Ethnic Identity In Middle Childhood

In the study conducted the researchers used responses from second and fourth graders to explore the meaning of ethnic identity in middle childhood with the help of open ended questions. The researchers found multiple different results in the study. They found that children with age had a better understanding of ethnic identity with their responses being more abstract then observable differences in ethnicity. They also found ethnic differences in the responses of children with different ethnicity. They found that immigrant children would think of language and heredity when it came to ethnic identity, while white and African American children would think ethnic identity to include physical appearance and social position. They also found that certain ethnicities such as …show more content…
I think this is a major strength for the study as it would show what children less exposed to the American culture think of ethnic identity. It is a way for the researchers to provide information on the way children in other countries would think about ethnic identity as the first immigrants are closest to their homeland. The other strength of the study was the use of two age groups for the study. The use of two age groups helped out the researchers in testing different theories in their study. The researchers found out that a major change occurs between second grade and fourth grade as fourth graders are able to explain ethnic identity with more abstract descriptions. The third strength of the study was the way they measured the responses from children about ethnic identity. The different codes formulated in the study were useful in making a differentiation in the way ethic identity was described by the children. The study found that many children used language as ethnic identity, heredity, physical appearance and ‘I don’t know’. This was an important way for researchers to separate and check ethnic differences in the