Social exclusion among children is a pervasive issue in educational settings, with significant negative impacts on academic performance, mental health, and overall well-being (e.g., Hawker & Boulton, 2000). One important source of such exclusion is negative peer attitudes and prejudice, which can lead to the systematic marginalization of certain individuals or groups (Killen & Rutland, 2011). Children who hold negative outgroup attitudes, for example toward peers with disabilities, are less likely to engage in positive interactions with these peers, leading to social exclusion and reduced opportunities for diverse friendships (Nowicki et al., 2014). Especially children with learning or behavioral difficulties have a higher risk of social exclusion (Schwab, 2015), and there is a need for a deeper understanding of the factors that are associated with inclusive attitudes and behaviors among students.
An understudied but important factor might be children's values. Values are part of the self-concept, are formed early in life, and significantly impact how individuals perceive and interact with others (Döring et al., 2016; Sagiv & Schwartz, 1995). Values are abstract and extend beyond specific situations or behaviors, distinguishing them from norms and attitudes (Schwartz, 1992). Unlike attitudes, values are prioritized according to their importance. These individual value priorities shape a person's personality (Schwartz, 1992). Values act as standards that usually influence our judgments and behavioral decisions unconsciously, and therefore, they can be seen as determinants of attitudes and behavior (Rokeach, 1973; Schwartz, 1992). According to Schwartz's value theory (1992), values are organized in a circularly shaped framework of competing interests or orientations, such as openness to change versus conservation, and self-enhancement versus self-transcendence.
The period of middle childhood represents a critical juncture in the development of values. During this stage, children become more aware of societal norms and increasingly internalize values that influence their judgments, decisions, and interactions with others (Knafo-Noam et al., 2023). The school environment and teachers provide an important context for these formative processes, because values can be both explicitly taught and implicitly learned or adopted through social interactions, institutional culture, and teachers' values (e.g., Berkowitz, 2011; Daniel et al., 2013). The development of values in children and adolescents is still not well-researched to this day (Döring et al., 2016). However, understanding the relationship between values and attitudes towards peers with disabilities might be important for fostering inclusive educational environments. Values emphasizing openness, tolerance, and concern for the welfare of others might be associated with more prosocial and positive attitudes towards diversity and more inclusive behavior. Conversely, values prioritizing self-enhancement and conformity may be associated with less inclusive attitudes and behaviors. This study is the first to investigate the links between value profiles in children and their attitudes and reported behaviors toward peers with learning and behavioral difficulties.

Based on the value theory by Schwartz and its application to children and adolescents (Döring et al., 2016), we hypothesized that we would find clearly distinguishable value profiles in children, such as socially-focused, growth-focused, or self-focused value profiles (Daniel et al., 2020), and that these would, in turn, be differentially associated with attitudes and reported behaviors toward peers with learning or behavioral difficulties. To investigate the research questions, we used data from the baseline measurement of an intervention study aimed at promoting the acceptance of diversity among primary school children. A total of 1,095 students from 54 upper elementary classes (3rd to 6th grade) participated in the study. Data were collected using teacher and student questionnaires. Student questionnaires included descriptions of hypothetical peers (vignettes) with learning or behavioral difficulties. Based on these vignettes, students completed the Adjective Checklist (ACL; Siperstein, 1980) to assess cognitive attitude components (stereotypes) and an adapted version of the CATCH-scale (Schwab, 2015) to assess behavioral attitude components (intentions of interaction) with these hypothetical peers. Additionally, children's values were assessed using the Picture-Based Value Survey for Children (PBVS-C; Döring et al., 2010), an instrument developed within the conceptual framework of Schwartz's theory of universal human values. This survey consists of 20 pictures depicting the 10 motivational value types proposed by Schwartz (1992), which children sorted according to their perceived importance. Furthermore, to assess reported student behaviors toward peers with learning or behavioral difficulties, a sociometric peer rating procedure regarding interactions (frequency of talking to or getting angry with classmates) was used. Additionally, teachers rated each student in the class regarding cognitive ability and social-emotional problem behavior. These teacher ratings were used to achieve a proxy of similarity with the students' vignettes of learning or behavioral difficulties. For the analysis of the existence of different value profiles, we conducted a latent profile analysis (LPA) on the children's value preferences. Based on previous findings, we compared latent profile solutions for up to five profiles (Daniel et al., 2020). Subsequently, hierarchical and hierarchical cross-classified linear models were used to analyze 1) the associations of these different value profiles with students' attitudes toward hypothetical peers with learning or behavioral difficulties and 2) the associations of these value profiles with sociometric ratings given to classmates resembling the hypothetical peers according to teacher ratings. All analyses were performed using R.

Based on the fit indices of the different LPA solutions, parsimony, and compatibility with previous studies (Daniel et al., 2020), four different value profiles were identified: social-focus (32% of students), growth-focus (32%), self-focus (14%), and conservation-focus (23%). As hypothesized, analyses indicated that these value profiles were associated with significant differences in attitudes toward hypothetical peers with learning or behavioral difficulties. Differences between value profiles were more pronounced for the behavioral attitude component and for the peer with learning difficulties: Here, children with a social-focused value profile showed significantly stronger intentions to interact with the peer with learning difficulties compared to all other groups. However, reported student behaviors toward peers with learning or behavioral difficulties in their own class revealed further interesting patterns. Students with a social-focused value profile reported getting angry less often with students with learning difficulties compared to students with a self-focused value profile. In contrast, students with a social-focused value profile reported less talking and more anger toward students with behavioral difficulties than students with a conservation-focused value profile. These findings provide an initial step toward a better understanding of children's values—as more abstract and general dispositions—and children's attitudes and behaviors toward peers with learning and behavioral difficulties. We would like to discuss implications for inclusive education, the role of school culture and teachers' values, and possible avenues for future research.

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