Attitudes toward refugees and inclusive European citizenship. Analysis for an intercultural educational proposal with teachers in training

Abstract

The recent migratory crisis has multiplied the number of school age people that are forced to immigrate. The integration of the minors in host countries demands not only schooling, but also an inclination of the educational community to accept the said reality and critically manage European immigration policies. At the European level there is a growing rejection toward the migratory phenomenon and European policies. This study analyzes the attitudes toward refugees through the perception of real threat, symbol, and the affective reactions that the future professors experience. Furthermore, it explores in what extent the attitudes toward refugees are related to an inclusive European citizenship. It involves survey research (a sample of 624 education students from southeast Spain in recent years) with a transversal design. The used instrument is a modified version of the scale of attitudes and a scale of inclusive European citizenship itself. The results show a marked indifference toward the related issues with refugees, but not a perceived elevated threat or marked emotional reactions. While the attitudes toward refugees are not very positive, there is a positive inclusive European citizenship that legitimizes the reception of refugees in European states, the cession of equal rights and possibilities of new forms of coexistence. This study manifests a marked correlation between attitudes toward refugees and inclusive European citizenship, where the perceived threat appears like the principal predictor of inclusive citizenship. The results permit us to place these future teachers inside the European panorama as one of the social sectors less affected by the growing xenophobia and discredit toward the European Union. However, they are precise and urgent programs of training in intercultural, antiracist and migratory education