Clemens Kroneberg, University of Cologne

“Social networks and ethnic boundary making in the school context”

Abstract: The talk will present selected findings from the ERC project SOCIALBOND that examines how the school context affects the structure of peer relations and identities in adolescence. What is role of ethnic origin for physical violence and dislike relations? What is the relationship between these negative ties and ethnic homophily in friendship choices? How does classroom composition affect the development of identities in adolescence? To answer such questions, the SOCIALBOND project uses large-scale data on complete networks in European schools and recent advances in multilevel social network analysis. The project is situated in the interdisciplinary fields of boundaries studies, immigration research, and network science and aims to identify new factors that support or hinder the social integration of minority students.