Common-ground curriculum boosts tolerance and civic engagement in pilot study
Social cohesion is the glue that holds society together. Now, those bonds are breaking, and polarization has been growing for years. Educational programs aimed at strengthening social cohesion by promoting greater tolerance often focus on social differences, such as ethnicity, religion or nationality. Yet are such programs effective? A German–American team of researchers involving the University…
A German-American research team headed by Christina Felfe from the University of Konstanz has developed an educational program focused on promoting tolerance and civic engagement through universal human values. The program, tested in a large-scale pilot study involving 644 school classes and over 8,600 participants in India, showed significant reductions in discriminatory attitudes and increased prosocial behavior, civic values, and social engagement.
Unlike traditional programs that focus on differences between individuals, this approach emphasizes the common ground shared by all people, regardless of background. The program consists of three key elements: raising awareness of shared universal characteristics, teaching students to create positive environments based on unity and diversity, and encouraging participants to understand their actions within a broader social context.
The study, conducted in India, demonstrated that participants in the new educational program exhibited more tolerant attitudes and behaviors towards people from various social groups, including differences in caste, gender, and religion. These findings suggest that the program effectively strengthens social cohesion and civic engagement, even extending beyond the boundaries of social class.
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