Deck 14: Using Racial and Ethnic Concepts: The Critical Case of Very Young Children

Question 1

Cognitive development models used to explain children's acquisition of racial and ethnic knowledge depict children as proceeding in a ______ fashion toward adulthood.

A) cyclical
B) subversive
C) nonsensical
D) linear

Answer 1

D

Question 2

According to the authors, most studies assume that children have naïve views about social concepts until age ______.

A) three
B) five
C) seven
D) nine

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which approach did the authors use to gather data?

A) field observations
B) data mining
C) structured play
D) anonymous surveys

Answer 3

A

Question 4

One interaction presented in the reading involved Sarah and Rita pretending to bake muffins in the playhouse. Which ethnic marker did Rita use to exclude Elizabeth from this activity?

A) skin color
B) religion
C) size
D) language

Question 5

How did Ling-mai attempt to include others and engage them in learning about her Chinese identity?

A) She invited them to bake muffins with her.
B) She carried a book about the Chinese language.
C) She shared candy with the class.
D) She questioned others about their skin color.

Question 6

Which of the following is true about the children at the center?

A) Most had little or no experience with people from other racial or ethnic groups outside of the center.
B) Most expressed concern about their own racial or ethnic identity.
C) Most socialized within their own racial or ethnic group.
D) Most were from families in which prejudice was promoted in the home.

Question 7

During playtime, Renee, Ling-mai, and Jocelyn have an encounter involving a wagon. How did Ling-mai indicate that she accepted the global racial hierarchy?

A) She openly argued with Renee about the accuracy of her statements.
B) She fought to pull the handle of the wagon.
C) She waited until she got home to tell an adult about the interaction.
D) She complained to the teacher that Renee had hurt her feelings.

Question 8

What was the center director's response to the researchers' report?

A) He insisted the researchers must have been observing other children.
B) He attempted to discover the identity of the children in order to cure them.
C) He demanded the resignation of all of the teachers mentioned in the report.
D) He offered to reprimand all of the children for their behavior.

Question 9

In the reading, Taleshia, a Black child, chooses the color pink to represent her handprint. How may a traditional cognitive theorist explain Taleshia's choice of pink?

A) Pink is her favorite color.
B) She is confused about her racial identity.
C) She is probably biracial.
D) Pink is the color of her palms.

Question 10

What do Renee, Jocelyn, and Cathie share in common?

A) They are all teachers.
B) They all behave aggressively toward the other children.
C) They all excluded classmates based on skin color.
D) They are all White.

Question 11

Discuss one encounter presented in the reading in which one of the children demonstrated knowledge of racial or ethnic concepts in a way that contradicted the mainstream research perspective.

Question 12

Define "people colors." What is their purpose in school or daycare settings?

Question 13

What effect did adult intervention have on the children's discussions about race and ethnicity?

Question 14

Explain how Corinne displayed an ability to create meaning by drawing from her personal world.

Question 15

Most of the children in the study had little or no experience with people from other racial or ethnic groups outside of the center. Imagine that these children attended a school in which they had no exposure to other children different from them. Discuss some of their responses and interactions would have been different.