Ethnic Diversity in the Classroom: Examining Collaboration in Conflict Settings

• In Event: Experiments on Social Norms and Identity

Abstract

It is commonly assumed that cooperation across group lines is beneficial and should be encouraged, especially in deeply divided societies. These assumptions underlie efforts at mixing members of dominant and marginalized groups in everyday settings such as dorm rooms (Bosjoly et al., 2006; Carrell et al., 2019; Corno et al., 2022), classrooms (Rao 2019; Scacco and Warren 2018), sports clubs (Lowe 2021, Mousa 2020), and more. Most of these studies focus on such collaboration interventions as a means of reducing prejudice among dominant groups, with mixed results. However, the focus on prejudice alone neglects other potential consequences of involuntary integration. Most importantly, it is not clear whether such efforts have any impact on relationships of power and inequality. Does involuntary integration have any sort of redistributive impact, conferring some of the advantages held by dominant groups on disadvantaged groups, or exacting costs of reduced privilege on advantaged groups? Conversely, does it simply reinforce existing inequalities?

We study this question at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which serves a growing population of Palestinian students (both Israeli citizens and non-citizen residents of East Jerusalem), who live and learn alongside Jewish students in the deeply divided setting of Jerusalem. Despite this structural diversity, students rarely interact on campus (Eseed et al., 2023), a phenomenon familiar from ethnically divided settings elsewhere (Carey et al., 2022). We design a collaborative learning intervention, seeking to explore how such involuntary collaboration shapes intergroup attitudes and behaviors, but go beyond attitudes to also examine the impact of collaboration on academic achievement among both majorities and minorities, and, more generally, on attitudes towards such collaboration.

We conducted two large-scale, pre-registered field experiments in over fifty classrooms in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s English as a Foreign Language program in 2022-2023. In both studies, we randomly assigned Jewish and Palestinian students to ethnically homogeneous vs. ethnically heterogeneous study pairs, for two (Study 1) or four (Study 2) consecutive class sessions. We then explored the effect of working with an out-group member on three primary outcomes: 1. Attitudes toward pair work, 2. Intergroup attitudes and behaviors, and 3. academic performance.

We find some evidence that collaborative learning results in higher achievement among Palestinian students. However, the impact of such learning on the achievements of majority Jewish students tends to be negative. Moreover, the learning experience itself is generally viewed in a negative light, especially among majority Jewish students, who prefer to work with in-group members and feel less comfortable in heterogeneous pairs. Patterns for Palestinian students, though less pronounced, also tend to be negative, with students who worked in heterogeneous groups reporting a reduced sense of belonging and confidence in class. The only exception we find to this largely negative pattern is that, consistent with prior work, both Jewish and Palestinian students who worked in heterogeneous groups are significantly more likely to forge relationships with outgroup members.

Taken together, these findings call for caution in implementing involuntary integration interventions in divided societies or conflict settings. While such cooperation may offer some benefits, it can also come with significant costs, for both majority and minority group members. Implications for theory and policy are discussed.

Authors

• Roni Porat

• Devorah S. Manekin, Hebrew University