Attitudes, social pressure and inclusive education in classrooms with cultural and linguistic diversity

Abstract

It studied language attitudes of Secondary Education students in Catalonia, from a perspective that takes into account the social pressure. Its aim was to analyze the possibility of intervening in an environment of educational inclusion, the relationship between language attitudes and knowledge, and the potentials variables that can explain such attitudes. A questionnaire was applied to 1206 students 2nd and 4th of Secondary Education, which evaluated language attitudes and also collected family language, age of arrival and length of stay of the immigrant pupils. It was completed with the assessment of a linguistic competence test. Language attitudes of native and immigrant students were more positive towards Catalan and Spanish respectively, although there were differences in contrasting Spanish-speaking / non-Spanish speakers. Home language, age of arrival and length of stay were significant in attitudes towards Spanish and Catalan, which also were correlated with linguistic competence. The final conclusions were that educational intervention there seems difficult, but it is necessary to set variables that explain the attitudes of immigrant students considering the social pressure.