The cultural and linguistic diversity of classrooms continues to increase across OECD countries significantly and steadily (OECD, 2020). In addition to the ongoing achievement gap, it has also been found that students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are experiencing lower levels of belongingness in schools (Cerna et al., 2021). This trend is concerning given that research has demonstrated students’ relatedness to be connected to students’ engagement, academic self-concept, motivation, willingness to seek help from peers, and academic achievement (Flook et al., 2005;Goodenow, 1993; Shim et al., 2013).  In addition to individual characteristics, classroom composition has also been shown to affect the well-being and academic outcomes of students (Van Ewijk & Sleegers, 2010). However, results are mixed as to whether these compositional effects on academic achievement are positive (Cho, 2012; Rjosk, 2014) or negative (Van Ewijk & Sleegers, 2010; Rjosk et al., 2017). It is also unclear as to whether all students are affected similarly (Rjosk et al., 2017).  Investigations into how culturally and linguistic class composition relates to students’ socioemotional outcomes have similarly produced inconclusive results (Thijs & Verkuten, 2014; Veerman et al., 2022).       

    It has on the one hand been theorized by Putnam’s (2007) constrict theory that the presence of cultural and linguistic diversity threatens social cohesion and increases social disorganization (Putnam, 2007). Yet, that belongingness appears to be a function of cultural and linguistic distance (Cerna et al., 2021) and orientation towards a majority norm reference group (Veerman et al., 2022) suggests that these in-group out group distinctions may not be so clear cut. Indeed, in a contrast to constrict theory, Allport’s (1954) intergroup contact theory suggests the mixing of various ethnic groups can serve to reduce prejudice and result in greater understanding and empathy among members of varying ethnic groups over time. The extent to which these positive outcomes are realized, however, may be conditional to Allport’s (1954) criteria that group members get adequate opportunity to know each other, share similar status position, are in a situation of collaboration, and are supported by the institution to which a person belongs. Applied to the context of education, both the teacher’s role, as well as a positive cooperative classroom climate, can be seen as central components of Allport’s (1954) criteria.

   To assess the extent to which these theories hold within the context of Norwegian elementary classrooms, the present study aims to assess how classroom cultural and linguistic diversity relates to students’ perception of classroom climate and reading achievement over the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th grades and the role of teacher quality on these relations. In doing so, this study aims to address the inconclusiveness of research findings to date, to further expand our understand of these relations beyond the US to the Nordic context, and to contribute the limited body of longitudinal studies on these relations. Guided by Jennings & Greenburg’s Prosocial Classroom Model (2009) and drawing upon Deci & Ryan’s (1985) theory of self-determination, this study therefore aims to address the following research questions:

1) How does cultural and linguistic diversity in the classroom relate to students’ perceptions of classroom climate and reading comprehension over time in Norwegian elementary schools?

2) Does teacher quality moderate relations between classroom cultural and linguistic diversity and students’ perceptions of classroom climate over time?  

The present study uses longitudinal multilevel structural equation modeling to conduct a secondary analysis of 2800 students nested within 150 classes from 150 schools in Southwestern Norway which comprised the control group from a larger RCT study (see Solheim at al., 2017). Measurements were carried out in June 2017, 2018, 2019 as students were completing their first, second, and third grades. Cultural and Linguistic background of students : Drawing on Greenberg (1956)’s monolingual weighted method, parent’s reported country of birth was categorized, and weighted for its cultural and linguistic proximity to Norwegian based upon Levenshtein distances within the Indo-European languages tree (Serva & Petroni, 2008). This resulted in scale 0 of 11, where 0 = Norwegian, (1-10) = Indo-European language families, and (11) = Other Non-Indo-European language families (11). Parents’ scores were then averaged to derive a single cultural and linguistic background statistic for each student. Students’ scores were then aggregated and averaged to derive a cultural and linguistic diversity average for each class. Classroom Climate was measured using an adapted version of Rauer & Schuck’s (2003) scale of emotional and social experience in school. Students rated seven items on a 4-point Likert scale from which a latent factor of classroom climate was then derived. Reading Comprehension was assessed using The Norwegian version of Form 2 of the Neal analysis of Reading Ability (NARA; Neale, 1997). Students read a short text, responded to open-ended comprehension questions, and received a score of 0 = wrong and 1= right for each answer up to 32 possible points. Data Analyses The software Mplus (Version 8.8; Muthen & Muthen, 1998 – 2010) with the Maximum Likelihood Robust (MLR) estimator was used for all analyses. A doubly latent approach was first used to establish cross-level measurement invariance for classroom climate. Next, a measurement model was specified to establish measurement configural, measurement, and scalar invariance across the three-time waves. A structural multilevel multi-group model was then defined, with time was treated as a grouping variable. Students’ individual cultural and linguistic background was specified as a within class variable, and the aggregated cultural and linguistic diversity of the classroom as a between variable. Classroom climate was regressed on cultural and linguistic diversity at both levels. Thereafter, the paths between variables were constrained over subsequent models to test for differences in these relations across the measurement waves. Future models will include reading comprehension and teacher quality.

The latent factor measurement model of classroom climate, specified as a doubly latent model with cross-level measurement invariance demonstrated acceptable model fit for each measurement wave. The time invariance measurement models of classroom climate also demonstrated good fit and were found to be partially invariant. The multilevel structural equation multigroup model also demonstrated excellent fit measures. (χ² = 650.216, df = 144, p < .05, [RMSEA] = .037, [CFI] = .935, [SRMR] within = .025, SRMR between = .043). This preliminary model revealed a negative relationship between class cultural and linguistic diversity and classroom climate across all three-time waves at the between levels. (Wave 1 β = -.480, p < .000, Wave 2 β = -.469, p < .000, Wave 3 β = -.472, p < .000) (Wave 1 R² =.23 p = .001, Wave 2 R² =.22 p = .001, Wave 3 R² = .223 p = .002). When these relations were constrained across measurement waves, no significant difference was observed between any of the three time points, suggesting the negative relationship holds relatively constant. No significant relations were found at the within level. Future analyses will include SES as a covariate in the model, reading comprehension as an outcome and teacher quality will be assessed as a potential moderator. Though preliminary, the results point to potentially important insights for the Norwegian elementary context. The significant unchanging negative relation between class cultural and linguistic diversity and classroom climate suggests that the premises of constrict theory may hold true and emerge at an early onset. This is troubling as classroom climate has been shown to relate to a variety of student outcomes. Preliminary results suggest that teachers of culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms may need to take extra care to foster a collaborative classroom climate among peers of varying cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. Cerna, L., Brussino, O., & Mezzanotte, C. (2021). The resilience of students with an immigrant background. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/content/paper/e119e91a-en Cho, R. M. (2012). Are there peer effects associated with having English Language Learner (ELL) classmates? Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K). Economics of Education Review, 31(5), 629-643. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.04.006 Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior (1st ed. 1985. ed.). Springer US : Imprint: Springer. Flook, L., Repetti, R. L., & Ullman, J. B. (2005). Classroom Social Experiences as Predictors of Academic Performance. Developmental Psychology, 41(2), 319–327. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.2.319 Goodenow, C. (1993). Classroom belonging among early adolescent students: Relationships to motivation and achievement. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 13(1), 21–43. Jennings, P. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (2009). The Prosocial Classroom: Teacher Social and Emotional Competence in Relation to Student and Classroom Outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 79(1), 491–525. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654308325693 OECD (2020). International Migration Outlook 2020, OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/ec98f531-en Putnam, R.D. (2007), E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the Twenty-first Century The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture. Scandinavian Political Studies, 30: 137-174. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9477.2007.00176.x Rjosk, C., Richter, D., Hochweber, J., Lüdtke, O., Klieme, E., & Stanat, P. (2014). Socioeconomic and language minority classroom composition and individual reading achievement: The mediating role of instructional quality. Learning and Instruction, 32, 63–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2014.01.007 Rjosk, C., Richter, D., Lüdtke, O., & Eccles, J. S. (2017). Ethnic composition and heterogeneity in the classroom: Their measurement and relationship with student outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 109(8), 1188–1204. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000185 Shim, S. S., Kiefer, S. M., & Wang, C. (2013). Help Seeking Among Peers: The Role of Goal Structure and Peer Climate. The Journal of Educational Research, 106(4), 290–300. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2012.692733 Thijs, J., & Verkuyten, M. (2014). School ethnic diversity and students’ interethnic relations. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 84(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12032 Van Ewijk, R., & Sleegers, P. (2010). Peer ethnicity and achievement: A meta-analysis into the compositional effect. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 21(3), 237–265. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243451003612671 Veerman, G.-J. M., Heizmann, B., & Schachner, M. K. (2022). Conditions for cultural belonging among youth of immigrant descent in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Comparative analysis of intergroup experiences and classroom contexts. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 45(16), 659–683. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2022.2136010