High school students' stereotypes about different identities and their sources

In this research, it is aimed to determine which stereotypes high school students have about different identities and how the related stereotypes emerge and to reveal the role of education in the formation of stereotypes. The study, based on a qualitative approach was conducted in a case study pattern. The study group of the research consisted of 275 high school students studying in four secondary education institutions in the province of Tokat in the 2019-2020 academic year. The data obtained from the open-ended question form were used to evaluate the stereotypes of high school students about national, ethnic, religious and sexual identities. The participants were asked to write down the concepts that come to mind when the words Syrian Armenian Greek Kurdish Jewish Christian Women and Men are mentioned, and to express where and how they encountered these concepts for the first time. The answers given by the participants were categorized as main and sub-themes, and then they were subjected to content analysis. According to the research findings, high school students are the most refugees and oppressed about Syrians, the most non-Muslim and hostile about Armenians, the most wannabe and non-Muslim about Greeks, the most obscure and oriental about Kurds, the most infidel and cruel about Jews, the most infidel and cruel about Christians. It has been concluded that infidels and non-Muslims have stereotypes about women mostly as mothers and victims of violence, and about men who are mostly pro-violent and consider themselves superior to women. As a result of the research, it has been determined that the sources of the stereotypes are family, social environment, media and education. Keywords: Collective identity, Other, Stereotype, Prejudice, Discrimination, Education