Intercultural Understanding and Attitudes Towards Diversity of Preservice Teacher Education Students

• Acronym: INTERDIVE
• Coordinator: Institute for Social Research in Zagreb
• Financed by: Croatian Science Foundation (IP-2025-02)
• Project duration: December 30, 2025 – December 29, 2028

Croatia is facing an increased influx of refugees as well as other forms of contemporary migration movements. At the same time, research data indicate that negative attitudes toward the immigration of foreigners in Croatia are on the rise and that, although society is becoming more culturally diverse, its citizens are becoming less open to differences. To reverse these trends toward greater tolerance and acceptance of diversity, adjustments are needed in all segments of society, including education. In the field of education, interculturalism serves as a response to the challenges arising from contemporary sociocultural pluralization. Future teachers play a crucial role in this process, as their understanding of cultural diversity will significantly influence the socialization of new generations of students and, consequently, the broader perception of a diverse social context. Given these considerations, the primary aim of the project is to examine intercultural understanding and attitudes toward diversity among preservice teacher education students in Croatia. This research goal encompasses several research questions:

1. To what extent do primary and subject teacher study programs in Croatia include content related to the intercultural approach to education?
2. How do university instructors in primary and subject teacher study programs perceive content related to the intercultural approach to education?
3. What are the key determinants of attitudes toward ethnic diversity among primary and subject teacher students?
4. What are the key determinants of intercultural understanding and intercultural sensitivity among primary and subject teacher students?
5. How do primary and subject teacher students perceive and experience sociocultural diversity in the contemporary social context, and do they believe it should be addressed in teaching?

To answer these questions, the study will employ mixed research methods.