Gurin et al, 2004). If these conditions are met, contact not only contributes to more
positive opinions about members of an out-group with whom people are in direct contact
but also to more positive views on the entire out-group and on out-groups not at all
participating in the contact (Pettigrew and Tropp 2006). However, if these conditions are
not met, inter-racial contact can produce the very opposite of tolerance and racial equality,
as is illustrated by the system of Apartheid in post war South Africa.
It could be argued that these conditions apply above all in the micro environment
of the classroom. In a diverse class pupils of different ethnic groups cannot avoid
interaction on a daily basis, are equal in status (at least nominally) and share the same
school experience (Pettigrew and Tropp 2006; Kokkonen et al 2010). Thus, we would
expect the contact perspective to receive much support from micro-level studies in
educational settings. A brief review of such studies confirms this proposition. Recent
studies in the US by Frankenberg et al (2003) and Holme et al (2005), for instance, found
that the experience of racially mixed schools left graduates with a better understanding of
different cultures and an “increased sense of comfort in interracial settings” (ibid, p. 14).
Research by Ellison and Powers (1994), moreover, shows that the tolerant attitudes and
interracial friendships developed in racially integrated schools persist into adulthood.
Studies in the United Kingdom have also found support for the contact
perspective. Billings and Holden (2007), for instance, found ethnic prejudice and ideas of
racial superiority among white 15 year olds in Burnley to be particularly strong in
homogenously white schools. Other research in the UK focusing on community relations
in Northern Ireland has argued that integrated (i.e. mixed faith) schools “impact
positively on identity, out-group attitudes, forgiveness and reconciliation” (McGlynn et al,
2004, p.1). However, these UK studies are all based on samples of a mere handful of
schools, which limits the generalizability of their findings.
Moreover, educational research has largely turned a blind eye to the effects of
diversity on civic attitudes other than tolerance and intercultural understanding.
Particularly the link of diversity with participation has been poorly investigated, which is
remarkable as there are good reasons to assume such a link. Campbell (2007) proposes
two contrasting causal mechanisms. Firstly, ethnically diverse surroundings are likely to
reflect a greater variety of political opinions which in turn will enhance political