Classroom discussions and political tolerance towards immigrants: the importance of mutual respect and responsiveness

Political tolerance, defined as the willingness to extend civil rights to other groups in society, is considered a requirement for peaceful coexistence in modern societies. Deliberative democratic theory argues that deliberation can positively influence political tolerance. Within a school environment, discussions on controversial issues are believed to stimulate tolerance amongst adolescents. As previous research offers contradictory findings on the effect of classroom discussions on students’ tolerance towards immigrants, this paper takes into account the context in which such discussions take place. We argue that a context of both mutual respect and responsiveness towards student demands is crucial to boosting levels of tolerance amongst adolescents. Using the Belgian (Flemish) sample of ICCS 2009 and 2016 in multilevel path models, we find that the discussion climate itself is not significantly related to tolerance towards immigrants when the school context of respect and responsiveness is taken into account. Based on the results of this article, schools should focus more on making students feel respected and equally treated, and on giving young people the chance to participate in the schools’ policy and organization to positively influence political tolerance among students.