Building social cohesion – A teacher-led preschool program to mitigate ingroup bias in early childhood education by Maike Schlosser

Join us for this week's event in the Behavioural, Experimental and Development Economics Seminar Series, Autumn Term 2024

Join Maike Schlosser, from the University of Konstanz, as they present their research on Building social cohesion – A teacher-led preschool program to mitigate ingroup bias in early childhood education.

Abstract

Ingroup favoritism and outgroup discrimination are widespread phenomena that threaten social cohesion in diverse societies. Recent evidence suggests that ingroup favoritism begins to develop during preschool years, with a non-negligible number of children systematically discriminating across various group dimensions. To address this early development, we are designing a teacher-led preschool program aimed at fostering children’s empathy, perspective-taking, pro-sociality, and unity—all prerequisites for socially cohesive behavior. We have randomized 99 German preschools into treatment and control groups. The treatment preschools received information about the systematic discrimination among children, which will also be discussed at a kick-off event. Furthermore, they are invited to participate in an eight-week program centered around a narrative involving an imaginary train journey, which serves as a framework for teaching various social concepts. The program consists of two key components: a weekly group activity and responsive teaching advice to be integrated into daily routines. Each week, we cover different topics related to the development of socio-emotional skills, such as empathy, perspective-taking, and cooperation. The overarching theme of the program emphasizes that, despite individual differences, humans share many commonalities. Short-term outcomes will be assessed in the spring of 2025 through behavioral games with children to measure ingroup favoritism and socio-emotional skills, and teacher surveys to capture their attitudes and effectiveness in fostering inclusivity among all children.

This seminar will be held in the Economics Common Room on Wednesday 9 October, at 11.00am. This event is open to all levels of study and is also open to the public. To register your place, please contact the seminar organisers.

This event is part of the Behavioural, Experimental, and Development Economics Research Seminar Series.