Influence of Teachers on Students' Attitudes towards Immigration. Evidence from PISA 2018

Abstract

Attention to diversity" in an increasingly multicultural society is one of the great challenges facing the Spanish education system. This study has focused on analysing the extent to which teachers' behaviour predicts students' attitudes towards immigration. For this purpose, Spanish PISA 2018 data have been used, with a total sample of 29,324 students. For the analysis of the data, model for multilevel analysis and three factor models of analysis of variance have been carried out. The results showed that, according to the students' perception, teachers who make negative comments about immigrants, show low expectations towards foreign students and blame foreign students for social problems have a negative influence on the adoption of certain attitudes by students, especially males. These results highlight the need for training, both initial and ongoing, for teachers to deal with immigrant pupils in the classroom in both its didactic and methodological dimensions. It is concluded that the educational context is the appropriate forum for the promotion of attitudes of respect and tolerance towards immigration and cultural diversity.