European identity as a unifying category: National vs. European identification among native and immigrant pupils

Abstract

European identity as a unifying category: National vs. European identification among native and immigrant pupils Agirdag, O.; Phalet, K.; Van Houtte, M. General rightsIt is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. AbstractThis article investigates whether European identity is a feasible and functional alternative to national identity. We examine the extent, determinants and consequences of national and European identification among (immigrant) Turkish and native Belgian pupils, with data gathered from 1629 pupils across 68 Belgian schools. The results show that immigrant Turkish pupils identify more strongly with Europe than with Belgium. The groups are closer to each other with respect to their European identification, while the latter is not in conflict with national identification. Moreover, European identity is less ethnically and more civically defined than national identity. Importantly, European identification was moderately related to academic achievement, though it is hard to make a causal claim.

Being both – A European and a national citizen? Comparing young people’s identification with Europe and their home country across eight European countries

“…Associations between SES and national identity, in turn, are more ambiguous and need to be considered against the backdrop of the applied measures of identification. While several studies found no significant SES-effects (Agirdag et al, 2016;Boehnke & Fuss, 2008), research based on indicators that primarily stressed chauvinistic or nationalistic tendencies reported negative correlations with SES (e.g., Coenders & Scheepers, 2003).…”

“…Comparing young people's identification with Europe and their home country across eight European countries national level, however, results are less consistent. Whereas some studies found significant effects of gender (European Commission, 2007), others reported no such differences (Agirdag et al, 2016;Boehnke & Fuss, 2008).…”

“…Moderate correlations between national and European identities were also reported among youth Being both -A European and a national citizen? Comparing young people's identification with Europe and their home country across eight European countries samples (Agirdag, Phalet, & Van Houtte, 2016). While identification was generally found to be stronger on the national than on the European level (e.g., Boehnke & Fuss, 2008;Kerr, Sturman, Schulz, & Burge, 2010), cross-national comparisons revealed meaningful variations across European countries.…”

Let Us Europeans Move: How Collective Identities Drive Public Support for Border Regimes inside the EU

“…This leads to the following hypothesis:H1 Support for an open intra‐EU border regime should be stronger among respondents with a European identity than among those with an exclusive national identity.The EU population that has a migration background has been shown to develop an inclusive European identity more frequently than the autochthonous population (Erisen, ). The main reason for this is that national identities in the European context are often constructed on categories, particularly an ethnic or religious group, that are hard to permeate by first‐generation migrants and their offspring (Agirdag et al ., ; Fleischmann and Phalet, ; Scheepers et al ., ). A European identity allows people to enhance their self‐esteem by gaining explicit or implicit membership to a superordinate European in‐group.…”

Contextual moderators of the link between national and European identity among European youth

“…Previous research suggests that socio-demographic variables are associated with European identity, such that girls, and adolescents with immigrant backgrounds are less likely to identify with Europe (Agirdag et al, 2012;Keating, 2016;Verhaegen et al, 2013). The evidence is less clear for socio-economic status (SES), with some studies finding that SES is positively associated with European identity (Agirdag, Phalet, & van Houtte, 2016;Hooghe & Verhaegen, 2017) while others found no significant association (Keating, 2016;Verhaegen et al, 2013). Previous research also suggests a range of individual psychological factors that should be positively associated with European identity.…”