Abstract
Dominant discourses in Germany portray children with a so-called “migration background” implicitly or explicitly as “the Other” in relation to a normative image of “German children.” Family origins, language, and physical appearance act as important criteria in this process of ethnifying children. Embedded within this discursive framework, my research focus, however, is on the perspectives of the children themselves and how they participate in the social construction of ethnic identities. The paper is based on an ethnographic research in a day care center in Berlin with children from four to six years of age. Participant observation and symbolic group interviews were employed to explore the children’s practical enactment and use of ethnifying identity ascriptions in the context of the peer culture. I argue that ethnicity is not a pregiven fact, but practically accomplished and negotiated in children’s social interactions. Thus, the research contributes to our understanding of children’s agency and competence as well as of the relationality, provisionality, and context-dependence of children’s identity constructions.
Résumé
Le discours dominant en Allemagne représente les enfants « issus de l’immigration » , de manière implicite ou explicite, comme « l’Autre » par rapport à une image normative des « enfants allemands » . L’origine familiale, la langue et l’apparence physique servent de critères importants dans ce processus ethnicisant les enfants. Imbriquée dans ce cadre discursif, ma recherche se focalise cependant sur les perspectives des enfants eux-mêmes et leur façon de participer à la construction sociale des identités ethniques. L’article présente une étude ethnographique menée avec des enfants de quatre à six ans dans un service de garde de Berlin. Des observations participantes et des interviews symboliques de groupe ont servi à explorer la représentation pratique et l’usage d’attributions identitaires « ethnicisantes » par les enfants dans le contexte culturel des pairs. Je soutiens que l’ethnicité n’est pas un fait donné, mais pratiquement généré et négocié au travers des interactions sociales des enfants. L’étude contribue ainsi à la compréhension de la compétence des enfants comme acteurs sociaux, ainsi qu’à la dimension relationnelle, provisoire et contextuelle de la construction de leurs identités.
Resumen
Discursos dominantes en Alemania identifican a los niños con aquello que llamamos “trasfondo de migración”, implícito o explícito, como “el Otro” en relación a la imagen normativa de un “niño alemán”. El origen familiar, el idioma y la apariencia física actúan como criterios importantes en este proceso de etnificar a los niños. Dentro de este marco discursivo, mi estudio se focaliza, sin embargo, en las perspectivas de los niños mismos y su participación en la construcción social de identidades étnicas. Este artículo está basado en una investigación etnográfica con niños de cuatro a seis años de un jardín infantil en Berlín. Se utilizaron observaciones participantes y entrevistas grupales simbólicas, para explorar las acciones prácticas sociales de los niños y el uso de la identidad étnica que asumen en el contexto de la cultura de pares. Se discute que la etnicidad no es un hecho preestablecido, sino más bien algo prácticamente adquirido y negociado en las interacciones sociales de los niños. Es por ello, que la investigación contribuye al entendimiento de la mediación necesaria para los niños y sus competencias y también muestra la forma de relación, provisionalidad y la dependencia de contexto, en la construcción de las identidades de los niños.
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Notes
The circular arrangement around the central topic of “Ethnicity and Early Childhood” demonstrates that the codes were developed in relation to my research question.
The soccer world championship was in Berlin in the summer right before my research took place and the center is situated quite near the so-called “fan-mile,” so I assume the children encountered a lot of flags during that time and also had some artistic activities on that theme. Actually, I observed the children quite often drawing flags during free play.
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Seele, C. Ethnicity and Early Childhood. IJEC 44, 307–325 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-012-0070-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-012-0070-1