The research group 'Cultural Diversity: Opportunities and Socialization' (CuDOS) is a collaboration of different research strands that aims to gain insight in and build up knowledge within three research fields within sociology:
CuDOS also refers to a specific research approach, summarized in a number of guiding principles for solid scientific research expressed by the sociologist R.K. Merton:
Communalism entails that scientific results are the common property of the entire scientific community.
Universalism means that all scientists can contribute to science regardless of race, nationality, culture, or gender.
Disinterestedness according to which scientists should not present their results entangled with their personal beliefs or activism for a cause. Scientists should have an arms length attitude towards their findings.
Originality The claims by researchers must be novel and add something to our knowledge and understanding.
Scepticism means that scientific claims must be exposed to critical scrutiny before being accepted.
In line with these principles we aim to disseminate and discuss our research findings with different audiences and promote multi-disciplinary research that is both innovative and rigorous.
Finally, while our research is often highly relevant to policy makers and practitioners, we endorse a view of social science research that is not influenced by personal beliefs or activism for a cause.
Current research: Attitudes towards art - Bourdieu - Cultural sociology - Political sociology - Social inequality/mobility - Quantitative analysis and methodology
Current research: Cognitive sociology - Political belief systems - Media framing effects - Dual-process theory, values and dispositions - Survey experiments
Current research: Social inequality and stratification - Social mobility - Subjective well-being - Social isolation - Cross-national comparative research – Sociology of education – Intersectionality
Current research: Cross-national comparative research - Cultural capital, cultural consumption and cultural tastes, - Gender - Gender identity - Pressure for gender conformity - Sport and sport event attendance
Current research: Ethnic relations - Racism and discrimination - School composition and policy - Mixed methods research - Collective identity in Belgium
Current research: Sociology of arts - Sociology of culture - Social inequality and stratification - Social science research methods - Evaluation research
Current research: Monitoring cultural and social participation – Cultural education – Social inequality in participation – The socio-economic situation of professional artists - Monitoring youth and their social and political attitudes - Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS2018)
Current research: Sociology of Education - School Effects Research - Educational and occupational expectations - Transition from secondary to higher education/labor market - Status Attainment Research - Cross-national comparative research -Tracking
Current research: Consequences of tracking/streaming - Effects of social-ethnic school composition - Education and gender - Transition from primary to secondary education - Teacher trust - LGB's and education - Antisocial school behavior/school misconduct
