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Naming the 'other': children's construction and experience of racisms in Irish primary schools
Author(s)
Date Issued
2008-12
Date Available
2015-03-04T12:24:38Z
Abstract
This paper considers the construction and experience of racisms among a sample of primary school children in Ireland during a period of intensive immigration. Placing children’s voices at the centre of the analysis, it explores how children’s constructions draw upon discourses of 'norm' and 'other' in relation to national identity and cultural belonging. Constructions of minority ethnic groups are located within a context that defines what it is to be Irish, such constructions carrying with them assumptions related not only to skin colour but also to lifestyle, language, and religious belief. Drawing on key concepts related to power, social identities and child cultures, the findings highlight the significance of ethnic identity to children’s negotiations around inclusion and exclusion in their peer groups. Name‐calling in general, and racist name‐calling in particular, was shown to be an important tool used by some children in the assertion of their status with one another. The sensitivity displayed by the majority ethnic children to skin colour only, in their discussions around racism, highlights the salience of colour to many of these children’s typification of themselves as white Irish, and of many black migrant children especially as 'other'. It also indicates, however, the limited understanding these majority ethnic children had of racism in contrast to their minority ethnic peers (including Irish Traveller children), all of whom were able to recount their own experiences of being racially abused for colour and/or culturally‐based differences. The need for teachers to be sensitive to the dynamics of children’s social world is stressed, as is the importance of developing clear procedures for the monitoring and tackling of racist incidents in schools.
Type of Material
Journal Article
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
Journal
Race Ethnicity and Education
Volume
11
Issue
4
Start Page
369
End Page
385
Copyright (Published Version)
2008 Taylor and Francis
Language
English
Status of Item
Peer reviewed
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
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Owning collection
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