Racial Identity of Children in Integrated, Predominantly White, and Black Schools

Abstract

Fourth-grade children in three school settings (integrated, Black, and White) were assessed by 3 methods: the Draw-A-Person test, the spontaneous self-concept test, and the picture test. The effect of school's population on a child's racial identity was studied. The children in the integrated school setting mentioned race and ethnicity significantly more often than did children in either of the other two settings. The children from both the integrated and the predominantly White schools also chose more friends from the outgroup than did the children in the predominantly Black school. The children in the non-integrated schools disliked other races more. All groups chose their own race when asked to indicate which child looked most like them. Contrary to the research hypothesis, the children in the predominantly White school produced drawings that depicted their race more obviously than did children from either of the other schools.

Do anti-immigrant sentiments track into Danish classrooms? Ethnicity, ethnicity salience, and bias in children's peer preferences

“…This finding seems contrary to previous research (e.g., Phinney, 1989;Steele, 1997;Tajfel & Turner, 1986;Vasquez, 1984) suggesting an association between heightened salience and level of perceived or actual disadvantage. As Dutton, Singer, and Devlin (1998) suggested, children in more integrated settings tend to mention race and ethnicity more often, perhaps because the social environment grants 'permission' to do so.…”

White Bias in 3–7-Year-Old Children across Cultures

“…Research has shown exposure to cultural pride messages increase positive attitudes in minority children about their racial group (Branch & Newcombe, 1986;Knight, Bernal, Garza, Cota & Ocampo, 1993;Marshall, 1995;Stevenson, 1995). In terms of racial composition of environment, the evidence of its relative impact on both African American and Euro-American children is mixed (Gopaul-McNicol, 1988;Dutton, Singer, and Devlin, 1998;McGothlin and Killen, 2010).…”

Ethnic Cognition and Affect of British-Born Chinese Children

“…This is possibly due to the higher salience of ethnicity sensed by those who form a distinctive minority in their contexts (McGuire, McGuire, Child, & Fujioka, 1978). This would mean that ethnic salience will diminish with increasing diversity in a given context, and this has been supported empirically (Dutton, Singer, & Devlin, 1998;Ramsay, 1991). However, whether a group is the "majority" or a "minority" is not only a matter of numbers, but carries connotations of power status.…”

“…Furthermore, although the ethnic Chinese in Britain form a growing population, they are still a very small minority within the "ethnic minority" population (ONS, 2011) and this is likely to make their ethnicity salient in general (Dutton et al, 1998;Ramsay, 1991). Further studies may illuminate such contextual issues by sampling from more "normative" settings (such as state day schools-considering the very small numbers of Chinese pupils per school in that system) Chinese children as well as children from other ethnic groups with a wider range of ethnic identifications.…”