Elementary students attending ethnically diverse schools are less likely to be racially biased than students at homogeneous schools, according to a new study by two University of Maryland, College Park researchers.
Co-authored by human development professor Melanie Killen and postdoctoral researcher Heidi McGlothlin, the study ? published in the October issue of the journal Child Development ? showed first- and fourth-graders pictures of familiar peer situations at 13 suburban schools in Maryland and Virginia.
In the snapshots children of different races were portrayed, but their intentions were open for interpretation. For example, one child was shown behind a swing while another one is in front of the swing and on the ground ? andthe children were asked what had happened. Was the child on the ground pushed?
“What we found is that children from homogenous schools ? white kids from white schools ? were more likely to attribute negative bias toward black kids,” Killen said.
While 71 percent of the white students in the study said the child was pushed when a black child was behind the swing, less than 60 percent said the child was pushed when the white child was behind the swing.
There was no significant difference in children?s perceptions from more diverse schools. A developmental psychologist who has studied childhood and teenage race attitudes, Killen said children need to have friends and positive social interaction with kids from different ethnic backgrounds. “It gives them the ability to challenge the stereotypes they get in the culture,” Killen said.
“What?s new about this study is that it shows the impact television, movies and the media have on young children,” Killen said. “People assume that kids 6 to 9 years old don?t have bias, and that?s not true. People also assume that prejudice is taught only by parents, but it?s not that simple.”
Failing regular direct interaction, parents and teachers can prevent bias by seeking out positive role models and incorporating curriculum materials, books, films and stories that involve different people and backgrounds. She added that while explicit racism in the United States has dropped dramatically in the past 50 years, more subtle forms of bias are “still pervasive.”
“Stereotypes are just being acquired at this age, but by middle school they?re in and they are hard to change,” Killen said. “Once they get to college, they are deeply entrenched. They are very hard to get rid of completely once they?re acquired. Each year is very important.”
rcassie@baltimoreexaminer.com
