A Cross-Cultural Study of Italian and U.S. Children\u27s Perceptions of Interethnic and Interracial Friendships in Two Urban Schools

This cross-cultural and cross-sectional study investigated Italian and US children’s perceptions of interethnic and interracial friendships, also known as intergroup friendships. A total sample of 226 children attending two urban, elementary schools in a middle-sized Northeastern US city and a middle-sized northern Italian city, were interviewed employing the questionnaire. Results indicate that Italian and US children’s perceptions of intra-racial and interracial friendships differed with students of color in the US rating intragroup friendships more positively than intergroup ones. In addition, students of color in Italy and white students in the US rated intergroup and intragroup friendships similarly

Affirmative action and interracial friendships

In two recent cases involving the University of Michigan, the Supreme Court examined whether race should be allowed to play an explicit role in the admission decisionsof schools. The primary argument in these court cases and others has been that racialdiversity strengthens the quality of education ofered to all students. Underlying thisargument is the notion that educational benefits arise if interactions between studentsof different races improve preparation for life after college by, among other things, fostering mutual understanding and correcting misperceptions. A comprehensive study ofthis issue would ideally examine two conditions: first, whether students actually haveincorrect perceptions about their friendship compatibility with students of other racesat the time of college entrance; second, if misperceptions exist, whether diversity oncampus is effective in changing students' beliefs about individuals of different races.In this paper we provide, to the best of our knowledge, the first direct evidence aboutboth conditions by taking advantage of unique new data that was collected specificallyfor this purpose.

Effect of cooperative learning (student teams -achievement divisions) on African American and Caucasian students\u27 interracial friendships

The purpose of this study was to gauge the impact of cooperative learning teams on interracial friendships. The participants were 256 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in English classes (20% African American and 80% Caucasian) at a rural middle school in Louisiana. After delivery of instruction, the experimental group studied worksheets in teams, received rewards based upon the team\u27s performance, and received individual grades based upon individual exam scores. The control group studied worksheets individually and received individual grades. This eight week study utilized the sociometric question, “Who are your friends in this class?” as the pretest and posttest instrument. The data were analyzed using dependent and independent samples t-tests. Cooperative learning did increase close cross-race friendships, although not significantly. However, results indicated that cooperative learning significantly (p=.001) increased the number of strong cross-race friendships. It was also determined that there was no significant difference in the impact of cooperative learning on African American and Caucasian students\u27 interracial friendships

Interracial Friendships in College

Motivated by the reality that the benefits of diversity on a college campus will be mitigated if interracial interactions are scarce or superficial, previous work has strived to document the amount of interracial friendship interaction and to examine whether policy can influence this amount. In this paper we take advantage of unique longitudinal data from the Berea Panel Study to build on this previous literature by providing direct evidence about the amount of interracial friendships at different stages of college and by providing new evidence about some of the possible underlying reasons for the observed patterns of interaction. We find that, while much sorting exists at all stages of college, black and white students are, in reality, very compatible as friends; randomly assigned roommates of different races are as likely to become friends as randomly assigned roommates of the same race. Further, we find that, in the long-run, white students who are randomly assigned black roommates have a significantly larger proportion of black friends than white students who are randomly assigned white roommates, even when the randomly assigned roommates are not included in the calculation of the proportions. This last result contradicts previous findings in the literature.

Supporting Interethnic and Interracial Friendships Among Youth to Reduce Prejudice and Racism in Schools: The Role of the School Counselor

Supporting interethnic and interracial friendships in schools among children and adolescents is an important part of a progressive educational agenda informed in equity, social justice frameworks, and critical multicultural education that leads to a reduction in racial prejudice. Positive intergroup contact is a necessary condition in prejudice reduction and the development of positive racial attitudes among ethnically and racially diverse groups of children and adolescents. School counseling initiatives focused on promoting interethnic and interracial friendships can have significant individual and systemic consequences such as: improving social, emotional, and cultural competence among youth; prejudice reduction; and the creation of equitable educational spaces informed in multicultural and social justice worldviews

The Portrayal of Interracial Relationships on Television Programs for Teens

The portrayals of minorities and interracial relationships on prime time television are often skewed and inaccurate. Minorities are drastically under represented in proportion to their actual standing in the population. Through a content analysis, researchers coded interpersonal interracial interactions in the television series, Glee. The study sought to understand the portrayal minority relationships in content geared towards teens and young adults, focusing on the quality of friendships and romantic relationships. Researchers found that 79.2 percent of interracial relationship members were seen as equals. Of all the material coded, approximately nine hours, 48 interracial interactions occurred. Interracial relationships were portrayed as honest and unaffectionate and were very much so under represented. Future research should code both same race and interracial relationships for the ability to compare and contrast relationship quality

2010-6 Interracial Friendships in College

Motivated by the reality that the benefits of diversity on a college campus will be mitigated if interracial interactions are scarce or superficial, previous work has strived to document the amount of interracial friendship interaction and to examine whether policy can influence this amount. In this paper we take advantage of unique longitudinal data from the Berea Panel Study to build on this previous literature by providing direct evidence about the amount of interracial friendships at different stages of college and by providing new evidence about some of the possible underlying reasons for the observed patterns of interaction. We find that, while much sorting exists at all stages of college, black and white students are, in reality, very compatible as friends; randomly assigned roommates of different races are as likely to become friends as randomly assigned roommates of the same race. Further, we find that, in the long-run, white students who are randomly assigned black roommates have a significantly larger proportion of black friends than white students who are randomly assigned white roommates, even when the randomly assigned roommates are not included in the calculation of the proportions. This last result contradicts previous findings in the literature

Feeling (Mis)Understood and Intergroup Friendships in Interracial Interactions

The present research investigated whether having out-group friends serves as a buffer for feeling misunderstood in interracial interactions. Across three experience sampling studies, we found that among ethnic minorities who have few White friends or are not interacting with White friends, daily interracial interactions are associated with feeling less understood. By contrast, we found that among ethnic minorities who have more White friends or are interacting with White friends, the relationship between daily interracial interactions and feeling understood is not significant. We did not find similar results for Whites; that is, having ethnic minority friends did not play a role in the relationship between daily interracial interactions and feeling understood. Together, these studies demonstrate the beneficial effects of intergroup friendships for ethnic minorities