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mornar et al. ■ students’ social, emotional and intercultural competencies ...
these programmes. The findings of the analysis strongly supported the
contact hypothesis, stating that programmes which encompassed con-
tact with target persons resulted in more positive behaviour change
than programmes which did not include the contact (also see Lemmer
and Wagner, 2015). They also found weak evidence elucidating that pro-
grammes containing experiential interventions had more positive out-
comes than programmes which rely on less-involved techniques. A sim-
ilar conclusion from Zhang and Zhou’s (2019) study is that the effects of
overseas immersion were superior to other types of (mainly pedagogical)
interventions. Surprisingly, there was also some evidence in Stephan et
al.’s (2004) work suggesting that group discussions hinder attitude and
behaviour change since they can prove counter-productive if not closely
monitored and moderated.
Additional insight into the effectiveness of programmes aimed at de-
veloping intercultural competencies comes from the study by Aboud et al.
(2012). In their systematic review of the effects of interventions to reduce
prejudice and enhance inclusion and respect for ethnic differences, they
identified 32 studies that established inconclusive results (i.e. 40% pos-
itive, 50% non-significant and 10% negative effects). Media and contact
interventions proved to be somewhat more successful than instruction
interventions. Stronger and more positive effects of interventions were
found for attitudes compared to those for peer relations. Outcomes were
more positive for majority than for minority ethnic children when atti-
tudes, but not peer relations, were taken into account. The combination
of factors that secured the highest percentage of positive effects was evi-
dent in the situation in which attitudes of majority children during con-
tact were selected as the outcome variable (also see Lemmer and Wagner,
2015). The findings of Stephan et al. (2004) and Aboud et al. (2012) were
greatly corroborated by those of Beelmann and Heinemann (2014) who
conducted a meta-analysis of 122 comparisons of programmes to reduce
prejudice or promote positive intergroup attitudes in children and adoles-
cents. Overall, Beelmann and Heinemann (2014) identified low to mod-
erate intervention effects. Interventions focusing on direct contact expe-
riences along with social-cognitive training aimed at promoting empathy
and perspective-taking revealed the strongest effect sizes. Effects varied
based on the group status (higher effects for majority groups), the target
out-group (lower effect sizes for ethnic compared to disabled and elderly
out-groups), and the type of assessment (higher effects for cognitive com-
pared to affective and behavioural attitude measures).
In Stephan et al.’s (2004, p. 242) words: “A magic list of successful
program components does not now and may never exist. It is likely that
129
these programmes. The findings of the analysis strongly supported the
contact hypothesis, stating that programmes which encompassed con-
tact with target persons resulted in more positive behaviour change
than programmes which did not include the contact (also see Lemmer
and Wagner, 2015). They also found weak evidence elucidating that pro-
grammes containing experiential interventions had more positive out-
comes than programmes which rely on less-involved techniques. A sim-
ilar conclusion from Zhang and Zhou’s (2019) study is that the effects of
overseas immersion were superior to other types of (mainly pedagogical)
interventions. Surprisingly, there was also some evidence in Stephan et
al.’s (2004) work suggesting that group discussions hinder attitude and
behaviour change since they can prove counter-productive if not closely
monitored and moderated.
Additional insight into the effectiveness of programmes aimed at de-
veloping intercultural competencies comes from the study by Aboud et al.
(2012). In their systematic review of the effects of interventions to reduce
prejudice and enhance inclusion and respect for ethnic differences, they
identified 32 studies that established inconclusive results (i.e. 40% pos-
itive, 50% non-significant and 10% negative effects). Media and contact
interventions proved to be somewhat more successful than instruction
interventions. Stronger and more positive effects of interventions were
found for attitudes compared to those for peer relations. Outcomes were
more positive for majority than for minority ethnic children when atti-
tudes, but not peer relations, were taken into account. The combination
of factors that secured the highest percentage of positive effects was evi-
dent in the situation in which attitudes of majority children during con-
tact were selected as the outcome variable (also see Lemmer and Wagner,
2015). The findings of Stephan et al. (2004) and Aboud et al. (2012) were
greatly corroborated by those of Beelmann and Heinemann (2014) who
conducted a meta-analysis of 122 comparisons of programmes to reduce
prejudice or promote positive intergroup attitudes in children and adoles-
cents. Overall, Beelmann and Heinemann (2014) identified low to mod-
erate intervention effects. Interventions focusing on direct contact expe-
riences along with social-cognitive training aimed at promoting empathy
and perspective-taking revealed the strongest effect sizes. Effects varied
based on the group status (higher effects for majority groups), the target
out-group (lower effect sizes for ethnic compared to disabled and elderly
out-groups), and the type of assessment (higher effects for cognitive com-
pared to affective and behavioural attitude measures).
In Stephan et al.’s (2004, p. 242) words: “A magic list of successful
program components does not now and may never exist. It is likely that
129
