Evaluations of bias‐based bullying of immigrant peers: A brief report on the intersection between teachers and students' social identities

Positive school climate and teacher‐student relationships are important facilitators of inclusive intergroup dynamics and anti‐victimization behavior. The current study investigated how students' evaluations of bias‐based bullying toward im/migrant background peers were related to their perceptions of teachers' acceptance of students and teachers' responses to bullying. Students in the northeastern United States ( n = 808; M age = 13.90 [2.07]; cisgender girls [48.3%]/boys; immigrant‐background [63.0%]/nonimmigrant background; racially minoritized [49.2%]/nonminoritized) evaluated vignettes of White students socially excluding Arab, Latiné/x, and Black peers of im/migrant backgrounds. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that participants' patterns of responses varied systematically depending on the ethnicity of the victim; overall, participants rated victimization targeting Latiné/x and Black im/migrant peers as more wrong than victimization targeting Arab peers. When immigrant background youth perceived their teachers as helpful in response to bullying in their schools, they were more likely to reject bias‐based bullying—especially immigrant background boys. The findings contribute to our understanding of the role that teachers play in students' evaluations of bias‐based bullying toward migrant‐diverse youth. This is critical for promoting prosocial anti‐bullying and inclusive intergroup behaviors in a time of heightened anti‐immigrant sentiment.