Perceptions of prejudice and discriminatory attitudes: empirical evidence from colégio Pedro II

Abstract

This article investigates sixth-grade students' perceptions at Colégio Pedro II of prejudiced and discriminatory attitudes across seven dimensions: socioeconomic and territorial, ethnic-racial, disability, gender, sexuality, religion, and bullying. Colégio Pedro II provides a privileged setting for this investigation given its trajectory of expanding access, which has produced significant social heterogeneity in its student body. The study adopts a quantitative approach, applying a structured questionnaire to a non-probabilistic sample of 209 students enrolled at two campuses of the institution. Intolerance indicators were constructed using Likert and Bogardus scales, validated through internal consistency analysis, KMO, Bartlett's sphericity test and Principal Component Analysis, and standardized on a 0-to-10 scale. Results show that the majority of students display low levels of declared intolerance. Male students concentrate slightly higher percentages in the upper classes of the indicator, with greater internal dispersion of attitudes, although this difference is practically nonexistent in the block related to disability. The results further reveal an internal hierarchy of discriminatory forms: while gender stereotypes are broadly rejected at the declaratory level, attitudes toward homosexuality prove more resistant and are systematically articulated with other social markers, particularly among male students.