Where do children learn about ethnicity?
There are many different ways in which children come to learn about ethnicity and consequently to develop a sense of their own ethnic identity. Parents and the immediate family will obviously tend to have a strong influence on children’s developing ethnic identities. The family is, after all, the first experience that most children will have of being a member of an ethnic group and we already know just how influential parents can be in shaping children’s ways of thinking, interests and tastes.

However it is important to understand that it is not just the family where children learn about their ethnic identity. As mentioned earlier, ethnicity is about groups of people, often communities, which tend to have a shared culture and sense of history and belonging. Children’s sense of ethnicity will therefore also tend to be influenced by the events around them in their local community as well as by what they see on television and the ways in which ethnic differences tend to be portrayed.

These influences can also begin from a very early age, as we found in research on young children in Northern Ireland. Whilst these children tended not to begin to explicitly see themselves as Protestant or Catholic until about the ages of five and six, the influences of their respective communities were found to have begun much earlier than this.

By the age of three, for example, Protestant and Catholic children tended to already demonstrate notable differences in terms of which national flag they preferred and also whether they liked particular cultural events in Northern Ireland that tend to be associated with one or other of the two communities.

In the above cases, these same children showed very little knowledge of what the flags or the specific events they expressed preferences for actually represented. What all of this tends to show is that children are already picking up the cultural ‘habits’ and preferences of their own ethnic group even before they become fully aware of what these represent.

Alongside the family and wider community, the other main influence on children’s emerging ethnic identities is the peer group. Once at school a significant part of children’s day is spent mixing with other children. The influence the peer group can have on children’s attitudes and behaviour can be as strong, if not stronger at times, as that of the family. So, in terms of ethnicity it isn’t surprising to find that children learn much about themselves and others from their peers.

Moreover, children don’t simply repeat passively the negative attitudes and prejudices about other ethnic groups they may have heard elsewhere. In fact, even at the ages of five and six, children in England have been found to adapt and re-work existing stereotypes to make sense of their own experiences and sometimes to justify their own actions. The peer group is therefore a place where children actively make use of existing ideas and beliefs to construct their own meanings.

So what can parents do?
There are three main things that parents can do in helping to challenge any negative attitudes their children may have towards other ethnic groups and also encouraging them to be more open to and inclusive of others. Firstly, it is important for parents to learn more about other ethnic communities themselves in terms of their differing histories, traditions and cultures. The more parents know, the more they will be able to answer any questions their children might have and the more they will also be able to recognize and correct any mistaken beliefs or prejudices the children may express about those communities.

Secondly, it is important for parents to make sure their children have the opportunity to learn about other ethnic communities and gain positive experiences of different cultures and traditions. This can include reviewing the books that their children have at home and asking whether they make reference to and include people from other ethnic groups. It can also include trying different types of food and taking part in celebrations and other local events hosted by particular ethnic communities. There are always opportunities available for parents to help their children learn about and experience other people’s cultures and traditions.

Thirdly and finally, there is a need for parents to challenge any negative attitudes or prejudices their children may have towards others. In doing this, however, it is important not to simply ‘tell off’ children and warn them not to say such things again. This rarely works, with children tending simply to keep their existing attitudes intact but learning not to express them in front of their parents.

What parents need to do instead is to use occasions where their children may say something negative as a learning experience. To do this parents need to create an atmosphere that is open and relaxed and one where children feel free to talk about whatever concerns them. If they do make a negative remark they can then be encouraged to think about the implications of what they have said and how it makes others feel. Research has shown that it is possible to have meaningful conversations even with very young children and, through these, to challenge in a constructive way any negative attitudes they may have.

  < previous   Page 2 of 2

Comments