Attitudes among a majority group and multiple minority groups in relation to english education in Japanese elementary schools

Abstract

This study aimed to replicate and expand research on "Horizontal Hostility", which describes asymmetric attitudes among multiple minority groups.previous studies (White & Langer, 1999; White, Schmitt & Langer, 2006), two types of asymmetric attitudes were observed: (i) in relation to the similarity of the groups and, (ii) their relative closeness to the mainstream. The current study explored the pattern of Horizontal Hostility by measuring attitudes of a majority and multiple minority groups towards the issue of English education in Japanese elementary schools. This study defined hypotheses to confirm the findings of the previous research listed above and added a hypothesis which aimed to predict the attitudes of the majority group. The results supported hypotheses on similarity, and attitudes of the majority group towards multiple minority groups. Intergroup relations among a majority group and multiple groups were discussed in the context of education.