Pehar, L. i Čorkalo Biruški, D. (2018). (Zanemarena) Uloga i važnost društvenih normi u poticanju međugrupnog kontakta: Pregled dosadašnjih rezultata i istraživački izazovi.  Psihologijske teme, 27(2), 221-244. https://doi.org/10.31820/pt.27.2.5

Sažetak
Premda društvene norme imaju snažan utjecaj na stavove i ponašanja ljudi u različitim socijalnim situacijama, njihovu istraživačku i praktičnu upotrebu znatno ograničava nekonzistentan način definiranja i mjerenja različitih vrsta normi. Nastojeći doći do zajedničke, sveobuhvatne definicije društvenih normi, u ovom radu opisujemo najvažnije konceptualizacije i vrste normi razvijene u okviru različitih teorijskih pristupa, te dajemo pregled relevantnih istraživanja normativnog utjecaja na individualna i međugrupna ponašanja. Ovaj se pregled, nadalje, posebno bavi unutargrupnim normama o međugrupnom kontaktu, kao specifičnom vrstom normi koje opisuju i propisuju tipične i prihvatljive interakcije s članovima vanjskih grupa. U tom pogledu ovaj pregled predstavlja važnu sistematizaciju jer su norme o kontaktu, unatoč tome što je njihova važnost davno prepoznata u regulaciji međugrupnih odnosa, do sada bile uglavnom zanemarene i kao istraživački konstrukt i kao teorijski koncept. Stoga prikazujemo rezultate malobrojnih novijih istraživanja međuodnosa različitih vrsta kontakta među pripadnicima različitih grupa, unutargrupnih normi o kontaktu te međugrupnih ishoda kako bi se istaknule i razjasnile različite uloge koje norme mogu imati u oblikovanju složene dinamike odnosa među grupama, te upućujemo na još neriješena pitanja i moguće smjernice za buduća istraživanja.
Ključne riječi: društvene norme, normativni utjecaji, međugrupni kontakt, unutargrupne norme o kontaktu

Summary
Although social norms have a strong influence on attitudes and behaviours in different social situations, their research and practical use are significantly limited by inconsistencies of how different types of norms have been defined and measured. In an attempt to reach a common, comprehensive definition of social norms, in this paper we describe the most important conceptualizations and types of norms developed within different theoretical approaches and give an overview of relevant research of normative influences on individual and intergroup behaviours. In addition, this review especially focuses on ingroup norms about intergroup contact as a specific type of norm that describes and prescribes typical and appropriate interactions with outgroup members. In this regard, this review represents an important systematization since ingroup contact norms, despite being long recognized as important regulators of intergroup relations, have been neglected so far both as a research and as a theoretical construct. Therefore, we present the results of scarce new research on relationships between different types of contacts among members of different groups, in group contact norms, and intergroup outcomes, in order to highlight and clarify various roles that ingroup contact norms may play in shaping complex dynamics of relationships between social groups. Finally, we underline unresolved issues and offer possible directions for future research.
Keywords: social norms, normative influence, intergroup contact, ingroup contact norms

Čorkalo Biruški, D., Jelić, M., Pavin Ivanec, T., Pehar, L., Uzelac, E., Rebernjak B. i Kapović, I. (2019). Obrazovanje nacionalnih manjina i međuetnički stavovi u četiri višeetničke zajednice u Hrvatskoj: Stanje, izazovi, perspektive. Zagreb: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. https://www.fes-croatia.org/news/article/obrazovanje-nacionalnih-manjina-i-meduetnicki-stavovi-u-hrvatskoj/

Sažetak
U istraživanju su sudjelovali učenici (N=1568) i njihovi roditelji (N=2000), pripadnici hrvatske većine u nastavi na hrvatskom jeziku, te češke, mađarske, srpske i talijanske nacionalne manjine u nastavi na njihovim materinskim jezicima (model A), u četiri višeetničke zajednice u Hrvatskoj. Pripadnici nacionalnih manjina, premda cjelokupnu nastavu pohađaju na manjinskom jeziku, uglavnom preferiraju manjinske obrazovne modele koji omogućuju veći stupanj kontakta s pripadnicima većine. Nastave na manjinskim jezicima, osim one na srpskom, nisu dominantno monoetnične, već ih, u različitom omjeru i ovisno o kontekstu, pohađaju i pripadnici drugih nacionalnosti, uključujući i pripadnike većine. Percepcija školske klime i različitih aspekata međuetničkih odnosa pripadnika većine i manjine je nešto negativnija u Vukovaru i okolici kao postkonfliktnom području, nego u svim drugim višeetničkim zajednicama. Škola je istaknuta kao ključan prostor socijalne integracije djece i mladih, posebno zato jer pruža mogućnost stvaranja (i) međuetničkih vršnjačkih prijateljstava i tako pridonosi izgradnji funkcionalne socijalne mreže.

Pehar, L., Čorkalo Biruški, D. and Pavin Ivanec, T. (2020). The role of peer, parental, and school norms in predicting adolescents’ attitudes and behaviours of majority and different minority ethnic groups in Croatia. PLoSONE, 5(1):e0227512.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227512

Summary
Social norms in general have an important role in the regulation of intergroup relations. However, the effects of one specific type of social norms – in-group norms about intergroup contact – have not yet been extensively studied, especially among groups of different status or in different intergroup contexts. The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of three types of contact norms (peer, parental and school) on four intergroup outcomes (in-group bias, social distance, tendency to discriminate, prosocial behaviour towards the outgroup) among ethnic majority and minority adolescents from four different intergroup contexts of the Republic of Croatia, as well as to test for moderating effects of age, social status and intergroup context in the strength of these effects. The research was carried out on a sample of 1440 elementary and high school students, members of Croatian majority, and Serbian, Hungarian, Czech, and Italian minority. The results indicated that although all three types of norms predict most of the intergroup outcomes, their relative importance depends on the specific type of intergroup outcome (attitudinal or behavioural), group social status (majority or minority), intergroup context (history of a recent intergroup conflict or not), and for peer norms on the age of the adolescent.
Key words: intergroup contact norms, group status, intergroup context, adolescence

Čorkalo Biruški, D., Pehar, L., Jelić, M., Pavin Ivanec, T. i Tomašić Humer, J. (2020).  Obrazovni izbori i stavovi prema multikulturalizmu i asimilacionizmu većine i manjine u četiri hrvatske višeetničke zajednice. Društvena istraživanja. 29(1), 23-47. https://doi.org/10.5559/di.29.1.02

Sažetak
Premda su obrazovna prava nacionalnih manjina pokazatelj društvene opredijeljenosti prema multikulturalizmu i odricanje od asimilacionizma, malo je istraživanja koja povezuju obrazovna prava i stavove prema multikulturalizmu i asimilacionizmu. U hrvatskom kontekstu takva istraživanja ni ne postoje. U ovom smo radu ispitali odnos preferencija modela obrazovanja nacionalnih manjina i stavova prema multikulturalizmu i asimilacionizmu u četiri višeetničke zajednice u Hrvatskoj. Sudjelovalo je 1568 učenika od 11 do 19 godina, pripadnika hrvatske većine i četiri nacionalne manjine, koje se školuju po tzv. obrazovnom modelu A, odnosno pohađaju cjelokupnu nastavu na manjinskom jeziku i pismu (Česi, Mađari, Srbi i Talijani), te 2000 njihovih roditelja. Ovo je prvi rad koji opisuje neka sociodemografska obilježja učenika u A modelu manjinske nastave, kao i neke aspekte njihove jezične kompetencije u hrvatskome i manjinskim jezicima, korištenje jezika u obitelji te namjere nastavka školovanja u Hrvatskoj, odnosno u zemlji porijekla. Rezultati pokazuju da su preferencije manjinskih obrazovnih modela donekle povezane sa stavovima prema multikulturalizmu i asimilacionizmu, ali i to da su grupni status (manjina ili većina), te višeetnički kontekst u kojem je istraživanje provedeno važne odrednice ovih stavova.
Ključne riječi: obrazovanje manjina, multikulturnost, multikulturalizam, asimilacionizam, međugrupni odnosi većine i manjine

Summary
Although educational rights of national minorities are indicators of social commitment towards multiculturalism and rejection of assimilationism, there are only few studies relating educational rights and attitudes towards multiculturalism and assimilationism, while in the Croatian context there is no such a research at all. Therefore, in this study we examined the relation between preference of minority educational models and attitudes toward multiculturalism and assimilationism in four multiethnic communities in Croatia. A sample of 1568 students, age 11 to 19 years, members of Croatian majority and four national minorities (Czechs, Hungarians, Serbs and Italians) in model A od minority education (all classes are taught in minority language), and 2000 of their parents participated. Additionally, this is the first paper describing the major socio-demographic characteristics of students in minority education model A, as well as aspects of their language competence in Croatian and minority languages, the use of language in their families and their intentions to continue education in Croatia as opposed to their country of origin. The results showed that the preferences of minority education models are slightly related to attitudes toward multiculturalism and assimilationism, but also that group status (minority or majority) and multiethnic context in which the study has been conducted are important determinants of attitudes towards multiculturalism and assimilationism.
Key words: minority education, multiculturalism, assimilationism, majority-minority intergroup relations

Uzelac, E. and Jelić, M. (2020). Social identities and attitudes towards assimilationism and multiculturalism in four multiethnic environments. In A. Tokić (ed.), Book of Selected Proceedings of the 21st Psychology Days in Zadar (pp. 201-261). Zadar: University of Zadar, Department of Psychology. https://morepress.unizd.hr/books/press/catalog/book/61

Summary
Relations between the ethnic majority and minorities in Croatia have been developing under the influence of different circumstances. Hence, we expect different social contexts to shape social identities of the majority and minorities in different ways. Particularly important is the relationship between social identities and attitudes towards multiculturalism and assimilationism, which determine the majority-minority relations. Therefore, we compared the importance of different social identities of the majority and the minority group in four multiethnic environments, where minorities practice their right to education on their respective mother tongues (Croats, Serbs in Vukovar, Hungarians in Baranja, Italians in Istria and Czechs in Daruvar). In addition, we were interested in differences in attitudes towards multiculturalism and assimilation with respect to the status of the group and the region. We also wanted to investigate the relation between ideological attitudes and the importance of social identities. Data was collected on 745 primary and secondary school students, members of minorities and majority, aged 12 to 19. Results show that the importance of specific social categories varies across regions and largely depends on the majority-minority group status. We found different pattern of relations between salience of specific social identities and the two ideological orientations, multiculturalism and assimilationism, depending on the region and group status. With an exception of Daruvar, among majority group members, ethnonationalism, rather than ethnic identity, was related to multiculturalism and assimilationism. Among minorities, these relations are considerably weaker and region dependent.

Jelić, M., Uzelac, E. and Čorkalo Biruški, D. (2020). Intergroup threat as a mediator of ethnic identification and intergroup orientations. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, Online first. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X20932632

Summary
In Croatia, four minority groups practice their right to education in their respective mother tongues. Relations between the majority and minority groups in the four multi-ethnic communities have developed under different historical circumstances. Thus, in some regions the different language of the minority and the majority group can be perceived as a threat to identity and result in intergroup prejudice and discrimination, whereas in others it might not. In this study, we wanted to examine: a) the mediating effect of perceived threat on the relationship between in-group identification and intergroup orientation, b) whether those relationships are moderated by the group status, and c) contextual specificities, i.e. we wanted to test the model in four different contexts. Results showed that ethnonationalism (rather than ethnic identity) is detrimental for intergroup relations, partially due to its connection to perception of the out-group as a threat. Model tests in different contexts revealed some contextual differences.
Keywords: minority education, in-group identification, perceived threat, intergroup orientation

Jelić, M., Čorkalo Biruški, D. & Rebernjak, B. (2020). If school walls could talk: A mixed-method study of physical space marking in promoting multiculturalism. Curr Psychol, Online first https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01087-3

Summary
Combining two qualitative and a quantitative method, we explored whether school’s physical environment promotes multicultural values or reflects intergroup climate in two multiethnic communities in Croatia. Croatia offers unique context for this study because minority youth from two ethnic groups use their right on minority language education and hence attend separate minority schools. Results show that the representation of ethnic symbols in schools is a reflection of inter-ethnic relations in the specific intergroup context. Specifically, ethnic symbols are overrepresented in the post-conflict context compared to the more harmonious multi-ethnic community. In harmonious intergroup context, multiculturality is promoted by emphasizing common identity, and by giving space to symbols of both minority and majority group. However, in the conflicted intergroup setting we found overrepresentation of symbols emphasizing intergroup differences. Results of focus groups as well as of the quantitative survey confirm that schools physical environment reflects intergroup relations in each community.

Pavin Ivanec, T., Čorkalo Biruški, D. and Pehar, L. (under review). Effects of intergroup contact norms and school climate on youth prosocial behaviour in school. Current Psychology.

Summary
Previous studies indicate that perception of peer norms and school norms regarding intergroup contact can significantly influence children and youth attitudes and behaviours towards outgroup members. Additionally, school climate can also play an important role in shaping quality of intergroup relations. The present study examines the role of peer and school norms regarding intergroup contact and school climate in explaining majority and minority pupils’ prosocial outgroup behaviour in different types of public schools from four different multi-ethnic contexts in Croatia. Pupils (N = 1568; average age M = 15.04) attending ethnic majority, minority and mixed schools participated in this study. Results demonstrate that positive peer and school norms regarding intergroup contact as well as the lower level of ethnicity-based conflicts are associated with more outgroup prosocial behaviour. Furthermore, findings indicate a moderation effect of group status whereby the effect of quality of relationships and connectedness in school is observed for majority pupils only. Findings also indicate that there is no moderation effect on the type of school pupils attend, and that all predictor variables had the same effects on pupils’ outgroup prosocial behaviour in all three types of school. The results are discussed from the perspective of current literature review and potential educational implications.
Keywords: intergroup contact norms, peers, school, school climate, outgroup prosocial behaviour