Intergroup Diversity Research Articles

How ingroup norms of multiculturalism (and tolerance) affect intergroup solidarity: The role of ideology.

Multiculturalism and tolerance, as two sets of normative beliefs about how to deal with intergroup diversity, have been recognized as effective at reducing outgroup negativity among majority group members. However, whether majority group members' normative beliefs regarding them might motivate their solidarity-based collective actions and how their political ideology might qualify this influence remained unclear. To answer these questions, we conducted two pre-registered experimental studies (N = 626), both zooming in on the multiculturalism issues in the context of the relationships between native Dutch citizens and citizens with a Moroccan background within Dutch university campuses (Study 1) and broader Dutch society (Study 2). In both studies, we found an ingroup norm of tolerance (vs. control) undermined majority group members' engagement in collective actions in support of ethnic minorities. Additionally, ideological leftists were more sensitive to norms than rightists: Study 1 showed a facilitative effect of the multiculturalism norm (vs. control) on solidarity-based collective action intentions particularly among leftists, whilst Study 2 revealed a dampening effect of the tolerance norm (vs. control) on these intentions particularly among leftists.

Comprehensive Assessment of the Intrinsic Pancreatic Microbiome.

We sought to comprehensively profile tissue and cyst fluid in patients with benign, precancerous, and cancerous conditions of the pancreas to characterize the intrinsic pancreatic microbiome. Small studies in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) have suggested that intra-pancreatic microbial dysbiosis may drive malignant transformation. Pancreatic samples were collected at the time of resection from 109 patients. Samples included tumor tissue (control, n=20; IPMN, n=20; PDAC, n=19) and pancreatic cyst fluid (IPMN, n=30; SCA, n=10; MCN, n=10). Assessment of bacterial DNA by quantitative PCR and 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing was performed. Downstream analyses determined the relative abundances of individual taxa between groups and compared intergroup diversity. Whole-genome sequencing data from 140 patients with PDAC in the National Cancer Institute's Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) were analyzed to validate findings. Sequencing of pancreatic tissue yielded few microbial reads regardless of diagnosis, and analysis of pancreatic tissue showed no difference in the abundance and composition of bacterial taxa between normal pancreas, IPMN, or PDAC groups. Low-grade dysplasia (LGD) and high-grade dysplasia (HGD) IPMN were characterized by low bacterial abundances with no difference in tissue composition and a slight increase in Pseudomonas and Sediminibacterium in HGD cyst fluid. Decontamination analysis using the CPTAC database confirmed a low-biomass, low-diversity intrinsic pancreatic microbiome that did not differ by pathology. Our analysis of the pancreatic microbiome demonstrated very low intrinsic biomass that is relatively conserved across diverse neoplastic conditions and thus unlikely to drive malignant transformation.

Critical Latinx Indigeneities: Love Letters to Chicanx and Latinx Studies

ABSTRACT Migration and global displacement of populations in Latin America and the Caribbean have increased US Latinxs intergroup diversity, propelling fields like Chicanx Studies and Latinx Studies (CSLS) to question the taken-for-granted homogeneity of Latinidad and Chicanismo. Inter-group oppression within these imagined collectives has also shed light on overlapping colonial systems, specifically launching critiques of Latinidad that include the historical centering of cisheteronormativity within Chicanismo, AfroLatinxs, AsianLatinxs, and Indigenous erasure, as well as anti-Blackness and anti-Indio sentiments. Such critiques are pushing CSLS into a moment of reckoning. This article provides a “loving critique” of CSLS with an emphasis in education where innovative analytics like Critical Latinx Indigeneities (CLI) and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP) are pressing these fields into unpacking and reorienting in ways that challenge the very narratives and discourses that in previous generations were empowering. A “loving critique” of CSLS is taken up by asking, what does CSLS need to re/think given the current diversity of “Latinx” communities? What can CSLS learn from CLI and CSP without appropriating or romanticizing them? How can CSLS not just survive but thrive and endure by engaging and learning from the opportunity that change brings?

The Ethics of Digital Communication and Message Sharing on Social Media

The present research examines the ethical concerns of social media users in sharing information and digital interaction. Adopting a phenomenological approach, 20 students from two state universities in Makassar South Sulawesi were invited to an interview regarding the issues. The findings illustrate four important ethics concerning digital communication and sharing information on social media: first social media users should convey messages honestly; second, they must be responsible in their words and deeds; third, they have to be polite to others; fourth they have to be tolerant of differences. In addition, this study argues that social media content creators and users respect ethnic, religious, racial, and inter-group diversity in sharing information.

Evaluation of the gut microbiome associated with COVID-19

IntroductionIn 2019, a new virus from the coronavirus family called SARS-CoV-2, infected populations throughout the world. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an illness induced by this virus, attacks vital organs in the body, such as the respiratory system and the gastrointestinal tract. Recent studies have confirmed changes in the gut microbiome caused by the COVID-19 disease. We examined the alteration of the gut microbiome in COVID-19 patients compared to healthy individuals. Materials and methodsin this study, the 16s metagenomics dataset, publicly available in the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) database, was used for analysis (accession number PRJNA636824). The analysis processes were performed using the CLC Microbial Genomics Module 20.1.1 (Qiagen). At first, the sequence reads of samples were trimmed and classified into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with 97% similarity and then assigned to the Greengenes reference database (v138). Differential abundance analysis was used to determine statistically significant differences in OTUs between COVID-19 and healthy groups. Next, biodiversity analyses including the alpha diversity (intragroup diversity) and beta diversity (intergroup diversity) using defined indexes were estimated. Then, the co-occurrence network at the species level was constructed using the Pearson correlation coefficient calculation between pairs of OTUs in R software and visualized using Cytoscape software. Ultimately, the hub OTUs at the species level were identified using the cytoHubba plugin of Cytoscape based on Maximal Clique Centrality (MCC) algorithm. ResultsThe results of the metagenomic analysis revealed that the intestinal microbiome in healthy individuals has a higher biodiversity compared to COVID-19 patients. Indeed, healthy people also have a higher percentage of beneficial bacteria such as bifidobacteria adolescentis compared to COVID-19 patients; in contrast, COVID-19 patients have higher levels of opportunistic and pathogenic bacteria such as Streptococcus anginosus than healthy people. Also, by constructing a co-occurrence network at the species level, Bifidobacterium longum in the healthy group and Veillonella parvulain the COVID-19 group were found as hub species. ConclusionThe results of this study shed light on the relationship between the gut microbiome and COVID-19. These results could be helpful for understanding the pathogenesis, clinical features, and treatment of COVID-9.

Different environmental conditions in genetic algorithm

We propose an extended genetic algorithm (GA) with different local environmental conditions. Genetic entities, or configurations, are put on nodes in a ring structure, and location-dependent environmental conditions are applied for each entity. Our GA is motivated by the geographic aspect of natural evolution: Geographic isolation reduces the diversity in a local group, but at the same time, can enhance intergroup diversity. Mating the genetic entities across different environments can make it possible to search for a broad area of the fitness landscape. We validate our extended GA for finding the ground state of the three-dimensional spin-glass system and find that the use of different environmental conditions makes it possible to find the lower-energy spin configurations at relatively shorter computation time. Our extension of GA belongs to a meta-optimization method and thus can be applied for a broad research area in which finding the optimal state in a shorter computation time is the key problem.

The Yahukimo Conflict within the Ideal Narratives of Pancasila and Multiculturalism

The ideology of Pancasila is agreed upon to reconcile ethnic, religious, racial and intergroup diversity. However, tribal fanatism clashes in understanding inevitably lead to social conflicts, such as the tribal conflict in Yahukimo Papua. Based on this background, there are research questions, first, why do tribal social conflicts still exist in the Pancasila ideology state? How is Pancasila ideology able to be main foundation of the resolution of tribal social conflict? Methodo­logically, this paper is the result of literature study research. To explain the research questions, Bhikhu Parekh's theory of multi­culturalism is used. In addition, the literature study method is used for data collection and the sociological approach for data analysis. The results of this study can be concluded that first, social conflicts with tribal nuances in the Pancasila ideological state will continue to have the potential to emerge when national identity is not maintained with a commitment to nationalism. Second, for this reason, the ideology of Pancasila in must continue to be carried out structurally and culturally for the resolution of tribal social conflicts. In the future, it is hoped that the Pancasila will ideally be embedded to strengthen national identity and unity.

Changes in agrarian structure in the EU during the period 2010-2016 in terms of typological groups of countries

The paper presents the changes in the spatial structure of agricultural holdings in the European Union between 2010 and 2016 from the perspective of typological groups of countries. The research was conducted based on Eurostat data. The holdings were divided into the following groups: up to 5 ha of agricultural land (AL), 5–20 ha, 20–50 ha, and over 50 ha. Based on the fuzzy classification method, 4 typological groups of countries with a similar spatial structure of holdings were distinguished. The intergroup diversity is high. The dynamics of changes in the number of holdings in particular countries per typological group was presented. A downward trend in the total number of holdings and smallholdings was observed, in particular in countries characterised by a fragmented structure of holdings. In these countries, an upward trend in the number of holdings of 20–50 ha and over 50 ha was noted. Between 2010 and 2016, the structure and composition of typological groups changed. There were also slight changes (in different directions) in the structural distance between the groups.

Promoting Culturally Responsive and Equitable Evaluation With Latinx Immigrants

AbstractCulturally Responsive and Equitable Evaluation requires evaluators to understand the social and intersectional identity experienced by Hispanic/Latino/Latinx communities, inclusive of immigrants in the United States. This chapter introduces relevant issues for evaluators to consider when working with Latinx immigrants. Evaluators must simultaneously address biases that people have toward Latinx immigrants; heed intergroup diversity among Latino immigrants, and increase Latinx immigrants' knowledge about their existing environment and their ability to advocate for themselves. Likewise, they must advocate for change in policies and practices of public, private, and nonprofit institutions to be more welcoming and responsive to Latinx immigrants' needs; build social support and foster a shared sense of community between immigrants and their communities, and transform the way multiple institutions with related goals and services work together to provide more seamless support to Latinx immigrants. Furthermore, stakeholders must be involved in the change process, with data made available at the stakeholder level to incite change. Therefore, evaluators must spend adequate time during the design phase to align their understanding, expectations, and strategies. Evaluators working collaboratively with diverse Latinx immigrants ensures these perspectives are integrated throughout the process and to address unanticipated challenges.

Analysis of the mitochondrial CYTB gene sequence in human populations of northeastern Bosnia

This study offers the first report on variation sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (MTCYTB) gene in populations from Bosnia (northeastern Bosnia). This study was designed on the analysis of the genetic diversity of two populations of different cultural-anthropological and genetic origin, Roma population and native/non-Roma population. The main aim of our study was to estimate the usefulness of the CYTB sequence in the analysis of genetic categorization of different populations and intergroup diversity, as well as to provide some additional information on haplogroup-associated polymorphisms within the CYTB region in defining haplogroup status. Estimation of the genetic diversity was done using intra and intergroup genetic indices. The population-specific polymorphisms have been found in both categories of the populations. The results of the analysis of genetic differentiation show significant pairwise Fst differences between the Romani and native populations. Also, registered significant genetic differentiation is illustrated on the level of genetic variation between subpopulations of the Roma and non-Roma origin. The important result in our study is the confirmation of the significance of the triad of polymorphisms T14783C-G15043A-G15301A, indicating the influence of Asian component of the maternal gene pool on the genetic structure of the studied population of the Roma. Our data show that the haplogroup polymorphisms exist in the CYTB region and can provide useful information on the haplogroups that were defined only by the control region of the mtDNA. The results of this study indicate the region of CYTB gene can be a benefit in providing some additional information in the analysis of genetic structure of human populations and can be additionally applied in population studies.

Inter retrotransposon based genetic diversity and phylogenetic analysis among the Musa germplasm accessions

In the present investigation, the insertional polymorphisms of retro-elements were studied in the Musa germplasm available at ICAR-NRCB field gene bank using IRAP markers. The maximum number of polymorphic bands were produced by the primer pair Nikita and LTR 6150 (48) followed by LTR 6149 and 3′LTR (47) and minimum of 35 bands were produced by the primer pair Sukkula and LTR 6150. The bands produced were scored as 0 (absent) and 1 (present) and the resultant binary data was subjected to diversity analysis. The dendrogram consisted of two major clusters with members of Eumusa and Rhodochlamys in one indicating their genetic closeness and members of the genus Ensete in another cluster. Results of principal coordinate analysis were congruent to those obtained in hierarchial cluster analysis. The molecular markers used in this study could reveal intra and inter-group diversity among the Musa germplasm accessions with similarity co-efficient ranging from 0.41 to 0.99. IRAP marker system has performed excellently clustering the accessions based on both genomic and subgroup levels. The entire germplasm was found to be robust with no duplications indicating the diverse group of accessions available at ICAR-NRCB field gene bank. It has also exhibited high polymorphism and hence could be effectively used to detect the genetic relatedness among diverse genome of Musa.

Youth in the Age of Hatred: Religious and Ethnic Factors Within the Islamic Senior High School Students’ Reception Toward Hate Narratives

The rise of hate narratives along with the new model of communication through the internet has become a new challenge for people in this digital era, especially for youth, the Z generation. This generation, in fact, has an intimacy with the internet. It means that they have more possibility for the influence of hate narratives. This study is aimed exploring the influential factors on Z generation reception to the hate narratives on the internet. Specifically, it proposes to recognize the influential factors on the reception of the students of Madrasah Aliyah Negri (MAN) or State Islamic Senior High School of Tuban (MAN Tuban), East Java. This work is based on two hate narrative issues of Suku, Agama, Ras dan Antargolongan (SARA) or religious, ethnic and intergroup diversity backgrounds, including those of anti-Christianity and those anti-Shiite. This work concludes that the influential factors to the students' reception toward hate narratives come from two categories. First, students are to be the audience of their social systems and backgrounds. The involvement of the students in fundamentalist Muslim groups, in fact, has led them to have exclusive views in seeing others and to feel always under intergroup contestation. Second, the role of the characters of the narratives that influence student’s thought is very important to count. It includes the legitimization through emotion which specifically presents fear and feeling threatened. Those characters have further triggered the students’ empathy to do something beneficial for the sake of the in-group (altruism). In addition, the characters of the narratives have the figures behind them that have influenced students to immediately believe in the narratives they offer only through seeing their profiles on the internet showing their expertise.

Youth in the Age of Hatred: Religious and Ethnic Factors Within the Islamic Senior High School Students’ Reception Toward Hate Narratives

The rise of hate narratives along with the new model of communication through the internet has become a new challenge for people in this digital era, especially for youth, the Z generation. This generation, in fact, has an intimacy with the internet. It means that they have more possibility for the influence of hate narratives. This study is aimed exploring the influential factors on Z generation reception to the hate narratives on the internet. Specifically, it proposes to recognize the influential factors on the reception of the students of Madrasah Aliyah Negri (MAN) or State Islamic Senior High School of Tuban (MAN Tuban), East Java. This work is based on two hate narrative issues of Suku, Agama, Ras dan Antargolongan (SARA) or religious, ethnic and intergroup diversity backgrounds, including those of anti-Christianity and those anti-Shiite. This work concludes that the influential factors to the students' reception toward hate narratives come from two categories. First, students are to be the audience of their social systems and backgrounds. The involvement of the students in fundamentalist Muslim groups, in fact, has led them to have exclusive views in seeing others and to feel always under intergroup contestation. Second, the role of the characters of the narratives that influence student’s thought is very important to count. It includes the legitimization through emotion which specifically presents fear and feeling threatened. Those characters have further triggered the students’ empathy to do something beneficial for the sake of the in-group (altruism). In addition, the characters of the narratives have the figures behind them that have influenced students to immediately believe in the narratives they offer only through seeing their profiles on the internet showing their expertise.

Pushing for health equity through structural competency and implicit bias education: A qualitative evaluation of a racial/ethnic health disparities elective course for pharmacy learners

Background and purposeHealth equity attainment requires dismantling implicit bias and structural racism. Mitigating bias in clinical interventions and implementing structural interventions to impact where people live, work, play, and eat fosters optimal patient outcomes. Consequently, pharmacy students need exposure to these concepts. The objective of this project was to evaluate an elective course focused on exposing students to the root causes of health disparities, contemporary factors that perpetuate disparities, and evidence-based policies to reduce health disparities. Educational activity and settingThis three-credit course emphasized critical thinking, robust discussions, and learning challenging constructs through self-discovery. Nine second-year and third-year learners were assessed by short-answer exams, learning management system discussion threads, weekly reflections, participation, and a class project. A qualitative descriptive design was used for this study. Weekly reflections were subjected to thematic analysis using a constant comparative analysis method to generate themes. FindingsFive themes were derived from the data underlying strategies to facilitate this course: (1) create and maintain a welcoming and inclusive learning environment; (2) utilize experiential learning for personal awareness development and knowledge expansion; (3) incorporate intergroup diversity to empower learners to create change; (4) anticipate and acknowledge emotions to facilitate learning; and (5) provide students with an opportunity to complete a final self-reflection paper. SummaryThis course provided pharmacy learners with unique, differential skill sets and knowledge, potentially adding depth to their careers and impacting the way they will practice pharmacy.

HUBUNGAN KEMAMPUAN SISWA DALAM MENGIDENTIFIKASI KEBERAGAMAN SUKU, AGAMA, RAS, DAN ANTARGOLONGAN DALAM BINGKAI BHINNEKA TUNGGAL IKA DENGAN SIKAP MENGHARGAI KEBERAGAMAN SUKU, AGAMA, RAS, DAN ANTARGOLONGAN (STUDI SISWA KELAS VII SMP NEGERI 4 SURAKARTA)

<p><em>The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between students' ability in identifying ethnic, religious, racial and intergroup diversity in the frame of Unity in Diversity with an attitude of respect for ethnic, religious, racial and intergroup diversity in class VII students of Surakarta State Junior High School 4.</em></p><p><em>This research is quantitative research. The method used is descriptive correlational statistics. Subjects in this study were class VII students of SMP Negeri 4 Surakarta using simple random sampling technique. Data collection techniques used are test and questionnaire instruments. Validity test used uses the product moment formula. Reliability testing uses the Spearman Brown formula to test the X variable, and the Cronbach Alpha formula to test the Y variable. Data analysis uses a simple correlation technique.</em></p><p><em>The results in this study are that there is a positive and significant relationship between students' ability to identify ethnic, religious, racial and intergroup diversity in the frame of Unity in Diversity with an attitude of respect for ethnic, religious, racial and intergroup diversity. A positive relationship between variable X and variable Y is indicated by the value of r count = 0.889> r table = 0.244. The meaning of the relationship between variable X and variable Y is significant indicated by the value of t count = 15, 28> t table1.27.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><strong><em>Keywords:</em></strong><em> identifying diversity, respect.</em>

Group Identities and Human Rights: How Do We Square the Circle in International Law?

The identity of groups of an ethno-cultural variety has long fallen within the remit of internati­onal human rights law. In this context, discussions have been largely concerned with the legal status of groups and/or the nature of the legal right(s) in question. While acknowledging the importance of these dimensions, in this article I seek to provide an alternative account by dis­cussing the continuities and discontinuities in articulating the very concept of group identity. I first examine the potential, limitations and eventual hybridity of human rights practice across the spectrum of minority/indigenous identities. Then, I critique a range of instabilities in human rights discourse relating to the idea of group identities, their personal scope and the role of international law. I argue that such instabilities do not merely mirror the ambivalent outlook of the relationship between human rights and group identities; they raise the broader question of whether there is a relatively more coherent way to capture the legitimacy of group claims. I conclude by pointing to the outer limits of identity claims, the understated interplay of sove­reignty and inter-group diversity, and the need to unpack the reasons why certain groups merit protection in the way they do.

Her earnings: Exploring variation in wives’ earning contributions across six major Asian groups and Whites

Previous research on understanding race-ethnic differentials in employment and economic contributions by married women has primarily focused on Blacks, Hispanics, or Whites. This study investigates variations in wives’ earning contributions as measured by wives earnings as a proportion of total annual household earnings among six Asian groups, Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese relative to native born non-Hispanic White. I disaggregate the six Asian groups by their ethnicity and nativity status. Using pooled data from 2009–2011 American Community Survey, the findings show significance of human capital, hours of paid labor market engagement and nativity status. There is strong and negative association between husbands’ human capital and labor supply with wives’ earning contributions suggesting near universality of male-breadwinner status. Notwithstanding the commonalities, there is significant intergroup diversity. While foreign born and native born Filipina wives despite their spouses’ reasonably high human capital and work hours, contribute one of the highest shares, the same cannot be said for the Asian Indians and Japanese. For foreign born Asian Indian and to some extent Japanese women, their high human capital is not translated to high earning contribution after controlling for husband’s human capital. Further, nativity status impacts groups differentially. Native born Vietnamese wives contribute the greatest. Overall, the findings underscore the relevance of employing multiple conceptual frameworks in understanding earning contributions of foreign and native born Asian wives belonging to the six Asian groups, Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

Morpho-taxonomical and molecular assessment of Musa genotypes from north-east India by morphological and inter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphism markers

The states of north-eastern region of India are home to several wild and cultivated bananas. There is a dearth of information on the genetic diversity of Musa resources of the region to assist in crop improvement programmes. Twenty-five genotypes of Musaceae accessions including one Ensete species maintained at Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD), Imphal, were characterized based on 60 morpho-taxonomic characters and seven inter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphism (IRAP) primer combinations. The morphological data were presented in the form of hierarchical clusters and principal components. Hierarchically, the Musa genotypes can be grouped into distinctive clusters, and while the first four principal components could explain 58.66 % of variation of the total morphological traits studied. A total of 337 amplicons were generated using 12 IRAP primer combinations with an average percentage polymorphism of 96.12. The molecular markers used in this study could reveal intra- and inter-group diversity among the genotypes with similarity coefficients ranging from 0.16 to 0.90. It could also differentiate the clusters of all the edible cultivated Musa genotypes from the wild/semi-wild ancestors. Thus, the chosen parameters seem to be especially important in the varietal or genotype identifications.

The Yersinia pseudotuberculosis complex: Characterization and delineation of a new species, Yersinia wautersii

The genus Yersinia contains three species pathogenic for humans, one of which is the enteropathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. A recent analysis by Multi Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) of the ‘Y. pseudotuberculosis complex’ revealed that this complex comprises three distinct populations: the Y. pestis/Y. pseudotuberculosis group, the recently described species Yersinia similis, and a third not yet characterized population designated ‘Korean Group’, because most strains were isolated in Korea. The aim of this study was to perform an in depth phenotypic and genetic characterization of the three populations composing the Y. pseudotuberculosis complex (excluding Y. pestis, which belonged to the Y. pseudotuberculosis cluster in the MLST analysis). Using a set of strains representative of each group, we found that the three populations had close metabolic properties, but were nonetheless distinguishable based on D-raffinose and D-melibiose fermentation, and on pyrazinamidase activity. Moreover, high-resolution electrospray mass spectrometry highlighted protein peaks characteristic of each population. Their 16S rRNA gene sequences shared high identity (≥99.5%), but specific nucleotide signatures for each group were identified. Multi-Locus Sequence Analysis also identified three genetically closely related but distinct populations. Finally, an Average Nucleotide Identity (ANI) analysis performed after sequencing the genomes of a subset of strains of each group also showed that intragroup identity (average for each group ≥99%) was higher than intergroup diversity (94.6–97.4%). Therefore, all phenotypic and genotypic traits studied concurred with the initial MLST data indicating that the Y. pseudotuberculosis complex comprises a third and clearly distinct population of strains forming a novel Yersinia species that we propose to designate Yersinia wautersii sp. nov. The isolation of some strains from humans, the detection of virulence genes (on the pYV and pVM82 plasmids, or encoding the superantigen ypmA) in some isolates, and the absence of pyrazinamidase activity (a hallmark of pathogenicity in the genus Yersinia) argue for the pathogenic potential of Y. wautersii.

Children as agents of their own health: exploratory analysis of child discourse in Spain

The promotion of children's decision-making is one of the principles of health-promoting schools, and the empowerment of children means that they are enabled to influence their lifestyles and living conditions. The aim of this study was to find out the suggestions of Spanish school pupils in Year 3 and Year 6 of primary education to promote their own health and the health of the people closer to them, through their ideas about health. We analyse the discourse on health in the school environment from focus groups of primary school pupils aged around 8 and 12 of five schools in the town of Alicante (Spain). The groups were organized according to the type of school (public, private), the socioeconomic status of the neighbourhood (residential, working-class) and gender (single-sex, mixed groups) to ensure both the highest intergroup diversity and intra-group homogeneity. The findings show that primary school pupils have a wide and diverse notion of health. The application of the focus group technique has proved useful in eliciting information from groups of primary school pupils, and involving students in health-promoting programmes because it allows them to identify the social and interpersonal determinants of health. There is a firm basis to consider school pupils as health agents, particularly regarding interventions within the school environment itself. With the support of teachers, it is possible to train school pupils as community health agents, and increase their control over their own health.