Individual, parental & peer, and school factors that influence multicultural acceptance in high school students

Objectives This study systematically organized and analyzed various factors that affect multicultural acceptance into individual, parental & peer, and school factors. The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of these factors on the multicultural acceptance of high school students. Methods Using data from the seventh year(2019) of the 2013 cohort of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Education, we analyzed variables related to multicultural acceptance among 6,207 second-year high school students. Individual-level variables included sense of community, mental health, volunteerism, cultural activities, and reading; parental & peer-level variables included parental emotional support, parental alienation, and peer attachment; and school-level variables included individualized instruction, interactive instruction, teacher achievement pressure, teacher enthusiasm, and teacher relationships. Results The hierarchical regression analysis showed that gender, sense of community, volunteerism, and cultural activities at the individual level, parental alienation and peer attachment at the parental & peer level, and individualized teaching style, teacher achievement pressure, teacher enthusiasm, and school region at the school level influenced high school students' multicultural acceptance. Conclusions To promote multicultural acceptance among high school students, a variety of multicultural education programs that promote individual, parental & peer, and school-related factors should be provided. They should also provide opportunities for participation in a variety of multicultural group-based activities.