Effects of intergroup contact norms and school climate on youth self-reported outgroup prosocial behaviour in school.

Previous studies indicate that perception of peer norms and school norms regarding intergroup contact can significantly influence children and youth attitudes and behaviours towards outgroup members. Additionally, school climate can also play an important role in shaping quality of intergroup relations. The present study examines the role of peer and school norms regarding intergroup contact and school climate in explaining majority and minority pupils' self-reported prosocial outgroup behaviour in different types of public schools from four different multi-ethnic contexts in Croatia. Pupils (N = 1568; average age M = 15.04) attending ethnic majority, minority and mixed schools participated in this study. Results demonstrate that positive peer and school norms regarding intergroup contact as well as the lower level of ethnicity-based conflicts are associated with more self-reported outgroup prosocial behaviour. Furthermore, findings indicate a moderation effect of group status whereby the effect of quality of relationships and connectedness in school is observed for majority pupils only. The findings also indicate a moderation effect of school type and the stronger effect of peer norms on self-reported outgroup prosocial behaviour of pupils in mixed schools. The results are discussed from the perspective of current literature review and potential educational implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]