Sensibilidad intercultural, clima escolar y contacto intergrupal en adolescentes de escuelas municipales de la Región Metropolitana de Santiago de Chile

Abstract

In this study, intercultural sensitivity, school climate and intergroup contact of 1729 adolescents from municipal schools in Santiago de Chile—74.4% were born in Chile—were assessed. A cross-sectional quantitative study was performed with self-administered questionnaires. Data were later analysed using Student’s t-tests, ANOVA and multiple regression analyses. The results show that students display intercultural sensitivity with no difference by age. At the same time, female and foreign-born adolescents present more intercultural sensitivity than their peers. The findings also indicate that the mere presence of students from different nationalities does not favour intercultural sensitivity. School climate, through support to cultural pluralism at schools, positive and negative interactions among students, together with intercultural contact in the form of group work are the dimensions that affect intercultural sensitivity, explaining 23% of its variance. The results are in line with international studies and make a contribution to multicultural classrooms focused on intercultural communication between students of different nationalities.

In this study, intercultural sensitivity, school climate and intergroup contact of 1729 adolescents from municipal schools in Santiago de Chile—74.4% were born in Chile—were assessed. A cross-sectional quantitative study was performed with self-administered questionnaires. Data were later analysed using Student’s t-tests, ANOVA and multiple regression analyses. The results show that students display intercultural sensitivity with no difference by age. At the same time, female and foreign-born adolescents present more intercultural sensitivity than their peers. The findings also indicate that the mere presence of students from different nationalities does not favour intercultural sensitivity. School climate, through support to cultural pluralism at schools, positive and negative interactions among students, together with intercultural contact in the form of group work are the dimensions that affect intercultural sensitivity, explaining 23% of its variance. The results are in line with international studies and make a contribution to multicultural classrooms focused on intercultural communication between students of different nationalities.