Telling tales in school: extended contact interventions in the classroom

Abstract

Extended contact has demonstrated its effectiveness in promoting more positive intergroup attitudes among children in previous experimental research. The current project evaluates the use of extended contact interventions involving story‐telling in two novel school settings: the United States (N = 213) and Italy (N = 222) among children aged 5–12 years. Findings indicate support for the effectiveness of the interventions in these two locations among younger minority and majority children but call into question the durability of positive outcomes. Applications and implications are discussed.

Comparing story reading and video watching as two distinct forms of vicarious contact: An experimental intervention among elementary school children

“…In these studies, experimenters read and discussed stories of cross-group friendships (inspired by children's books, and accurately prepared by experimenters) to small groups of elementary schoolchildren over multiple sessions. There are now several examples of studies conducted in educational contexts showing the effectiveness of story reading, (Aronson et al, 2016;Greenwood et al, 2016;Husnu, Mertan, & Cicek, 2018;Liebkind, M€ ah€ onen, Solares, Solheim, & Jasinskaja-Lathi, 2014;Liebkind, M€ akinen, Jasinskaja-Lahti, Renvik, & Solheim, 2019;Liebkind & McAlister, 1999;McKeown, Williams, & Pauker, 2017; for a vicarious contact study using story reading outside an educational context, see Cernat, 2011; for reviews, see Cameron & Turner, 2017;Di Bernardo, Vezzali, Stathi, Cadamuro, & Cortesi, 2017). Wright et al (1997) originally proposed four mechanisms that drive the effects of extended or vicarious contact.…”

Using intercultural videos of direct contact to implement vicarious contact: A school-based intervention that improves intergroup attitudes

“…Many of these studies take advantage of a special form of vicarious contact, based on the observation of positive intergroup relations via different media (e.g., Mares & Pan, 2013; Mutz & Goldman, 2010; Ortiz & Harwood, 2007). Several of these studies operationalized vicarious contact by means of ad hoc created stories where ingroup and outgroup characters have positive interactions (e.g., Aronson et al, 2016; Cameron & Rutland, 2006; Cameron, Rutland, & Brown, 2007; Cameron, Rutland, Brown, & Douch, 2006; Cameron, Rutland, Hossain, & Petley, 2011; Greenwood et al, 2016; Liebkind, Mahonen, Solares, Solheim, & Jasinskaja-Lahti, 2014; Liebkind & McAlister, 1999). Reading these stories and then discussing them with the researchers was shown to improve outgroup attitudes and behavioral intentions of children and adolescents.…”

Messages Matter: Investigating the Thematic Content of Picture Books Portraying Underrepresented Racial and Cultural Groups

“…It is only depictions of positive connection between characters of equal status that have been shown to reduce intergroup anxiety, leading to a reduction in prejudicial attitudes (Aronson et al. ; Cameron et al. ).…”

“…To be effective, cross‐group books should portray children recognizably different from one another engaging in normal, everyday activities to which readers can relate, and depict them sharing common interests and having fun in an egalitarian setting; story lines should not include inequality or oppression (Aronson et al. ; Cameron et al. ).…”