On the same campus? Acculturation, discrimination and intergroup relations between Turkish and Belgian descent university students

Much research has been devoted to investigating the acculturation processes of the children of immigrants in Western Europe. One particular focus has been on the acculturation of children of Turkish immigrants, with a significant degree of scholarly attention paid to debates on integration and education. The present dissertation offers a contribution to this scholarly debate by analysing the acculturation experiences and perspectives of both Turkish and Belgian descent students in higher education in Flanders (the northern part of Belgium).  

The review of the state of the art in acculturation research presented in the first part of the dissertation reveals that several blind spots remain. First, the field has overlooked the acculturation processes of ethnic majority individuals. This is puzzling since acculturation is defined as a mutual adaptation process. This narrow focus on ethnic minority experiences limits our understanding of acculturation across society by overlooking the way ethnic majority groups think and act about intergroup contact. Second, acculturation research has focused little on a very salient factor that likely hinders acculturation in educational settings—namely, minority student experiences ofdiscrimination, whether from peers in the classroom, or educators. Third, the research has tended to overlook the role of peer relations—namely, contact and friendship—in advancing or impeding successful acculturation. While clearly salient in the acculturation process, limited scholarly attention has been given to understanding what drives or hinders students’ interpersonal outreach and friendship formation in multi-ethnic educational settings. Finally, acculturation studies in Western Europe have paid scant attention to the institutional context—namely, the way that university policies affect how ethnic minority and majority students experience acculturation in the classroom (and on-campus more generally). This dissertation seeks to address these limitations in the field of acculturation research and shed much-needed light on how students in the specific domain of higher education experience and navigate intercultural exigencies.  

The second part of the dissertation presents the empirical chapters. These chapters are based on data collected through in-depth qualitative interviews with Turkish and Belgian descent students in one higher education setting in Flanders. Focusing on the acculturation experiences and views of these students offers several insights. First, despite acculturation being defined as a mutual adaptation process, members of ethnic majority groups consider it responsibility for immigrants and their descendants, perpetuating an asymmetrical understanding of acculturation. Second, Turkish Belgian students experience various forms of discrimination and microaggressions by teachers and peers across the secondary school and higher education. These findings strongly suggest that the very institutions charged with facilitating student acculturation reproduce a range of discrimination experiences for ethnic minority students. Third, while acculturation research is often focused on the implications of acculturation strategies for intergroup outcomes, the findings from the empirical studies underline that ethnic minority students and those from the ethnic majority differ in the way they both think about intergroup contact and approach it in practice—namely, reaching out to peers and forming collegial relations and friendships. Homophily preferences, social exclusion, and the distinct meeting opportunities afforded by the relatively more ethnically diverse university setting are the key drivers of patterns of friendship development—both inside and outside the ethnic group—for Turkish Belgian students. For Belgian descent students, in contrast, the findings highlight barriers stemming from intergroup anxiety, negative assumptions, and stereotypes that underpin the lack of open and meaningful intergroup relations for this cohort. Finally, the findings indicate that a range of institutional policies and practices—including around acculturation itself—are central to the experience of acculturation on campus, often acting to hinder successful acculturation by excluding ethnic minority students. 

The results of this dissertation have significant implications for policy and practice. First, the findings highlight the need for a greater focus on equity. In particular, both institutional policies/practices and patterns of interpersonal contact are failing ethnic minority students, who experience discrimination on both counts. This limits the chances of successful intergroup outcomes on college and university campuses. Second, the findings show that encouraging successful intergroup contact and engagement requires that enduring experiences of discrimination and exclusion among ethnic minority students be addressed and intergroup knowledge, sensitivity and empathy within the ethnic majority promoted. Third, all university and college policies must reflect and advance full inclusion—and discourage discrimination, including indirect or latent forms—so that students’ distinct interests and cultural backgrounds are recognized, valued, and promoted. Suggested steps include promoting diversity in the student body and staff, providing students with spaces for cultural learning and expression, incorporating diverse experiences and views in the curriculum, and putting greater emphasis on fighting discrimination.