PhD: Rethinking Social Cohesion in Ethnically Diverse Schools: Linking Horizontal and Vertical Ties

PhD project at NIDI-KNAW: “Rethinking Social Cohesion in Ethnically Diverse Schools: Linking Horizontal and Vertical Ties”

Ethnic diversity in schools is growing across Europe, yet our understanding of social cohesion in this context remains fragmented. This PhD project investigates how social cohesion develops among adolescents who attend ethnically diverse secondary schools. It traces how different cohesion dimensions—such as interethnic friendships, school attachment, trust in institutions and national identity—co-evolve. The project seeks to develop and test a multidimensional framework of social cohesion in the context of increasing ethnic diversity.

In particular, the project seeks to uncover how dimensions along horizontal lines of cohesion (i.e., relationships between individuals and groups, such as friendships, intergroup attitudes and social rejection) connect to vertical lines of cohesion (i.e., ties between individuals and institutions, such as trust in the government, feelings of national belonging and school attachment) among youth. To this end, the project will analyse diverse school contexts and identify how school- and regional-level conditions strengthen or weaken these horizontal and vertical cohesion dimensions as well as the association between these two dimensions. It further aims to design and test an intervention that fosters positive spillovers between both dimensions and project how cohesion may evolve under changing demographic scenarios. Ultimately, the project aims to generate new theory, robust empirical insights and practical tools that help educators and policymakers strengthen cohesion among youth in a sustainable way.

Key research questions include:

• How are horizontal and vertical dimensions of social cohesion related among adolescents in ethnically diverse schools, and how much does this vary across school contexts?
• Which school- and regional-level conditions, such as ethnic composition and tracking systems, explain variation in the relationship between horizontal and vertical cohesion?
• Can school-based interventions foster positive spillovers between horizontal and vertical cohesion, and what are their unintended consequences?
• How might demographic change and increasing school segregation affect the interdependence of cohesion dimensions in the future?

This PhD project is part of the SOCION consortium, in which psychologists, social historians, demographers, philosophers, and sociologists collaborate with civic organizations to generate and integrate insights into how connections between individuals, groups, and institutions contribute to new pathways to and forms of social cohesion.

This PhD project will be supervised by Christian Czymara (daily supervisor), Frank van Tubergen (promotor), and Georg Lorenz (UU-sociology).

What you will be doing

In this four-year project, you will:

• Carry out cutting-edge academic research within an international team of engaged researchers.
• Publish national and international journal articles, resulting in a PhD thesis.
• Participate in, and present at (inter-)national scientific meetings.
• Participate in the national SOCION project.
• Contribute to project dissemination activities and communications with educators.
• Analyse large-scale survey data on social cohesion among adolescents in ethnically diverse schools, using methods such as multilevel modelling and social network analysis.
• Co-design and pilot a school-based intervention aimed at strengthening both horizontal and vertical dimensions of social cohesion.

What you will be contributing

• (Research) MA/MSc degree in demography, sociology, or a related discipline
• Interest in the topic of social cohesion and in collaborating in a broad research consortium with academic and non-academic stakeholders
• Interest in interdisciplinary research, including analytical and theoretical dimensions
• Professional competence in English
• A background in quantitative data analyses and skills in advanced statistical methods and programming (e.g., R)
• Interest in the topics of migration and migrant integration
• Team players who want to play an active role in an inter- and transdisciplinary research community and training programme

What we offer

We offer a 1 year contract which will be extent with 3 additional years after a positive evaluation. The PhD position offers close supervision, excellent training opportunities, and a solid foundation for an academic or research-oriented career.

Your workplace

The work climate is based on mutual respect, openness, and collaboration.

About NIDI

The Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) is a leading European demographic research institute. NIDI is part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and affiliated with the University of Groningen. The working environment is highly international and NIDI provides ample opportunities for training and development.