Inter ethnic attitudes of young children implications for early intervention

INTER-ETHNIC ATTITUDES OF YOUNG CHILDREN: IMPLICATIONS FOR EARLY INTERVENTION LOKE TZE-MING VERNON (B Soc Sci (Hons.) NUS) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (SOCIAL WORK) DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WORK & PSYCHOLOGY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2004 Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children Acknowledgements I wish to express my gratitude to the many people who helped make this study a reality Special thanks to my supervisor and friend, Dr Mohd Maliki Osman, for his guidance, insight, inspiration, and care and concern My life has been much enriched by our friendship over the past few years, and for that, I am indebted My appreciation also goes to the principals, supervisors and teachers of the preschools involved in this study Their professional assistance and support helped make the labor intensive and difficult task of collecting data manageable This study would also not have been possible without the enormous support and encouragement from my wife, Boon Ping Not only did she stay up nights to read my drafts, she also patiently managed the housework and our two boys, Jonathan and Benjamin, so that I could focus on completing this work I give thanks to God for seeing me through this all, from beginning to end i Vernon Loke Table of Contents Acknowledgements i Summary iv List of Tables and Figures vii Chapter INTRODUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW Centrality of Race in Singapore Ethnic Attitudes and Conflict 13 Children and Race 15 Definition of Prejudice 18 Theories of Racial Prejudice in Children 19 Measurement of Prejudice in Children 26 The Contact Theory of Ethnic Relations 29 Prejudice Intervention with Young Children in Schools 32 Conceptual Framework of the Study 35 Chapter 37 METHODOLOGY 37 Operational Definitions 37 Design 40 Participants 45 Instrument 49 Procedures 51 Scoring Protocols 53 Statistical Analyses 54 Limitations 55 Chapter 57 RESULTS 57 Part – Children’s Inter-ethnic Attitudes and Inter-ethnic Contact 57 Ethnic In-Group Bias 57 Children’s Ethnic Group Evaluations 60 Inter-Ethnic Contact and Children’s Ethnic In-Group Bias 62 Inter-Ethnic Contact and Children’s Ethnic Group Evaluations 65 ii Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children Inter-Ethnic Contact and Children’s Ethnic Preferences for Best Friend 68 Inter-Ethnic Contact and Children’s Ethnic Preferences for Playmate 71 Inter-Ethnic Contact and Children’s Ethnic Self Preference 74 Part II – The Impact of the Intervention on Inter-ethnic Attitudes 77 Intervention and Children’s Ethnic In-Group Bias 77 Intervention and Children’s Ethnic Group Evaluations 81 Intervention and Children’s Ethnic Preference for Best Friend 87 Intervention and Children’s Ethnic Preference for Playmate 88 Intervention and Children’s Ethnic Self Preference 89 Chapter 90 DISCUSSION 90 Part I – Children’s Inter-ethnic Attitudes and Inter-ethnic Contact 90 Ethnic In-Group Bias 90 Direction of Ethnic Group Evaluations 93 Effect of Inter-ethnic Contact 94 Part II – Implications of the Intervention Program 97 Chapter 100 IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION 100 Implications for Social Work Practice: Early Intervention with Young Children 100 Policy Implications 103 Future Research 104 Conclusion 105 REFERENCES 107 APPENDIX 124 Asian Preschool Ethnic Attitude Measure (APEAM) 124 APPENDIX 127 APEAM – A (Pre-Test) 127 APPENDIX 128 APEAM – B (Post Test) 128 APPENDIX 129 Children’s Response Worksheet 129 iii Vernon Loke Summary Inter-ethnic prejudice and discrimination are major impediments to the enjoyment of personal rights and social justice, to the healthy social functioning of individuals, families, and communities, and to the establishment of socially cohesive and integrative societies (OHCHR, 2001) Addressing this issue is within the ambit and definition of social work (IFSW, 2000) A key factor in preventing the formation of prejudice is recognizing and understanding early racial attitudes in children (Glover & Smith, 1997) as more success in changing attitudes can be accomplished with young children whose attitudes and inter-group behaviors are less intransigent than that of adults (Taylor & Katz, 1989) Although there has been much scholarship on race and children elsewhere, little is known about the racial attitudes of children in Singapore, or about the impact of inter-ethnic contact and the use of multicultural curricula on these attitudes This is particularly so for those at the preschool age This study, comprising two parts, aims to fill this gap in knowledge The first part seeks to provide a better understanding of the local scene by exploring and describing the inter-ethnic attitudes of 279 Chinese and Malay preschoolers in Singapore, and examining how the attitudes may be associated with the race of the child and with the ethnic composition of the preschool Appropriate intervention strategies and policies can then be developed from the knowledge gained The second part of the study is a quasi-experiment designed to iv Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children evaluate the impact of a short-term multicultural reading program on the inter-ethnic attitudes of the children Some 283 Chinese and Malay children from three ethnically integrated preschools participated in this part of the study Consistent with literature, the results show that preschoolers in the sample demonstrate racial prejudice, albeit at moderate levels, with 58.4% of them showing at least some degree of ethnic in-group bias Preschoolers from both the Chinese ethnic majority and Malay ethnic minority groups show similar levels of ethnic in-group bias and similarly attributed positive traits mainly to their own ethnic groups They also hold similar negative ethnic group evaluations towards the minority Indians In addition, children from the ethnically integrated preschools show lower levels of in-group bias, and are more open to having cross-ethnic best friends and playmates, compared with children from the ethnically segregated preschool environments This finding corroborates Allport’s contact theory that predicted contact under the optimal conditions of equal group status, common goals, inter-group cooperation and authority support, can lead to reduced levels of racial prejudice A short-term multicultural story reading intervention program to reduce racial prejudice was found to have no significant impact on inter-ethnic attitudes It is heartening to note that the levels of prejudice seen in the present study are much lower than those found in similar studies conducted in the West Nevertheless, racial prejudice still exists, and social workers need to rise up to the challenge with v Vernon Loke interventions to confront this threat to harmonious inter-ethnic relations and social cohesion at the practice, policy and research levels, starting with the very young vi Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children List of Tables and Figures Figure 1.1: Conceptual Framework for Study 36 Table 2.1: Research Paradigm with Independent and Dependent Variables 43 Table 2.2: Ethnic Distribution of Children by Preschool Setting 47 Table 3.1: Frequency Distribution of Ethnic In-group Bias 58 Table 3.2: Children’s In-group Bias by Race 59 Table 3.3: Response Percentages for Positive Ethnic Group Evaluations By Race 60 Table 3.4: Response Percentages for Negative Ethnic Group Evaluations By Race 61 Table 3.5: ANOVA : Ethnic in-group Bias by Ethnic Composition of Preschool 63 Table 3.6: Scheffe’s Post Hoc Test 64 Table 3.7: Response Percentages for Positive Ethnic Group Evaluations By Ethnic Composition of Preschool for Chinese Children 65 Table 3.8: Response Percentages for Negative Ethnic Group Evaluations By Ethnic Composition of Preschool for Chinese Children 66 Table 3.9: Response Percentages for Ethnic Group Evaluations By Ethnic Composition of Preschool for Malay Children 67 Table 3.10: Response Percentages for Children’s Preference for Best Friend By Race within the Ethnically Integrated Preschool Setting 69 Table 3.11 - Response Percentages for Children’s Preference for Best Friend By Ethnic Composition of Preschool for Chinese Children 70 Table 3.12: Response Percentages for Children’s Preference for Best Friend By Ethnic Composition of Preschool for Malay Children 71 Table 3.13: Response Percentages for Children’s Preference for Playmate By Race within the Ethnically Integrated Preschool Setting 72 Table 3.14: Response Percentages for Children’s Preference for Playmate By Ethnic Composition of Preschool for Chinese Children 72 vii Vernon Loke Table 3.15: Response Percentages for Children’s Preference for Playmate By Ethnic Composition of Preschool for Malay Children 73 Table 3.16: Response Percentages for Children’s Preferred Self Identity By Ethnic Composition of Preschool for Chinese Children 75 Table 3.17 - Response Percentages for Children’s Preferred Self Identity By Ethnic Composition of Preschool for Malay Children 76 Table 3.18: APEAM Sub-scale Means and Independent T-test for Intervention Group by Race 78 Table 3.19 - APEAM Sub-scale Means and Independent T-test for Chinese Children 80 Table 3.20: APEAM Sub-scale Means and Independent T-test for Malay Children 81 Table 3.21: Response Percentages for Positive Ethnic Group Evaluations By Treatment Condition for Chinese Children at Pre-Test 82 Table 3.22: Response Percentages for Negative Ethnic Group Evaluations By Treatment Condition for Chinese Children at Pre-test 82 Table 3.23: Response Percentages for Positive Ethnic Group Evaluations By Treatment Condition for Chinese Children at Post-Test 83 Table 3.24: Response Percentages for Negative Ethnic Group Evaluations By Treatment Condition for Chinese Children at Post-test 84 Table 3.25: Response Percentages for Positive Ethnic Group Evaluations By Treatment Condition for Malay Children at Pre-Test 85 Table 3.26: Response Percentages for Negative Ethnic Group Evaluations By Treatment Condition for Malay Children at Pre-test 85 Table 3.27: Response Percentages for Positive Ethnic Group Evaluations By Treatment Condition for Malay Children at Post-Test 86 Table 3.28: Response Percentages for Negative Ethnic Group Evaluations By Treatment Condition for Malay Children at Post-test 86 Table 3.29: Response Percentages for Best Friend Preference By Treatment Condition 88 viii Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children APPENDIX Children’s Response Worksheet 129 Vernon Loke 130 Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children 131 Vernon Loke 132 Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children 133 Vernon Loke 134 Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children 135 Vernon Loke 136 Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children 137 Vernon Loke 138 Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children 139 Vernon Loke 140 Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children 141 Vernon Loke 142 Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children 143 [...]... the inter- ethnic attitudes of preschoolers in Singapore, and how these attitudes may be associated with the race of the child and with the ethnic composition of the preschool Appropriate intervention strategies and policies can then be developed from the knowledge gained The second part of the study examines the impact of a short-term story-reading intervention program on the inter- ethnic attitudes of. .. children whose attitudes and inter- group behaviors are less intransigent (Taylor & Katz, 1989) than with adults With the first six years of life being an important period for the development of all social attitudes, including inter- ethnic prejudice (Allport, 1954), it is critical that the focus of 12 Inter- ethnic Attitudes of Children intervention programs to reduce inter- ethnic prejudice and to enhance... to the underlying motives for such tendencies and their possible consequences 10 Inter- ethnic Attitudes of Children Schools therefore need to intervene early to encourage greater inter- ethnic interactions (Lee et al., 2002) Race awareness and prejudice have also been observed among preschool children in Singapore In the only known study on the racial attitudes of preschool children in Singapore, Gloria... on the inter- ethnic attitudes of the children As Glover and Smith argued, a key factor in 4 Inter- ethnic Attitudes of Children preventing the formation of prejudice is recognizing and understanding early racial attitudes in children (Glover & Smith, 1997) In addition, more success in changing attitudes can be accomplished with young children whose attitudes and inter- group behaviors are less intransigent.. .Inter- ethnic Attitudes of Children Table 3.30: Response Percentages for Playmate Preference By Treatment Condition 89 Table 3.31 Response Percentages Self-Identity Preference By Treatment Condition 89 ix Inter- ethnic Attitudes of Children Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Inter- ethnic prejudice and discrimination remains at present a major impediment to the enjoyment of personal... such as through the use of multicultural curricula 3 Vernon Loke (Bigler, 1999), and promoting inter- ethnic contact (Emerson, Kimbro, & Yancey, 2002; Forbes, 1997; Hawley & Smylie, 1988; Lee & Welch, 1993) In addition, the racial attitudes of children could be changed more easily than those of adults (Clark, 1963) More importantly, children s racial attitudes and the effects of interventions to reduce... and the proliferation of ethnic conflicts around the world What follows is a review of studies on children s racial attitudes, theories of how racial prejudice may develop in children, and how these attitudes may be measured and intervened With the myriad of theories surrounding racial prejudice, it would benefit this study to adopt an eclectic approach in our explanations and interventions to achieve... terrorists plotting acts of terror in Singapore cast a 2 Inter- ethnic Attitudes of Children spotlight of suspicion on the Malay-Muslim community Ethnic and religious sensitivities were heightened and inter- ethnic relations between the Malay-Muslim community and the other ethnic communities were severely strained As a result, the fragile social fabric that holds the various ethnic communities together... race and children elsewhere, little is known about the racial attitudes of children in Singapore, or about the impact of inter- ethnic contact and the use of multicultural curricula on these attitudes This is particularly so for those at the preschool age This study, comprising two parts, aims to fill this gap in knowledge The first part of the study seeks to provide a better understanding of the local... cohesion implies the definition of a society as inclusive and founded upon a sense of communality and responsibility of its members towards each other One of the main processes to promote cohesion is the activation of interactions based on trust and reciprocity between members in a society (Helly, 2003) Participation and trust in a 14 Inter- ethnic Attitudes of Children wide range of civic institutions and ... 62 Inter-Ethnic Contact and Children s Ethnic Group Evaluations 65 ii Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children Inter-Ethnic Contact and Children s Ethnic Preferences for Best Friend 68 Inter-Ethnic. .. important period for the development of all social attitudes, including inter-ethnic prejudice (Allport, 1954), it is critical that the focus of 12 Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children intervention. .. iv Inter-ethnic Attitudes of Children evaluate the impact of a short-term multicultural reading program on the inter-ethnic attitudes of the children Some 283 Chinese and Malay children from three