(PDF) Race, Ethnicity, and Culture in Child Development

INDUCTION

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Ethnicity ......................................................................................................................................1
Impact of ethnicity on development of primary year children....................................................1
Ethnicity issues affecting attainment and achievement level of children's in primary years ......2
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Ethnicity or ethnic group is defined as the individual groups or populations which shares
common cultural traditions and nationality. Ethnic groups not only shares cultural traits but also
have common faiths, religious and linguistic characteristics and genealogy. Thus the beliefs and
practices are greatly influenced or have prejudice opinions on the basis of ethnic factors The
ethnicity has significant impact upon the education attainment and achievements of children's
especially those in primary age groups (Turner, Jensen-Doss and Heffer, 2015). The essay will
identify various aspects in which child achievements are affected by ethnicity. It will also discuss
various literature perspective on impact on ethnicity on child education, development and
attainment level.
Ethnicity
Ethnicity is known as the group of people which are identified by presumed ancestry or
genealogy. They have similarities in factors such as language, society, nation and culture as well
as certain symbolic systems like religion, dressing styles, physical appearance and ritual or
mythological beliefs (Vincent, 2017). The difference in ethnicity and learning environment of
child has huge impact upon the growth and development of the children. It significantly affect
the learning and attainment capabilities of the child, especially in the primary years. In the
primary education child may experience a vast gap in the learning environment and their own
developing environment. Due to this gap most of the children does not find it comfortable to
balance and understand this gap and thus their academic and social foundation as well as
learning capabilities are affected to a great extent (Gattamorta, Salerno and Castro, 2019). Hence
it becomes a necessity to understand the impact of ethnicity in regulating the development of
children and their capabilities.
Impact of ethnicity on development of primary year children
The children in the primary education and years are often scared of the ethnic diversity
because of the variation in their family background and principles. The native children tend to be
more confident as they feel a sense of more secure and safe environment as compare to the
ethnic minor students. Ilowite and et.al., (2017) stated that ethnic diversity has adverse impact
upon social solidarity and trust. It can have more dominating impact upon primary children. Thus
despite having several challenges schools and care providers must assure that ethnic diversity is
taken into account and academic and development policies are framed in similar ways.
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According to Desmet, Ortuño-Ortín and Wacziarg, (2017) ethnic diversity affects the
social interaction and trust level among students as well as with teachers. Thus communication
skills, creativity are strictly controlled by the ethnic factors. The teachers and mentors which
helps primary children in skill development may also find complications in communication.
However when ethnic diversity is included in the practice then feelings related to ethnic
consequences and identification are reduced and children can more easily adopt the instructional
culture and language.
It has been also argued by various literatures that due to adverse impact of social
interaction primary learners may devote more time in focusing on learning and improving
academic performance. However there are higher possibilities that a sense of ethnic insecurity
and fear can lead to lack of attention and interest among primary learners. This in turn can have
adverse impact upon goal achievement process. For the better development it is vital that ethnic
diversity must be teach at primary levels so that along with the language proficiency individuals
are also able to accept the diversity in social context.
Ethnicity issues affecting attainment and achievement level of children's in primary years
According to Blaustein and Kinniburgh, (2018). certain ethnic groups are
associated with prejudices and assumed to have some specific characteristics or abilities
irrespective of individual potential. Thus individual children's are often judged by their ethnicity.
In the learning environment when individual child feels or identify themselves as part of
minority or different ethnic groups then they are often felt neglected or different. It may affect
their confidence and ability to understand the concepts. Thus the children may faces several
challenges in achieving their goals. Contrary to this Perkins, (2017) stated that for the academic
excellence and higher attainment of social and educational concepts it is vital that primary
children must be allowed to learn and grow in environment of ethnic diversity. This aspect
allows the individual to accept and learn the diversity and variations and thus there are greater
possibility for the child to deal with the global challenges.
As per the view of Harrop, McBee and Boyd, (2016) ethnicity has dominating role in
framing concepts of gender equality and religious practices. Thus it is also possible that in the
yearly years of education child may feel difference in the learnings provided them at home and in
schools. This variation can affect the ability of child to accept the perspectives which is different
from that of their family. Hence their academic foundation, self control and learning behaviour
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also depends upon ethnic characteristics. It has been also observed that when primary children
experience discrimination on the basis of their ethnicity then it has long lasting impact on their
emotional and personal development. The families and teachers must assure that ethnicity must
not act as barrier in the development of child (Mas-Harithulfadhli-Agus, Hamid and Rohana,
2018.). Instead the primary learning environment must be improved in a way such that ethnic
diversity is respected and it does not have any adverse impact upon academic performance and
achievement capabilities of child.
CONCLUSION
From the above analysis it can be concluded that ethnicity has been one of the crucial
factors which affect the academic performance and development of interaction skills. It has been
analysed that when individuals are well aware of ethnic diversity from the primary level then it
becomes more easy and convenient for them to grow and learn in diversity. In order to provide a
more interactive and broad culture for learning and empowering their communication and
creativity skills it is important to overcome the challenges related to ethnicity. The promotion of
ethnic diversity can be effective way to enhance the attainment capabilities of the child so that
they can achieve their development goals more effectively.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Blaustein, M.E. and Kinniburgh, K.M., 2018. Treating traumatic stress in children and
adolescents: How to foster resilience through attachment, self-regulation, and
competency. Guilford Publications.
Desmet, K., Ortuño-Ortín, I. and Wacziarg, R., 2017. Culture, ethnicity, and diversity. American
Economic Review. 107(9). pp.2479-2513.
Gattamorta, K.A., Salerno, J.P. and Castro, A.J., 2019. Intersectionality and health behaviors
among US high school students: examining race/ethnicity, sexual identity, and
sex. Journal of school health. 89(10). pp.800-808.
Harrop, C., McBee, M. and Boyd, B.A., 2016. How are child restricted and repetitive behaviors
associated with caregiver stress over time? A parallel process multilevel growth
model. Journal of autism and developmental disorders. 46(5). pp.1773-1783.
Ilowite, M.F. and et.al., 2017. Disparities in prognosis communication among parents of children
with cancer: the impact of race and ethnicity. Cancer. 123(20). pp.3995-4003.
Mas-Harithulfadhli-Agus, A.R., Hamid, N.A. and Rohana, A.J., 2018. Rural child malnutrition
and unsuccessful outcome of food basket programme: does ethnicity matter?. Ethnicity &
health. pp.1-16.
Perkins, K.L., 2017. Reconsidering residential mobility: Differential effects on child wellbeing
by race and ethnicity. Social science research. 63. pp.124-137.
Turner, E.A., Jensen-Doss, A. and Heffer, R.W., 2015. Ethnicity as a moderator of how parents’
attitudes and perceived stigma influence intentions to seek child mental health
services. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. 21(4). p.613.
Vincent, C., 2017. ‘The children have only got one education and you have to make sure it's a
good one’: parenting and parent–school relations in a neoliberal age. Gender and
Education. 29(5). pp.541-557.
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