Respect for diversity in schools and positive youth development of migrant students
Insights from four upper-secondary schools in Slovenia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12814909 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ana Mlekuž (0000-0002-0122-8942, Educational Research Institute, corresponding author), Urška Štremfel (0000-0001-8124-7395, Educational Research Institute), Janja Žmavc (0000-0003-2686-482X, Educational Research Institute) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-16 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-11 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Diaspora Indigenous and Minority Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1559-5692 • E-ISSN: 1559-5706 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/15595692.2026.2612721 |
| OpenAlex | W7122480797 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 52 |
The positive youth development (PYD) model emphasizes the importance of identifying and supporting adolescents’ strengths rather than preventing or treating their deficits. This has proved to be a more effective approach to fostering positive development and resilience. PYD highlights the positive resources that adolescents possess, optimizing their well-being, personal development and life experiences if they are suitably empowered and supported. Since adolescents spend a great deal of their time in schools, these institutions should be obligated to create an environment which promotes positive development and serves as a protective factor. One of the crucial elements of the school climate with respect to supporting the positive development of migrant students is respect for diversity. In Slovenia, research shows that first-generation migrant students exhibit significantly higher levels of several internal and external PYD assets than other students. By conducting 8 focus groups with a total of 29 participants (principals, social workers, and teachers) at four Slovenian upper-secondary schools, we examined how the school context supports their positive development by focusing on respect for diversity. The results show that although all of the schools included have multicultural settings, the teachers and principals still perceive them as monocultural and monolingual. Different cultures and different languages are mostly seen as an impediment to educational goals or dealt with as a distant topic, which puts the protective function of the school environment for migrant students in Slovenia into question.
Adolescent development · Cultural diversity · Diversity (politics · Ethnic group · Immigration · Positive Youth Development · Qualitative research · Youth studies · Education and experiences of immigrants and refugees · Global Educational Reforms and Inequalities · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics
Children of Immigration
Immigrant Youth in Cultural Transition
Positive Immigrant Youth Adaptation in Context
The test of time
The relationships between school climate and adolescent mental health and wellbeing
Who, when, why and to what end? Students at risk of negative student–teacher relationships and their outcomes
A Research Synthesis of the Associations Between Socioeconomic Background, Inequality, School Climate, and Academic Achievement
A Review of School Climate Research
An Integrative Model for the Study of Developmental Competencies in Minority Children
Understanding School Success of Migrant Students
Teaching and learning in a multilingual Europe
How Diversity Approaches Affect Ethnic Minority and Majority Adolescents
Culturally responsive teaching, teacher-student relationship and school belongingness
Translanguaging in mainstream education
How Aware are They? Research into Teachers’ Attitudes about Linguistic Diversity
Realizing the Potential of Immigrant Youth
Resilience among immigrant youth
Contact with migrants and perceived school climate as correlates of bullying toward migrants classmates
What Exactly Is a Youth Development Program? Answers From Research and Practice
Teachers’ beliefs about multilingualism and a multilingual pedagogical approach
Teachers’ multicultural attitudes and perceptions of school policy and school climate in relation to burnout
Positive Youth Development in 2020
How school teams perceive and handle multilingualism
Trait emotional intelligence, positive and negative emotions in first and foreign language classes
School climate multidimensionality and measurement
Policy Discourses and U.S. Language in Education Policies
Do the languages migrants use in private and emotional domains define their cultural belonging more than the passport they have
Promoting Adolescents’ Heritage Cultural Identity Development
Immigrant students and their teachers – exploring various constellations of acculturation orientations and their impact on school adjustment
Undoing Appropriateness
Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis
Evidence for Multicompetence
Beyond the traditional scope of translanguaging
Praise and Stigma
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |