Worry about polarization in society, particularly around the topic of immigration, is widespread despite the lack of substantial evidence supporting the existence of actual polarization of attitudes. This study explores whether this widespread “polarization panic” can be attributed to misperceptions of the descriptive norm, more specifically, to overestimations of polarization in society, a phenomenon known as false polarization. I investigated whether Dutch participants were more worried about polarization when they perceived stronger polarization in immigration attitudes due to a misperception of attitudinal extremity as the descriptive norm and whether correcting their misperceptions with accurate information about the actual descriptive norm reduced this association. A pre‐registered survey‐embedded experiment ( N = 925 ) revealed that the significant positive relationship between perceptions of polarization and polarization worry disappeared when participants were provided with accurate information about the descriptive norm in society. However, this effect was only observed among participants who realized and acknowledged that they overestimated the differences in attitudes. These results suggest that during times of widespread media reports on alarming increases in polarization, informing individuals about the actual descriptive norm can alleviate worry amongst those who overestimate polarization. This approach could potentially facilitate respectful dialogue about the hotly debated topic of immigration. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of this strategy hinges on ensuring that the descriptive norm is correctly interpreted, leading individuals to realize that their worry was based on misperceptions.

This research approaches the theoretical discourse on accessibility from an empirical perspective using a qualitative study in a specific field of social services. In Germany, jobcentres are institutions responsible for promoting employment, providing benefits, and offering counselling to unemployed people. Due to their hierarchical structures, standardised processes, and orientation towards the paradigms of an activating labour market policy, jobcentres can be described as organisations that are difficult to access for clients, especially for people with mental disorders. Based on a qualitative analysis, this article examines an innovative model project that implements a peer support approach in this context. Peer support volunteers have experienced mental disorders themselves and support users on this basis. The analysis comprises 38 individual interviews and seven group discussions with peer support volunteers and users, addressing the research question of how the introduction of peer support has changed the perception of accessibility within the jobcentre institution. The empirical results show that changes are taking place both at a structural level and concerning the relationships and organisation of support. However, certain barriers within the organisation remain and restrict accessibility. With reference to Clarke’s access theory, the majority of the identified changes can be understood as conservative active‐outreach strategies aligned with the existing system and its normative orientations. Additionally, the involvement of the previously little‐heard and potentially stigmatised perspective of people who have experienced mental disorders themselves reveals a transformative potential at certain points.

This article examines how Norwegian universities implement gender equality and diversity policies through a Bakhtinian dialogical lens. Using document analysis of action plans from four major universities and interviews with 19 department heads and research group leaders, we trace how authoritative voices from external policymakers are transformed as they move from institutional plans to local implementation. The study reveals a fundamental shift from top‐down policy transmission to distributed dialogical sense‐making. While university action plans echo external directives by adopting expansive diversity definitions, they paradoxically create “authoritative polyphony,” messages too diffuse to enable meaningful local response. Our analysis identifies three patterns of local engagement: active resistance, where leaders contest institutional messages based on situated knowledge; interpretative paralysis, where unclear directives create obligation without actionable understanding; and creative transformations, where leaders reframe diversity through personal experiences and academic identities. When institutional guidance proves insufficient, local leaders draw upon two primary interpretative resources: embodied knowledge of inclusion and exclusion from personal experiences, and scholarly frameworks that reframe diversity through academic lenses. This process creates what we term “dialogical delegation,” a tacit transfer of interpretative authority from institutions to individuals without corresponding support. The findings demonstrate how “doing diversity” becomes an active dialogical process where authentic diversity strategies emerge through countless individual interpretative acts rather than centralised planning. This reveals both the limitations of broad institutional diversity policies and the emergence of alternative governance forms where meaning‐making authority becomes distributed across organisational hierarchies, with significant implications for policy implementation theory and diversity governance.

Vocational high schools (BHS) constitute a popular school type in Austria and are particularly appealing to students from lower socio‐economic backgrounds. These five‐year schools provide an alternative pathway to a general higher education entrance qualification, combining academic schooling with the “safety net” of school‐based vocational training. Although BHS represent an important route into higher education, with approximately half of graduates entering higher education within three years, the other half do not, with many opting to enter the labour market directly. Drawing on rational action theory, this study examines the relationship between students’ social backgrounds (measured by parental education level), labour market prospects following graduation from BHS, and higher education enrolment. We analyse the further educational and labour market pathways of the entire 2016/17 cohort of Austrian BHS graduates, using unique data that combines several high‐quality administrative registers. Descriptive analysis shows that transition rates to higher education vary considerably according to parental education. We employ logistic regression models to demonstrate that higher regional unemployment rates for the particular vocational qualification of BHS are associated with increased transition rates to higher education. In contrast with the assumptions of the “diversion thesis,” findings indicate that this effect does not vary according to the education of students’ parents. Consequently, BHS graduates with lower levels of parental education are equally likely to be deterred from pursuing higher education by the prospect of employment as those with higher parental education.

This article explores how Vietnamese international students in Japan navigate the transition from vocational education to university, using the concepts of “institutional permeability” and the “education‐migration industry.” Findings from qualitative interviews revealed that while vocational‐to‐university pathways exist, they are obscured by structural barriers and informational gaps perpetuated by study‐abroad agencies and institutional practices. The study identifies three types of vocational schools—vocation‐oriented, hybrid, and further‐education‐oriented—with varying degrees of support for academic progression. Educational mobility is shown to be stratified and conditional, highlighting the need for more transparent and equitable systems to support international students’ academic aspirations.

Societies worldwide are challenged by heated debates around important societal topics like migration policies, gender equality, transgender rights, and climate change. These debates are perceived as highly polarized thereby increasing intolerance toward opposing opinions. Previous research has shown that respecting “disapproved others” as equals might foster tolerance, even in polarized contexts. Yet, an empirical test to establish whether the relationship link between respect and tolerance toward opposing others is still observable in the case of extreme opinions, strong disapproval of opposing opinions, and even strong perceived threats from opposing others, is still missing. In our research, we will test whether the strength of the association between personal respect norms and the tolerance of opposing opinions depends on the extremity of one’s own opinion, the strength of disapproval of the opposing opinion, and the perceived threat from the out‐group. Results based on survey data from more than 12,000 respondents from 12 European countries reveal that the association between personal respect norms and tolerance is unaffected by extremity, strength of disapproval, and perceived threat. The pattern of results is replicated with few exceptions across all 12 countries and six different controversial social topics. This is held in most cases even when considering differences in political views. We discuss the implications of our findings, their robustness, and the potential limits of the respect–tolerance link.

One of the most significant challenges facing contemporary societies is the increasing polarization of social and political ideologies. Against this backdrop, it is highly important to understand the foundations of social cohesion in order to effectively address this trend. One of the fundamental pillars of social cohesion is volunteering, which entails contributing to a collective good through unpaid work in an organization or association. While a substantial body of research has been dedicated to examining the socio‐structural and sociodemographic correlates of volunteering, the relationship between norms and volunteering behavior has received comparatively less attention. In this study, we employ the concept of citizenship norms to empirically explore the patterns of civic norms, particularly norms of solidarity and norms of participation, and volunteering. Furthermore, we investigate how these patterns differ across societal groups, including age, gender, education, and religion. Our quantitative analysis is based on data from a population survey in Germany, with approximately 1,800 respondents. We find that civic norms relate to volunteering, with participation norms showing a stronger link than solidarity norms. These relationships are not moderated by moral and socio‐structural factors but remain consistent across different societal groups.

In recent years, the popularity of short videos has provided rural women in China with an unprecedented opportunity for self‐presentation and engagement with the outside world, enabling them to articulate their own narratives with authenticity. On Douyin, a leading short video platform, content produced by rural women has gained significant attention, resonating particularly with female audiences. This study, based on 21 semi‐structured interviews conducted with Chinese women viewers, investigates the factors driving the popularity of rural female influencers’ content, the gratifications that female viewers obtain, and their perceptions of these rural influencers’ authenticity. The findings reveal that female audiences gain insights into the structural challenges and vulnerabilities faced by rural women in China, as well as how these influencers challenge traditional gender norms. Ultimately, this study underscores the transformative potential of short videos to provide female audiences with a window into the lives of rural women, stimulating critical reflection on deeply embedded cultural constructs and advancing social inclusion. Promoting gender equality and social development may provide various opportunities for the autonomy of rural women in the future.

<p>Initiatives that employ sport as a means to achieve social objectives span a broad spectrum—from those primarily centred on sporting activities to those closely aligned with principles of social work. This thematic issue, titled <em>Impact Evaluation of Community Sport Programmes and ‘Sport Social Work Practices’</em>, reflects this diversity in both terminology and approach. It brings together twelve original contributions that critically examine the design, implementation, and evaluation of such initiatives. Drawing on case studies, literature reviews, and conceptual analyses from a range of global contexts, the issue offers a multifaceted perspective on the role of sport as a catalyst for social change. Particular attention is given to how the impacts of these initiatives can be more effectively understood, assessed, and sustained. The wide range of research questions, programme types, methodological approaches, and target populations underscores the complexity and scope of this interdisciplinary field. Collectively, the contributions demonstrate the potential of sport to serve as a meaningful vehicle for personal and social development—particularly when initiatives or interventions are locally embedded, relationally oriented, and grounded in the lived experiences of participants.</p>

Effective monitoring, evaluation and learning in sport-for-development programmes requires an understanding of the contributing factors that are associated with impactful outcomes. Cause champions are social change agents who act as cultural experts and role models within communities. They play a crucial role in sport-for-development programmes. Despite their profound impact, our understanding of the managerial support mechanisms that serve as necessary conditions for cause champions to operate successfully and thrive within sport-for-development programmes remains limited. This study investigated the essential support mechanisms for cause champions, examine how these interact, and suggest ways to monitor them to enhance the effectiveness of a programme through a resource-based lens. This research is a case-study analysis of a SFD organisation from Singapore. Using semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff members (n = 7), coaches (n =3) and cause champions (n = 8). The data were examined using thematic analysis, which is in line with the resource-based view that observes critical resources and their interactions in relation to the effectiveness and sustainability of organisations. We have identified various critical support mechanisms that enable cause champions to thrive. This includes the investment and efforts of staff and boundary-spanning coaches, and social behaviours that foster a culture of care. This interconnected nature of support mechanisms highlights the importance for strategic alignment and targeted support to enhance the impacts of SFD initiatives. These findings provide insights for designing, managing and evaluating SFD programmes more effectively, both in Singapore and other contexts.