Perceived school climate norms of equality, perspective-taking and youth collective and civic actions

Schools can play a crucial role in encouraging young people to make constructive societal contributions that transcend group lines and that benefit communities more generally. Recognising this potential, the present research examined the relationship between perceived school climate norms of equality, and in turn perspective-taking on two forms of constructive contributions amongst youth in England: civic engagement and collective action intentions in support of refugees. A total of 696 youth (aged 11 to 12) were asked to complete a survey in school as part of a larger study on youth interaction experiences. Bootstrapped mediation analysis conducted in Mplus found that perspective-taking mediated the link between perceived school climate norms of equality and both collective action intentions and civic engagement. Findings highlight the importance of facilitating school equality norms for promoting perspective taking and, in turn, constructive engagement. This may have implications for teacher training programmes as well as school-based interventions that aim to engage youth in society.