Prejudice, contact and attitude change in South Africa : a study of integrated schools in the Western Cape

Drawing on the principles of Social Identity Theory and the Contact Hypothesis, this study investigated the relationship between levels of integration and racial prejudice in former Model C, desegregated schools. The sample consisted of 1119 black African, 'Coloured', Afrikaans speaking white and English-speaking white learners from desegregated high schools in Cape Town. ·A pilot study was conducted with 29 learners to establish the face validity and any practical problems, such as ambiguity, that might become evident. The independent variables, Socio-Economic Status, Level of Integration, Racial Identification, Contact at School, Contact Outside School and Contact In-And-Outside School were assessed for their effects on the attitudes of the learners. The dependent measure was the extent of racial prejudice displayed in social distance, subtle racism and ethnic attitudes toward each other. The independent and dependent measures were compiled into a questionnaire which was then administered in situ to the learners by the researcher over a period of six months. Only the responses from black African, 'Coloured', Afrikaans-speaking white and English-speaking white learners were required for the study and the data from other groups was discarded. Multiple regression analysis was used as a statistical technique to analyse the data. Statistically significant results were found for all the dependent measures. There were differences between the intergroup attitudes of black African, 'Coloured', Afrikaans speaking white and English-speaking white learners. The variation in intergroup attitudes could be significantly explained by combinations of Socio-Economic Status (Class), Level of Integration, Racial Identification, Contact at School, Contact Outside School and Contact In-And-Outside School premises. Statistically significant results for Level of Integration were not found for all the dependent measures, indicating that the extent to which schools had been desegregated was not as strong a predictor of intergroup attitudes as was expected. Overall, intergroup contact emerged as a strong predictor of social distance and ethnic attitudes for all groups. Partial support was found for Social Identity Theory as well as for the Contact Hypothesis. The findings indicated a relationship between pleasant intergroup contact, increased social contact outside school and more positive attitudes. Methodological problems associated with the research limit the generalizability of the results