containing a very diverse group of children. The center’s official data on the racial and ethnic backgrounds of children in the classroom are: White = 24, Asian = 19, Black = 4, biracial = 3, Middle Eastern = 3, Latino = 2, and other = 3….
Like the children and teachers, the senior author (hereafter Debi), a White woman, was usually in the classroom all day for five days a week. As observer and playmate, Debi watched the children and listened to them in their free play and teacher-directed activities. Over 11 months Debi observed 370 significant episodes involving a racial or ethnic dimension, about 1 to 3 episodes per day. When children mentioned racial or ethnic matters, Debi noted what they said, to whom they spoke, and the context of the incident. Extensive field notes were entered immediately on a computer in another room when the children were otherwise occupied. This was done to preserve the details of any conversations and the accuracy of the data….
We began with the assumption that very young children would display no knowledge of racial or ethnic concepts and that any use of these concepts would be superficial or naive. Our data contradicted these expectations.
Using Racial and Ethnic Concepts to Exclude
Using the playhouse to bake pretend muffins, Rita (3.5: White/Latina) and Sarah (4: White) have all the muffin tins. Elizabeth (3.5: Asian/Chinese), attempting to join them, stands at the playhouse door and asks if she can play. Rita shakes her head vigorously, saying, No, only people who can speak Spanish can come in. Elizabeth frowns and says, I can come in. Rita counters, Can you speak Spanish? Elizabeth shakes her head no, and Rita repeats, Well, then you aren’t allowed in.
Elizabeth frowns deeply and asks Debi to intercede by telling her: Rita is being mean to me. Acting within the child-initiated framework, Debi asks Rita, If only people who speak Spanish are allowed, then how come Sarah can play? Can you speak Spanish, Sarah? Sarah shakes her head no. Sarah can’t speak Spanish and she is playing, Debi says to Rita, without suggesting she allow Elizabeth in. Rita frowns, amending her statement: OK, only people who speak either Spanish or English. That’s great! Debi responds, because Elizabeth speaks English and she wants to play with you guys. Rita’s frown deepens. No, she says. Debi queries, But you just said people who speak English can play. Can’t you decide? Rita gazes at Debi, thinking hard. Well, Rita says triumphantly, only people who speak two languages.
Elizabeth is waiting patiently for Debi to make Rita let her play, which Debi has no intention of doing. Debi then asks Rita: Well, Elizabeth speaks two languages, don’t you, Elizabeth? Debi looks at Elizabeth, who now is smiling for the first time. Rita is stumped for a moment, then retorts, She does not. She speaks only English. Debi smiles at Rita: She does speak two languages—English and Chinese. Don’t you? Debi invites Elizabeth into the conversation. Elizabeth nods vigorously. However, Rita turns away and says to Sarah, Let’s go to the store and get more stuff.
Language was the ethnic marker here. Rita defined rules for entering play on the basis of language—she was aware that each child not only did not look like the others but also spoke a different language. From a traditional Piagetian perspective, Rita might be seen as egocentric and strongly resistant to alternative views. However, here we see the crucial importance of the social-cultural context, in particular the development of racial and ethnic concepts in a collaborative and interpersonal context. Defending her rules, Rita realized her attempts to exclude Elizabeth by requiring two languages had failed. This three-year-old child had created a social rule based on a significant understanding of ethnic markers. The final “two languages” rule did not acknowledge the fact that Sarah only spoke English. Rita’s choice of language as an exclusionary device was directed at preventing Elizabeth from entering, not at maintaining a bilingual play space….
Using Racial and Ethnic Concepts to Include
The children also used racial and ethnic understandings and concepts to include others—to engage them in play or teach them about racial and ethnic identities.
Ling (5: Asian/Chinese) has a book that teaches the Chinese language. She announces to Debi that her grandmother has given her the book and that she is learning Chinese. Debi asks if she is making progress. Oh yes, Ling says happily, I have already learned many characters. They’re called characters, you know. She points out several. What does that say? Debi asks, pointing to one. Cat! Ling beams. Debi and Ling spend some time reading from Ling’s book, then Ling leaves to show off her reading prowess to another child.
Over several weeks, Ling’s behavior underscores for the observer how racial and ethnic understandings develop in social contexts. Ling engages numerous others in reading Chinese with her. Carrying the book everywhere, she earnestly tries to teach others to read and write Chinese characters. Chinese characters appear on other children’s drawings and on the playground. Other children actively embrace these new characters and concepts and incorporate them into their activities, a clear indication of how children learn ethnic ideas from each other. Ling’s efforts demonstrate that she is aware that non-Chinese, including adults, do not know how to read Chinese. Clearly she is aware that Chinese is distinct from the experience of most people around her, and she recognizes this even though she herself is just learning to read Chinese….
Using Racial and Ethnic Concepts to Define Oneself
The use of racial and ethnic concepts to include or exclude others is often coupled with the use of these concepts to describe and define oneself. For most children, racial and/or ethnic identity is an important aspect of themselves, and they demonstrate this in insightful ways in important social contexts.
Renee (4.5: White), a very pale little girl, has been to the beach over the weekend and comes to school noticeably tanned. Linda (4: White) and Erinne (5: biracial) engage her in an intense conversation. They discuss whether her skin would stay that color or get darker until she became, as Linda says, an African American, like Charles (another child). Renee denies she could become Black, but this new idea, planted in her head by interaction with the other children, distresses her. On her own initiative, she discusses the possibility with Debi and her mother, both of whom tell her the darker color is temporary.
Renee was unconvinced and commented on her racial identity for weeks. She brought up the issue with other children in many contexts. This linking of skin color with racial identity is found in much traditional literature on children’s racial understandings (Clark and Clark 1940). But this racial marking was more than a fleeting interest, unlike the interest mainstream cognitive theorists might predict for such a young child. Renee reframed the meaning of skin color by questioning others on their thoughts and comparing her skin to others’.
Corinne (4: African/White) displays an ability to create meaning by drawing from her personal world. Corinne’s mother is Black and is from an African country; her father is a White American. Corinne speaks French and English and is curious about everything at the center. She is a leader and often initiates activities with other children. Most children defer to her. One day Corinne is examining a rabbit cage on the playground. A teacher is cleaning out the cage and six baby bunnies are temporarily housed in an aluminum bucket that Corinne is holding. Three bunnies are white, two are black, and one is spotted black and white.
As Corinne is sitting at a table, Sarah (4: White) stuck her head into the bucket. Stop that! Corinne orders. Sarah complies and asks, Why do you have the babies? I’m helping Marie [teacher], says Corinne. How many babies are there? Sarah asks Corinne. Six! Corinne announces. Three boys and three girls. How can you tell if they’re boys or girls? Sarah questions. Well, Corinne begins, my daddy is white, so the white ones are boys. My mommy is Black, so the black ones are girls. Sarah counts: That’s
