What are infants learning aboutrace? A look at a sample of infants from multipleracialgroups

Abstract

Little empirical knowledge exists about the importance of culture and the sociopolitical context of race's influence on the social development of infants and young children. In this article, we review current research on the transmission of race and culture to the developing child. Utilizing a historical theoretical framework proposed by Margaret Mahler and colleagues' (1975) theory of infant's development of a separate self, we will examine the potential influence of racial context on children's development. Observational videotaped research methods will be used to describe several young children ages 6 months to 36 months from several racial/ethnic groups and their preferences for "same-race" and "different-race" dolls during structured play. How infants at different stages of social development notice differences associated with racial phenotype of toys during their play, how parents of these young children discuss issues of culture and race with their children, and the reasons underlying these discussions will be described for this sample. Finally, we discuss future research questions and areas of study suggested by the findings of this pilot study.

Promoting Equity, Tolerance, and Justice in Childhood and commentaries

“…Rare examples of such research are the studies by Verkuyten and colleagues about the effects of multicultural education on children and adolescent's experiences of social exclusion and their intergroup attitudes (Verkuyten, 2008). As mentioned previously, ethnic victimization in the form of racist name calling is a common form of bullying in schools (Njoroge, Benton, Lewis, & Njoroge, 2009). Verkuyten and Thijis (2002) examined how this type of social exclusion amongst Dutch, Turkish Dutch, Moroccan Dutch, and Surinamese Dutch pre-adolescents is related to school (de) segregation and multicultural education.…”

Assessment of Behavioral Disorders in Preschool-Aged Children

“…We have highlighted the importance of the multimodal assessment, including clinical judgment as well as varied measures in the hope of capturing the heterogeneity of the clinical presentation of preschool psychopathology [45]. The list of tools included in this review is by no means exhaustive, and we have included within the body of the text other sources that specifically cover the breadth of problematic behaviors seen in preschool populations.…”

Reconceiving the field: Infant mental health, intersectionality, and reproductive justice

“…How do parents or early childhood educators, for example, respond when a female toddler versus a male toddler, or a Caucasian toddler versus an African American toddler, or a low socioeconomic status toddler versus a high socioeconomic status toddler select a baby doll versus a truck versus an abacus to play with? (A rich vein of scholarship in the “doll study” tradition could be tapped and extended to explore these questions; e.g., see Clark & Clark, ; Katz & Kofkin, ; Njoroge, Benton, Lewis, & Njoroge, ). What messages are infants and small children from varying groups given regarding their worth, the pathways open to them, the contributions that are expected from them, their positioning vis‐à‐vis others?…”