We evaluate the effect of an educational program that aims to build social cohesion in ethnically mixed schools by developing perspective-taking ability in children. The program is implemented in Turkish elementary schools affected by a large influx of Syrian refugee children. We measure a comprehensive set of outcomes that characterize a cohesive school environment, including peer violence incidents, the prevalence of interethnic social ties, and prosocial behavior. Using randomized variation in program implementation, we find that the program significantly lowers peer violence and victimization on school grounds. The program also reduces the likelihood of social exclusion and increases interethnic social ties in the classroom. We find that the program significantly improves prosocial behavior, measured by incentivized tasks: treated students exhibit significantly higher trust, reciprocity, and altruism toward each other as well as toward anonymous out-school peers. We show that this enhanced prosociality is welfare improving from the ex post payoff perspective. We investigate multiple channels that could explain the results, including ethnic bias, impulsivity, empathetic concern, emotional intelligence, behavioral norms, and perspective taking. Children’s increased effort to take others’ perspectives emerges as the most robust mechanism to explain our results.

中文翻译：

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在民族混合学校中建立社会凝聚力：对视角采取的干预*

我们评估了一项旨在通过培养儿童的观点采择能力在民族混合学校中建立社会凝聚力的教育计划的效果。该计划在受到大量叙利亚难民儿童涌入影响的土耳其小学实施。我们衡量一组综合的结果，这些结果表征了一个有凝聚力的学校环境，包括同伴暴力事件、种族间社会联系的普遍性和亲社会行为。使用计划实施中的随机变化，我们发现该计划显着降低了校园内的同伴暴力和受害情况。该计划还减少了社会排斥的可能性，并增加了课堂中的种族间社会联系。我们发现该计划显着改善了亲社会行为，通过激励任务来衡量：接受治疗的学生对彼此以及匿名的校外同龄人表现出显着更高的信任、互惠和利他主义。我们表明，从事后支付的角度来看，这种增强的亲社会性是福利的改善。我们调查了可以解释结果的多种渠道，包括种族偏见、冲动、同理心、情商、行为规范和观点。孩子们越来越努力地接受他人的观点，这成为解释我们结果的最有力的机制。冲动、同理心、情商、行为规范和观点。孩子们越来越努力地接受他人的观点，这成为解释我们结果的最有力的机制。冲动、同理心、情商、行为规范和观点。孩子们越来越努力地接受他人的观点，这成为解释我们结果的最有力的机制。