ADOLESCENTS, FOREIGNERS, AND EUROPE - ATTITUDES AS A FUNCTION OF GLOBAL VALUE ORIENTATIONS AND SCHOOL TRACK

The study investigates into variations in adolescents' attitudes towards foreigners and foreign countries as a function of school track as well as into the mediating role global value orientations may play in this process. Analyses are based on questionnaire data from 258 8th and 10th graders attending middle and high track schools. Sum scales were used to measure attitudes towards foreigners, European integration, and own contacts with other countries as well as three patterns of global value orientations (self actualization, power, tradition). Findings confirm the expectation that high track students show more openness concerning foreigners and foreign countries than middle track students do. This difference is partly due to adolescents' value orientations, namely self actualization as a goal for their own lives.