially segregated schools the opportunity for regular intergroup
contact is limited. According to the contact hypothesis frequent integroup contact
between members of different social groups can promote positive intergroup attitudes,
providing that contact occurs under favourable conditions. This research compares the
intergroup attitudes of Black learners attending a multiracial school (desegregated
school) and Black learners attending a single race school (segregated school). A
sample of 106 Black learners completed questionnaires, consisting of a number of
sub-scales derived from two surveys of Holtman (2002) and Muianga (2005). The
questionnaires assessed factors relating to the level of affective prejudice, social
distance, the amount of general contact with Whites outside the school context, the
degree of racial identification, meta-stereotype, social distance, school contact with
White learners and experience of contact with White learners. For the purpose of the
current study only responses from Black learners were required. Two statistical
analyses were used to analyse the data: t-test analysis and multiple linear regression
analysis.
The t-test analysis revealed significant results indicating that Black learners attending
the multiracial school encounter more general contact with Whites outside of the
school context and have lower levels of social distance than Black learners in the
single race school. Results of the multiple linear regression analysis for Black learners
in each school revealed that meta-stereotype is the strongest factor that explains
affective prejudice amongst Black learners in each school. Similarly results of the
multiple linear regression analysis using the whole sample revealed that metastereotype
is a significant predictor of affective prejudice, substantiating results
reported by the two separate multiple linear regression analysis of affective prejudice.
Results of multiple linear regression analysis concerning social distance reveal that
none of the entered variables explained social distance amongst Black learners in the
single race school. However experience of contact with White learners emerged as the
only factor that explains social distance amongst Black learners attending the
multiracial school. In addition the multiple linear regression analysis of the whole
sample revealed that the type of school that the learners attend contributes
significantly to social distance of the Black learners.
The result of the study support the contact hypothesis in that it reveals that Black
learners with greater amounts of contact with Whites have more positive feelings
towards interactions with Whites. The study argues that intergroup attitudes of Black
learners in both the multiracial and single race school is primarily shaped by social
changes that have occurred since 1994 and social norms that govern the nature of
interracial contact amongst South Africans. These factors together with underlying
internal factors outlined in the study mediate intergroup attitudes of Black learners
used in this study.