Abstract
In this article, the term ethnicity as a concept has crucial significance for explaining conflicts and misunderstandings in early childhood education settings. The authors therefore discuss different approaches to the term ethnicity against the background of symbolic interactionism. Ethnicity can be described as performance between individuals representing self and otherness in interaction, which is often misinterpreted as cultural difference. Against the background of difference theoretical approaches, culture can be described as ‘Doing Difference’ in ‘Doing Ethnicity’. The article argues for ethnographic research and supports this statement by select empirical studies in early childhood settings. It ends with considerations regarding research desiderata and consequences for education in early childhood facilities.
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Kasüschke, D., Trninic, V. (2019). Doing Ethnicity? The Representation and Negotiation of Cultures in ECEC as an Unexplained Research Task. In: Faas, S., Kasüschke, D., Nitecki, E., Urban, M., Wasmuth, H. (eds) Globalization, Transformation, and Cultures in Early Childhood Education and Care. Critical Cultural Studies of Childhood. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27119-0_8
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