Determinants of Attitudes Toward Muslim Students Among Flemish Teachers: A Research Note

Abstract

Muslims are now the second largest religious group in almost all Western countries and a large majority of Muslim citizens are children who attend schools. However teachers' attitudes regarding the education of Muslim students are largely ignored by educational researchers. In this study, we investigate the determinants of teachers' attitudes among Flemish (Belgian) teachers (N = 620). Regression analysis has revealed that female teachers, Muslim teachers, younger teachers, and teachers with a four-year college degree have significantly more positive attitudes. Most interestingly, we found that teachers working in schools that enroll a larger share of Muslim students (greater than 50 percent) have more negative attitudes toward Muslim students than other teachers. The implications of these findings for educational policy are discussed.

Finnish Teachers’ Attitudes About Muslim Students and Muslim Student Integration

“…Our results support the claims of previous research literature that in comparison to males, female teachers might have a more pedagogical orientation, be more focused on the personal development of students, and consider teaching immigrant students to be more enriching (Beijaard, Verloop, and Vermunt ; Talib ). However, we did not find Finnish teachers’ attitudes toward Muslim students to be as gender related as did Agirdag, Loobuyck, and van Houtte () in their study of Flemish teachers. Even though attitudes to minorities have often been found to be gender related, in Finland this link seems to be weaker (see also Ketola ).…”

“…However, the most important factor explaining teachers’ conceptions of whether integration is promoted in Finnish schools was the level at which they taught: upper secondary and adult education teachers were considerably less likely to make that claim than elementary and early education teachers or lower secondary school teachers. Agirdag, Loobuyck, and van Houtte () found that teachers in secondary schools have more negative attitudes to Muslim students than elementary education teachers. Interestingly, in our data this tendency is reversed: elementary and early education teachers had the most negative attitudes to Muslims and to their likelihood of integrating.…”

“…Nevertheless, the research literature gives us reason to expect differences in preservice teachers’ attitudes to Muslim students, depending on their degree of previous involvement with Muslims and with different cultures. Agirdag, Loobuyck, and van Houtte () found that greater numbers of Muslim students in Flemish schools correlated with more negative teacher attitudes, as did teaching at a more advanced school level; we will examine whether these same tendencies can be detected in a Finnish context. We also expected to find gender‐related differences, since male teachers have previously been found to have more negative attitudes to Muslim students than female teachers (Agirdag, Loobuyck, and van Houtte ), to be more oriented toward subject‐matter expertise (Beijaard, Verloop, and Vermunt ), and to consider teaching immigrants less enriching (Talib ).…”

“…Agirdag, Loobuyck, and van Houtte () found that greater numbers of Muslim students in Flemish schools correlated with more negative teacher attitudes, as did teaching at a more advanced school level; we will examine whether these same tendencies can be detected in a Finnish context. We also expected to find gender‐related differences, since male teachers have previously been found to have more negative attitudes to Muslim students than female teachers (Agirdag, Loobuyck, and van Houtte ), to be more oriented toward subject‐matter expertise (Beijaard, Verloop, and Vermunt ), and to consider teaching immigrants less enriching (Talib ). Based on previous studies demonstrating how teachers’ orientation shifts from passing on content knowledge to taking responsibility for students’ personal development during the first years of teaching (Beijaard, Verloop, and Vermunt ), we expected to find differences in attitudes between student teachers and practicing teachers.…”

The Catholic school advantage and common school effect examined: a comparison between Muslim immigrant and native pupils in Flanders

“…Most live in the poorer districts of large and medium size cities and have rates of unemployment three to four times higher than the indigenous populations. Further, schools in Flanders, like schools elsewhere in Europe, reinforce these inequalities through a variety of selective mechanisms, including tracking structures, disciplinary procedures, and teacher expectations and recommendations (Agirdag, Loobuyck, & Van Houtte, 2012;Boone, 2013). This is reflected in lower-than-average performance levels, more frequent grade retention, overrepresentation in special education and lower secondary tracks, and higher dropout rates during secondary education (Clycq, Nouwen, & Vandenbroucke, 2014;Van Praag, 2013).…”