University of Wuppertal

Welcome to the "School Socialization Research" research group

The school is a central socialization context for young people. In this context, adolescents do not only acquire academic skills, but also social attitudes and behaviors. In an immigration country like Germany, schools are among the first contexts in which young people come into contact with peers from different cultural and social backgrounds. The school is thus also a significant context for the acquisition of attitudes and behaviors toward other cultural and social groups.

The research group focuses primarily on socialization in the school context, but also includes socialization in other important contexts such as peers and the family. The focus is on dealing with cultural diversity and social inequality in society.

Research topics include intercultural competence and critical consciousness among adolescents and (prospective) teachers, the school diversity climate, intercultural socialization in friendships, and discrimination in the school context.

Central to our research is a resource-oriented perspective on culturally diverse schools and an interdisciplinary approach that links theories and findings from developmental psychology, social psychology, intercultural psychology, and educational science.