Elementary children’s perceptions and explanations of structural discrimination facing immigrants

• In Event: Who belongs here? Children's attitudes about immigration and nationality

Abstract

Although previous research has examined children’s perceptions of ethnic discrimination (e.g., Brown, 2006) and community-level prejudice toward immigrants (e.g., Brown, 2011), little research has examined how children perceive structural discrimination toward immigrants. Structural discrimination, defined as discrimination within institutions that unfairly restricts the experiences and opportunities of a certain group of individuals, is cognitively more complex than interpersonal discrimination (e.g., name-calling or exclusion). Further, children’s attitudes about immigration and their own ethnic and national identity may inform their moral reasoning about structural discrimination on the basis of immigration.

To address this gap in the literature, and to tease apart children’s understanding of discrimination from their attitudes about specific immigrant groups, the current mixed-methods study involved American children (pre-COVID n = 65; estimated final n = 200; ages 6 to 11), who were read a vignette involving two novel groups: a minority immigrant group (Dods) who moves to an island (Zonka) inhabited by a non-immigrant majority group (Zorks). In the vignette, the majority group is depicted as holding higher paying jobs than the immigrant group and showing in-group preferences in hiring. In addition to questions about discrimination, and the fairness and unfairness of it, children’s own ethnic and American identity, intergroup attitudes, and neighborhood ethnic composition were assessed.

Preliminary analyses indicate that 55% of children think it is “very unfair” to show preferences in hiring other in-group members and 65% of children think it is “very unfair” that the majority group has access to higher paying jobs than the minority immigrant group. Children who believed it was fair gave reasons reflecting inferior work ethic, skills, or job demands of the immigrant group that warranted different pay (e.g., “cleaning [a Dod job] is not as hard as making necklaces [a Zork job]”). Children who believed it was unfair gave explanations reflecting an overall morality based in equality (e.g., “everybody should be treated equally,”) or reflected majority-group privilege (e.g., “Zorks are lucky and greedy and the Dods are not. Dods just want a job.”). Answers also reflected some children’s understanding of immigration as a means to seek a better life (e.g., “I wouldn’t be greedy. I would give money to them because they need money. Dods came to the island to get a better job.”). Further, 35% of children assumed that increasing the population of immigrants would make the majority group angry, and their explanations reflected an awareness of majority groups unhappiness with losing privilege (e.g., “because they are invading their territory.” “they think they should get all the good jobs because they were original to the island.”).

Children’s reasoning about structural discrimination facing immigrants in a novel story is related to their awareness of other forms of bias. Implications for intergroup attitudes and interactions will be discussed. Although COVID disrupted the data collection, we will be able to complete the data collection as soon as schools open up (likely in late fall/winter of 2020).

Author

• Christia Spears Brown, University of Kentucky
  Presenting Author