Social support, social climate, and the perception of conflict in an intercultural educational context.

Abstract

This study investigates social support among students in an intercultural school context, the social support received from peers and teachers, and assesses whether social support is positively associated with the social climate at school and reduced conflict in the classroom. The sample consisted of 512 students from schools in the province of Malaga, Spain, and included native Spanish, immigrant and Spanish gipsy students aged between 12 years and 17 years. The results indicate significant differences between the students depending on their origin. Social support provided by the native and immigrant students was positively associated with the social climate, but was negatively associated with the problems of being together in the classroom and with conflict due to ethnic and cultural differences. These associations did not reach statistical significance in relation to the Spanish gipsy students. Support provided by teachers also significantly correlated with the social climate at the school and with the reduction in problems of being together in the classroom, but barely correlated with the reduction in intercultural conflict.