Friendship as a Powerful Tool - Assignment Example

? Cross-Ethnic Friendships in Schools Make Youths Feel Less Vulnerable, Safer Friendship is a powerful tool to unite people and bring happiness to them. In the age of globalization when it has become important to communicate with people from different countries the issue of cross-cultural and cross-ethnic communication should be discussed. People should learn how to communicate and make this communication successful. In our world that is changing and developing rapidly, many people become lonely. They are too busy with their business. Friendship provides humans with support in many situations and this support is the key to gain success. It is important in any age, but it is especially important for teens. The psychological problems a child may face can result in serious conflict that can influence student’s study progress. In this situation a person can become lonely and this loneliness can influence his life greatly. It is necessary this issue should be analyzed properly. In the modern world psychological problems are closely connected with multicultural relations. This problem was depicted in the article under consideration. Analyzing primary and secondary sources we will try to prove that cross-ethnic environment is very beneficial for children. The number of researches has been devoted to the issue of cross-ethnic friendship in schools. Schools are the places, where the identity is formed. Here the children learn the main principals they will follow in their life, they learn how to communicate and how to behave. The work that was conducted in the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Groningen in the Netherland has revealed the interdependence between the concepts of friendship and vulnerability. Researches state: “we propose that cross-ethnic friendships might partly account for the relation between classroom ethnic diversity and perceived vulnerability. Forming friendships with classmates from different ethnic groups as classroom diversity increases (greater availability) can help ward off potential harassers from those groups as well as buffer the negative effects of peer harassment” (Graham & Munniksma, 2013, p. 2). It can be easily explained that the representatives of different cultures try to unite and organize communities, where they may feel safe. The professors, who work in the abovementioned universities underlined such cross-ethnic communications and friendship can bring only advantages to students. However, it is essential to take into account a great number of peculiarities. The school program and other facilities should be formed considering special characteristics of every ethnic group in order to make the study comfortable for them. Such approach can solve many problems connected with the education itself as far as with the psychological issues. The researchers emphasize that the cross-ethnic friendship is not a rare phenomenon today. It is enough to visit an ordinary American middle-school class to see the diversity. The studies have shown that the more diverse the class, the more protected the children are. It means they do not feel themselves vulnerable. Real friendship is not temporary issue, and certainly it should not be considered such. People who have real friends are lucky ones. Those who have friends are psychologically stable. Friendship provides the emotional security and some kind of shelter. The study reveals that person who has at least one friend is not so helpless, is more self-assured and not psychologically vulnerable. The interesting question arises on the matter of similarity and dissimilarity between the students who study in semi diverse class and those who study in multi diverse one. In the most cases people choose friends considering their special characteristics, like gender, ethnicity, the color of skin etc. Actually, this is the main reason of discrimination which arises in our society today. The next important issue is propinquity. “Propinquity is the tendency to form friendships with others who share the same space such as residing in the same classroom or school. Drawing on this principle, a number of studies have examined preference for cross-ethnic friends as a function of the racial and ethnic composition of classrooms and schools” (Graham & Munniksma, 2013, p. 2). In this case students or classmates eagerly communicate with each other, because they have many common features. It is obvious that if these two approaches work together the results are great. In this case the cross-ethnic friendship can be favorable and can bring many advantages. Such friendship can develop tolerance, leadership skills and psychological strength. In the research special attention was paid to the correlations between cross-ethnical friendship and vulnerability. Such type of friendship can easily solve such problem as harassment. If we are talking about the cross-ethnical friendship as about the unique aspect it is essential to mention its special functions. The semi-ethnic friendship can be characterized by durability and stability. The main feature is similar interest and common activities. The key idea of the semi-ethnic groups is based on the ethnic identity and the necessity of its preservation and development. It is ethnic identity that helps them increase their self-esteem and become a part of the community. Experts point out: “youths who reported these friendships felt less vulnerable -- less lonely, less victimized by peers, and safer at school -- according to the findings. Earlier work by the same researchers found that greater classroom diversity predicted less vulnerability, and the researchers suggest that this may be because diverse classrooms have both more ethnic groups and groups of about the same size, which means that no one ethnic group is numerically more powerful than any other group. The current findings suggest that cross-ethnic friendships might partly explain the link between diversity and vulnerability” (Cross-ethnic friendships in schools make youths feel less vulnerable, safer). The study of the similarities and dissimilarities between semi and cross-ethnic friendship was conducted in the USA. Many issues were arisen and the scholars managed to compare the results. The analysis consisted of three main steps. The descriptive analysis was conducted with the purpose to reveal the dissimilarities between two ethnic groups taking friendship and psychosocial results as a basis. Next stage refers to the direct effects and the last step refers to the MSEM. It should be mentioned that semi and cross-ethnic friendship bring different results as these different types of friendship can serve as a basis for absolutely different, unique features. It was mentioned above that same-ethnic friendship in the most cases takes into account ethnic identity as well as its preservation and development. If students feel that they belong to definite community and they are safe, the level of their self-confidence increases. In the multicultural societies children often feel antipathy towards the representatives of other ethnic groups. Children suffer from discrimination and are often irritated that results in many conflicts. However, if they understand that they are a part of the community, they are able to defend themselves. The cross-ethnic classes can serve as a solution to the problem. In such types of classes the level of oppression are lower and students do not feel themselves lonely. They have a perfect opportunity to communicate with one another and learn about the peculiarities of this or that culture. It is essential to remember that every culture has its advantages, thus learning about these advantages children start respect them. Thus, their multicultural communication becomes healthy and valuable. Researches state: “the research reported here, like most of the empirical literature with children and adolescents, documents the psychosocial benefits of cross-ethnic friendships. A much smaller and less well-known literature suggests that there may be academic benefits as well. There is evidence, for example, that some African American and Latino adolescents do better in school when they have cross-ethnic friends” (Graham & Munniksma, 2013, p. 5). It is proved that cross-ethnic friendship influence students’ vulnerability. The issue remains controversial, because the researchers in general analyze some particular ethnic group or a couple of such groups, thus the conclusions can not refer to every ethnic community that exists in the society. Generalizing will bring zero results and any progress represents a serious issue. We should not forget about cultural, ethnic and of course psychosocial peculiarities of every representative of every ethnic group. These indicators play a significant role. Also it is essential to take into account the status’ dissimilarities, social roles and identities, the historical and cultural aspects, which form the unique world picture and the conscience of the humans. Experts conclude: “the social and the academic lives of adolescents are so closely intertwined that one cannot fully understand achievement without knowing about the social milieu. We believe that the study of cross-ethnic friendships—including their shared and unique functions—can be a useful linchpin for new thinking about the social-academic interface among ethnically diverse adolescents” (Graham & Munniksma, 2013, p. 10). The conclusion can be made that friendship is not only a human need in communication, it is the key factor in the healthy development of every person in different life stages. It can’t have and should not have any limits connected with age, race, the color of the skin, etc. The problem of ethnic diversity is very urgent for every country, but especially for the United States the society of which is very multinational. Speaking about ethnic diversity in schools, it is essential to state that such situation is very beneficial. Children who study in the multinational classes can easily interact with the representatives of other cultures. And in these cases the cross-ethnic friendship will be beneficial for them. It was mentioned above about the main principals of friendship ties formation, which are based on the common gender, race and color or common activities. The scholars underlined that the friendship, which is based on the common activities has more chances to provide a person with emotional support. Friendship is a gift humans are presented with by nature. Those people who have friends are save and constantly have emotional support and those who have no feel lonely that may cause serious problems in psychosocial sphere. References Graham S. & Munniksma A. (2013). Psychosocial Benefits of Cross-Ethnic Friendships in Urban Middle Schools, Child Development; Cross-ethnic friendships in schools make youths feel less vulnerable, safer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 11, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2013/09/130924091800.htm Read More