The First R: How Children Learn Race and Racism

(Paperback)

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Description

Writers since Piaget have questioned when and how children assimilate racist attitudes - or simply become aware of racial differences. This book offers stirring evidence that the answers may be more surprising than we ever imagined. The rich accounts of children's behaviour around race are drawn from Van Ausdale's ethnographies, conducted in several multi-ethnic day-care centres. When she persistently divested herself of any authoritative role, children as young as three years gradually revealed to her a surprising array of racial attitudes, assumptions and behaviours - most of which they normally withhold from parents and adults. The careful ethnographic analysis, conducted over many months, lead the authors to question many long-held assumptions about the nature of race and racial learning in society. The stories of the children are compelling, often endearing and unforgettable. They will change the way parents, teachers and other educators understand the world as seen by children.

Reviews

"This is a scrupulously researched book." - Times Educational Supplement "A wonderfully vivid account of how children learn about the 'first R'--race--even before they start school. The authors show how children as young as three have entered into and are experimenting with the tangled ideologies of race of the adult world." - Barrie Thorne, author of Gender Play: Girls and Boys in School

Author Bio

Debra Van Ausdale is assistant professor of sociology at Syracuse University. Joe R. Feagin is graduate research professor in sociology at the University of Florida.