Maja Katharina Schachner

Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg | MLU · Institut für Pädagogik

Schools are a major context for academic and socio-emotional development, but also an important acculturative context. This is notably the case in adolescence, which is a critical period for the development of a social and ethnic identity, as well as moral reasoning and intergroup attitudes. How schools approach cultural diversity issues is therefo...

School adjustment determines long-term adjustment in society. Yet, immigrant youth do better in some countries than in others. Drawing on acculturation research (Berry, 1997; Ward, 2001) and self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2000), we investigated indirect effects of adolescent immigrants' acculturation orientations on school adjustment (sc...

The present study is concerned with cultural diversity climate at school and how it relates to acculturation orientations and psychological school adjustment of early adolescent immigrants. Specifically, the distinct role of two types of diversity policy is investigated, namely (a) fostering equality and inclusion and (b) acknowledging cultural plu...

Immigrant students in many European countries have lower educational attainments than their mainstream classmates. The present study investigated family-related conditions for early adolescents’ acculturation orientations and psychological and sociocultural school adjustment in Germany. Analyses were based on data from 695 mostly second- and third-...

Objectives: This study investigated the associations between teachers’ culturally responsive teaching (CRT) self-efficacy, students’ perceptions of classroom cultural diversity climate (CDC), and the academic and psychological adjustment of elementary school students in culturally diverse German classrooms. Method: The sample included 41 teachers a...

The framework of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) provides a promising pathway for preparing teachers for culturally diverse schools. Important elements of culturally responsive teaching are critical reflection, valuing cultural diversity, and efficacy in teaching in a diverse classroom. The present study explores whether the Identity Project (...

While both the classroom cultural diversity climate and curriculum-based interventions can promote cultural identity development, they have not been studied together. Drawing on theories of ethnic-racial identity development, the current study aimed to understand the dynamic interplay of a curriculum-based intervention (the Identity Project) with t...

This poster presents the current research findings from my ongoing paper on the links between Critical Consciousness and Ethnic-Racial Identity. Our study investigates the extent to which negative race-based experiences (ethnic-racial discrimination) lead to increased critical action. We are particularly interested in examining how ethnic-racial id...

Given the significance of heritage cultural identity for optimal adolescent development, it is imperative to investigate factors influencing the efficacy of interventions aimed at promoting heritage cultural identity. Using latent profile cluster analysis and multinomial logistic regressions, this longitudinal study examined how autonomy and relate...

This study explored the separate and interacting relations of family (cultural pluralism, promotion of mistrust) and school (equal treatment, intercultural learning) ethnic-racial socialization with cultural (heritage culture and German) identity among adolescents of immigrant descent. Analyses were based on survey data from 311 early to mid-adoles...

This study explored the separate and interacting relations of family (cultural pluralism, promotion of mistrust) and school (equal treatment, intercultural learning) ethnic-racial socialization with cultural (heritage culture and German) identity among adolescents of immigrant descent. Analyses were based on survey data from 311 early to mid-adoles...

The framework of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) provides a promising pathway for preparing teachers for culturally diverse schools. Important elements of culturally responsive teaching are critical reflection, valuing cultural diversity, and confidence in teaching in a diverse classroom. The present study explores whether the Identity Project...

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the Italian adaptation of the Identity Project (IP), a school-based intervention promoting cultural identity formation in adolescence. Method: Participants were 138 adolescents (Mage = 15.66 years, SD = 0.84, 63% female, 37% of immigrant descent) fr...

Due to rising Islamophobia in Europe today, Muslim ethnic minority adolescents are at great risk of experiencing identity-based harassment at school. We extend previous research on ethnic discrimination by focusing on religious discrimination of Muslim adolescents and its effect on their psychological (i.e., depressive symptoms and self-esteem) and...

Adolescents’ heritage culture and national identities are potential developmental assets for socioemotional adjustment. The school context can support the development of such identities. Therefore, the aims of our study are to (1) identify patterns of heritage and national identity trajectories across mid-adolescence, (2) test whether they are pred...

Teachers may be more likely to engage in deficit thinking when working with students of immigrant descent, students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and students who speak the national language as a second language (Guo, 2015). These beliefs can be harmful because they may ignore the structural barriers that these students experience. Against...

Due to rising Islamophobia in Europe today, Muslim ethnic minority adolescents are at great risk of experiencing identity-based harassment at school with often dire negative consequences for their adjustment (Benner et al., 2018; Maes et al., 2014). Indeed, evidence from Germany shows that particularly youth who are (read) Muslim or have Turkish he...

This preregistered study aimed to identify antecedents and consequences of adolescents' critical consciousness (CC) profiles with person-centered approaches based on data from 663 ethnically diverse German adolescents collected from 2017 to 2019 (Mage = 12.91, 50% male, 50% female). Latent profile analyses of adolescents' critical reflection and in...

This study investigated the association between teachers’ culturally responsive teaching (CRT) self-efficacy, students’ perceptions of classroom cultural diversity climate (i.e., equal treatment by students and heritage and intercultural learning) and the academic and psychological adjustment of elementary school children in culturally diverse Ger...

We tested whether a brief self-affirmation writing intervention protected against identity-threats (i.e., stereotyping and discrimination) for adolescents’ school-related adjustment. The longitudinal study followed 639 adolescents in Germany (65% of immigrant descent, 50% female, Mage = 12.35 years, SDage = .69) from 7th grade (pre-intervention at...

This registered report evaluated the efficacy of an Italian adaptation of the Identity Project, a school-based intervention promoting adolescents' cultural identity. Migration background and environmental sensitivity were explored as moderators. After adapting and piloting the intervention, a randomized controlled trial was conducted between Octobe...

Intergroup contexts of classrooms have an influence on mainstream and ethnic belonging of youth of immigrant descent. Based on the normative reference group theory, a higher level of ethic identification is expected in classrooms with a higher proportion of co-ethnic youth and, based on constrict theory, a lower level of mainstream identification i...

Die Entwicklung der persönlichen, sozialen und ethnisch-kulturellen Identität stellt eine zentrale Entwicklungsaufgabe im Jugendalter dar. Insbesondere für Schüler*innen aus sozial und ethnisch-kulturell unterrepräsentierten oder marginalisierten Gruppen gestaltet sich dieser Entwicklungsprozess zwischen Erwartungen von Lehrer*innen, Mitschüler*inn...

While in the school context, acculturation is often studied in relation to students of immigrant descent, the current study applies an acculturation framework to teachers mostly representing the mainstream culture. Specifically, we investigated whether teachers’ acculturation attitudes towards their students mediate effects of the perceived cultura...

A global challenge for developmental psychology is to better understand how young people around the world make sense of their identities growing up in pluralistic societies. The study of ethnic-racial identity provides an important lens for this process. This paper describes how five European countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, and Sweden) a...

This preregistered study aimed to identify antecedents and consequences of adolescents’ critical consciousness profiles via a person-centered approach among 663 ethnically diverse German adolescents (Mage= 12.91, 50% male, 50% female). Latent profile analyses of the adolescents’ critical reflection and interpersonal and structural critical action i...

Studie 2: „Das ist aber auch wieder so ein Kampf gegen Windmühlen“?! - Reflexionen zum Umgang mit Vielfalt und Diskriminierung in der schulischen Praxis von (angehenden) Lehrer*innen Das Identitätsprojekt (Juang et al., 2020; Umaña-Taylor & Douglass, 2017), eine unterrichtsbasierte Intervention zur kulturellen Identität, bietet nicht nur Schüler*in...

While acculturation is often studied in relation to students of immigrant descent, the current study applies an acculturation framework to teachers mostly representing the mainstream culture. Specifically, we investigate whether teachers’ acculturation attitudes mediate effects of the perceived cultural diversity climate at school on their self-eff...

Presented at the 10th Migration Conference, 7-10 September 2022, hosted by the Faculty of Law, Economic and Social Sciences Agdal of Mohammad V University, Rabat, Morocco

Schools are key contexts for the development of adolescents’ critical consciousness. We explored how three dimensions of the classroom cultural diversity climate (critical consciousness, color-evasion, and multiculturalism) related to adolescents’ critical reflection (i.e., perceived societal Islamophobia) and intended critical action (i.e., politi...

Applying a risk and protection perspective, this study paid special attention to the protective roles of parental and peer support in the face of perceived ethnic discrimination (PED) at school. Responding to the inconsistent findings of previous research, the survey study provides greater clarity regarding the interactions between PED at school, s...

Background: Culturally diverse schools contribute to adolescents' intergroup relations. Complex and inclusive social identities are mechanisms that can explain the link between structural school cultural diversity (i.e., proportion of students of immigrant descent and the number of different ethnic groups) and positive intergroup relations. We exp...

Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) is an important aspect of youth development and has been well-studied for the last several decades. One issue less discussed is how the construct of ERI translates across different countries and cultures. The purpose of our paper is to describe the sociohistorical context of Germany and implications for the study of eth...

Despite evidence that acculturation hassles (such as discrimination and language hassles) relate to poorer adjustment for adolescents of immigrant descent, we know less about the psychological processes underlying these associations. In this study, we test whether reduced psychological needs satisfaction in terms of a lower sense of belonging, auto...

As cultural diversity is increasing around the globe, a more nuanced understanding of the cultural diversity climate in classroom settings is needed, including how its different aspects relate to student outcomes. We developed the Classroom Cultural Diversity Climate Scale (CCDCS), integrating theory and research from social psychology and multicul...

Significant advancements in methodologies and statistical techniques in cross-cultural psychological research abound, but general practice, education, and most researchers in psychology rarely use them. This leads to misinterpretations, misrepresentations, and prejudice. The authors expertly demonstrate the importance of methodological rigor to saf...

The color-evasive ideology (commonly termed "colorblindness") proposes that ethnic and cultural group memberships should be deemphasized. Yet there is a conceptual confusion around the meaning and measurement of color-evasiveness, and this construct is not used consistently in the international as well as German literature. Our purpose is to invest...

We examined whether German adolescents who participated in an adapted 8-week school-based intervention, the Identity Project, reported greater changes in heritage and global identities and perceptions of classroom cultural climate. We used a longitudinal, wait-list control design pooling eight classrooms across the school years of 2018-2019 and 201...

Migration is not a new phenomenon. However, recent data indicate that unprecedented numbers of people have experienced forced migration around the world with 51% under the age of 18 years. How can educational policies and practices respond sensitively to increasing cultural and migration‐based diversity? The purpose of this special section that inc...

Ethnic discrimination has a negative impact on the socioemotional, behavioral, relational, and academic adjustment of adolescents, while belonging with classmates, teachers, heritage, and national group may promote positive socioemotional and academic adjustment. We investigate (1) whether greater discrimination by peers and a lower sense of belong...

Although developing a cultural identity is a core task for adolescents from immigrant families and the school is a highly important context in adolescence, to date, few studies have examined whether adolescents with particular cultural identities cluster in certain school contexts. Using data from a representative German sample including 7702 secon...

We examined how perceived acculturation expectations from parents and school, and ethnic discrimination predicted early adolescents' heritage and mainstream acculturation orientations at home (private domain) and in school (public domain) one year later. We surveyed 263 early adolescents of immigrant background in Germany (M age = 10.44 years, 60%...

Adolescents growing up in culturally diverse societies need to develop intercultural competence. To better understand how to develop intercultural competence we need measures specifically relating to the everyday intercultural experiences of adolescents. However, few measures of in-tercultural competence are available for this target group. Based o...

Culturally diverse schools may constitute natural arenas for training crucial intercultural skills. We hypothesized that a classroom cultural diversity climate fostering contact and cooperation and multiculturalism, but not a climate fostering color‐evasion, would be positively related to adolescents' intercultural competence. Adolescents in North...

The full article can be viewed through this link: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1ZRRCXTj00uIf _______________________________________________________________________________ Intercultural friendships are a powerful form of intergroup contact to reduce prejudice (Pettigrew, 1998). Little is known about if and how intercultural friendships may also...

This study investigated how peers can contribute to cultural minority students’ cultural identity, life satisfaction, and school values (school importance, utility, and intrinsic values) by talking about cultural values, beliefs, and behaviours associated with heritage and mainstream culture (peer cultural socialisation). We further distinguished b...

As schools are becoming more culturally diverse, it is crucial to understand how they can approach this diversity in ways that allow all students to feel included and do well. We focus on the manifestation of two related but distinct approaches to cultural diversity, namely equality and inclusion (i.e., promoting positive intergroup contact) and cu...

Migration is a critical issue for child development in the 21st century. We expand on García Coll et al.’s (1996) integrative model of minority child development by drawing from principles of attachment theory and interpersonal relationships research to offer new insights into how youth manage and respond to migration experiences. Immigrant and ref...

In our chapter we will review the various explicit and implicit forms of prejudice that manifest in the classroom. We will describe how prejudice can present in the form of easily recognizable acts, such as verbal bullying (name-calling) and intergroup exclusion, as well as in less salient or seemingly innocuous acts, such as foreigner objectificat...

We examined the interplay between perceived ethnic discrimination (PED) as a risk factor, and cross-ethnic friendships as a protective factor in culturally diverse classrooms, and how they relate to the socioemotional adjustment of ethnic minority boys and girls. We conducted multi-level analyses of 327 Turkish-heritage ethnic minority early-adoles...

Growing up in multicultural environments, Turkish-heritage individuals in Europe face specific challenges in combining their multiple cultural identities to form a coherent sense of self. Drawing from social identity complexity, this study explores four modes of combining cultural identities and their variation in relational contexts. Problem-cente...

Schools are important for the academic and socio-emotional development, as well as acculturation of immigrant- and refugee-background youth. We highlight individual differences which shape their unique experiences, while considering three levels of the school context in terms of how they may affect adaptation outcomes: (1) interindividual interacti...

Migration is a critical issue for child development in the 21st century. We expand on García Coll et al.’s (1996) integrative model of minority child development by drawing from principles of attachment theory and interpersonal relationships research to offer new insights into how youth manage and respond to migration experiences. Immigrant and ref...

Objectives: Integrating research on intergroup contact and intercultural relations, we investigated effects of 2 types of cultural diversity norms (equality/inclusion and cultural pluralism) on outgroup orientation and perceived discrimination among students of immigrant and nonimmigrant background. Method: Our sample comprised 1,975 6th graders (M...

We investigated intercultural competence among immigrant and non-immigrant background adolescents in multiethnic schools in relation to intercultural contact, age, and ethnic identity exploration. The sample included 631 adolescents in Germany (49.4% of immigrant background, 48.2% female), aged 11 to 18 years (Mage= 13.69 years, SDage = 1.83). Inte...

We investigated intercultural competence among immigrant and non-immigrant background adolescents in multiethnic schools in relation to intercultural contact, age, and ethnic identity exploration. The sample included 631 adolescents in Germany (49.4% of immigrant background, 48.2% female), aged 11 to 18 years (Mage= 13.69 years, SDage = 1.83). Inte...

School adjustment determines long-term adjustment in society. Yet, immigrant youth do better in some countries than in others. Drawing on acculturation research (Berry, 1997; Ward, 2001) and self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2000), we investigated indirect effects of adolescent immigrants’ acculturation orientations on school adjustment (sc...

The current study investigates two types of cultural diversity approaches at school, namely (1) fostering equality and (2) promoting cultural pluralism. Adopting a mixed-methods design, this study assesses teachers' (n = 207) and students' (n = 1,644) self-reported perceptions of descriptive norms and evaluates school practices and artefacts in the...

The Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Self-Efficacy Scale (CRCMSES; Siwatu, Put-man, Starker-Glass, & Lewis, 2015) was developed to assess teacher self-efficacy in using culturally responsive classroom management skills. The present study aims at verifying the dimensio-nal structure of the CRCMSES with exploratory and confirmatory factor a...

Navigating between cultures in addition to developmental changes and challenges in early adolescence can be difficult. We investigated school, family, and ethnic group as conditions for acculturation and school adjustment among early-adolescent boys and girls. Analyses were based on 860 mostly second- and third-generation immigrant students from 71...

_________________________________________________________________ Zusammenfassung: Eine Hauptaufgabe für AusbilderInnen zukünftiger Lehrkräfte ist es Rahmenbedingungen zu schaffen, in denen sich die angehenden Lehrkräfte mit ihren persönlichen und pädagogischen Überzeugungen zu kultureller Vielfalt im Ausbildungskontext aus-einandersetzen können. D...

Zusammenfassung: Dem Inklusionsgedanken folgend hat jedes Kind, unabhängig von seiner Geschichte und seinen Ausgangsbedingungen, das Recht auf eine hochwertige Bildung. Gleichzeitig weisen Schulklassen eine immer höhere kulturelle Vielfalt auf. Trotzdem gibt es in Deutschland bisher wenig Forschung zum Umgang mit kultureller und migrati-onsbasierte...

There is hardly any cross-cultural research on the measurement invariance of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scales (BMSLSS). The current article evaluates the measurement invariance of the BMSLSS across cultural contexts. This cross-sectional study sampled 7,739 adolescents and emerging adults in 23 countries. A multi-group...

Deutschland ist ein Einwanderungsland. Dennoch liegt der Fokus der öffentlichen Integrationsdebatte vornehmlich auf der Anpassung von Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund an die deutsche Mehrheitskultur. Die gleichzeitige Aufrechterhaltung von Traditionen, Sprache und kulturellen Praktiken aus den Herkunftsländern wird dagegen oft nicht gerne gesehen...