Acculturation Expectations of Croatian Teachers from Refugee Students: The Role of Ethnic Identity, Empathy, Intergroup Contact and School Climate

Abstract

The aim of this research conducted on a sample of 163
teachers from elementary schools in Zagreb attended by
refugee students was to assess the individual contribution of
ethnic identity, general and ethnocultural empathy, direct
contact and school climate on teacher's acculturation
expectations from refugee students. The first hypothesis
stated that ethnic identity would be negative, while general
and ethnocultural empathy, contact and school climate
would be positive predictors of integration expectations. The
second hypothesis stated that all the predictors would
negatively predict assimilation expectations. The results
indicate that increased ethnocultural empathy and school
climate predict increased expectation of integration, while
contrary to the hypothesis, increased school climate positively
predicts acculturation expectations of assimilation. The
research's insights indicate that ethnocultural empathy and
school climate can explain intergroup relations between
Croatian teachers and refugee students and can help in
preparing Croatian teachers for teaching refugee students.