Ethnic Boundaries in High School Students' Networks in Flanders and the Netherlands

Ethnic boundaries were tested in students' networks in 34 Flemish and 19 Dutch high schools. Each network consisted of a school cohort in an intermediate level of education (track). While students from the native majority predominantly had friendships within their own ethnic category, minority students often had more inter-ethnic than intra-ethnic friendships. However, a multilevel p2 model for analysing the networks showed that this was due mainly to the quantitative dominance of native students in the networks. Native students were more inclined than minority students to engage in inter-ethnic friendships. The study found ethnic boundaries to be stronger in the Dutch networks than in the Flemish networks. It is unclear whether this is due to methodological reasons or to more substantial differences between the Netherlands and Flanders.

[1]  Mark Granovetter,et al.  The Micro-Structure of School Desegregation , 1986 .

[2]  Marijtje A. J. van Duijn,et al.  The Multilevel p2 Model , 2006 .

[3]  T. Pettigrew.  Intergroup contact theory. , 1998, Annual review of psychology.

[4]  Dianne A. Van Hemert,et al.  Ethnic boundaries and personal choice. Assessing the influence of individual inclinations to choose intra-ethnic relationships on pupils' networks , 2004, Soc. Networks.

[5]  Barry H. Schneider,et al.  The inter-ethnic friendships of adolescent students: a Canadian study , 2000 .

[6]  Linda R. Tropp,et al.  Does intergroup contact reduce prejudice: Recent meta-analytic findings. , 2000 .

[7]  Mary E. Campbell,et al.  Beyond Black and White: The Present and Future of Multiracial Friendship Segregation , 2003, American Sociological Review.

[8]  Tom A. B. Snijders,et al.  INFLUENCES ON AND FROM THE SEGMENTATION OF NETWORKS - HYPOTHESES AND TESTS , 1994 .

[9]  Janet Ward Schofield,et al.  Black and White in School: Trust, Tension, or Tolerance? , 1989 .

[10]  Maureen T. Hallinan,et al.  Tracking and students' friendships , 1998 .

[11]  C. Howes,et al.  Peer interactions and friendships in an ethnically diverse school setting. , 1990, Child development.

[12]  Eric Fong,et al.  Determinants of Friendship Choices in Multiethnic Society , 2000 .

[13]  A. Morelli.  Histoire des étrangers et de l'immigration en Belgique: de la préhistoire à nos jours , 1992 .

[14]  B. Entwisle,et al.  Residential Segregation and Interracial Friendship in Schools1 , 2006, American Journal of Sociology.

[15]  L. Vermeij,et al.  What's cooking?: Cultural boundaries among Dutch teenagers of different ethnic origins in the context of school , 1998 .

[16]  Thomas F. Pettigrew,et al.  The intergroup contact hypothesis reconsidered. , 1986 .

[17]  E. Lazega,et al.  Position in formal structure, personal characteristics and choices of advisors in a law firm: A logistic regression model for dyadic network data , 1997 .

[18]  Peter Woods,et al.  Pupils and ‘Race’: integration and disintegration in primary schools , 1990 .

[19]  Janet Ward Schofield,et al.  The Impact of Positively Structured Contact on Intergroup Behavior: Does It Last under Adverse Conditions?. , 1979 .

[20]  M. McPherson,et al.  Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks , 2001 .

[21]  Susan Risi,et al.  Classroom racial proportions and children's peer relations: race and gender effects , 1993 .

[22]  Maureen T. Hallinan,et al.  Interracial Friendship Choices in Secondary Schools. , 1989 .

[23]  Grace Kao,et al.  School Racial Composition and Adolescent Racial Homophily , 2000 .

[24]  Marijtje A. J. van Duijn,et al.  A Random Effects Model for the Analysis of Multiple Social Networks , 2006 .

[25]  W. Shrum.  Friendship in School: Gender and Racial Homophily. , 1988 .

[26]  Annelies Kassenberg,et al.  Wat scholieren bindt: Sociale gemeenschap in scholen , 2002 .

[27]  M. Patchen,et al.  Black White Contact in Schools: Its Social and Academic Effects , 1981 .

[28]  H. Tajfel,et al.  An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. , 1979 .

[29]  Maureen T. Hallinan,et al.  Classroom Racial Composition and Children's Friendships , 1982 .

[30]  M L Clark,et al.  Friendship similarity during early adolescence: gender and racial patterns. , 1992, The Journal of psychology.

[31]  Maureen T. Hallinan,et al.  The effects of classroom racial composition on students' interracial friendliness. , 1985 .

[32]  B. J. Hirsch,et al.  School and neighborhood friendship patterns of blacks and whites in early adolescence. , 1990, Child development.

[33]  J. Moody.  Race, School Integration, and Friendship Segregation in America1 , 2001, American Journal of Sociology.

[34]  D. Kandel.  Homophily, Selection, and Socialization in Adolescent Friendships , 1978, American Journal of Sociology.

[35]  J Tudor-Hart,et al.  On the nature of prejudice. , 1961, The Eugenics review.

[36]  Louk Hagendoorn,et al.  The Ethnic Hierarchy Among Majority and Minority Youth In The Netherlands , 1996 .

[37]  Janet Ward Schofield,et al.  Peer Interaction Patterns in an Integrated Middle School. , 1977 .

[38]  A. Favell,et al.  Intra-EU Migration: A Socio-demographic Overview , 2003 .