Details

605 children and adolescents (age: 9 to 18 years) were presented with a hypothetical scenario in which a protagonist and their friend are looking to complete their group with an additional student in order to solve a difficult math’s task. The participating students stated their expectations as to whether the protagonist from the story would rather choose a child with low or high socio-economic status and gave reasons for their considerations.

The study showed, that  students attending mixed SES schools were more likely to expect inclusion of a low SES character than were students attending high SES schools. With age, high SES participants attending mixed SES schools increasingly expected the inclusion of the low SES character. Moreover, teachers' democratic beliefs in high SES schools predicted inclusive expectations. Teacher beliefs and school diversity play a significant role for fostering students' inclusivity in educational contexts.

The study thus underscores the potential of inclusive schools with high socioeconomic diversity to reduce biases related to social status. When this is not possible, teachers with high democratic beliefs can make a difference.

Grütter, J., Dhakal, S., & Killen, M. (2022). Socioeconomic status biases among children and adolescents: The role of school diversity and teacher beliefs in Nepal. Child Development.