Prejudice based on national, ethnic or religious grounds causes many conflicts among representatives of different communities. First of all, biases arise based on insufficient education of people regarding one or many regions, traditions, customs and beliefs of the people who live in this territory. Psychologically, to protect oneself from negative experiences, a person is inclined to show intolerance towards individuals who are not like him or her. This feature is especially widespread among children, whose level of knowledge about the world around them is still low for natural reasons (Birtel et al., 2019). Teachers need to pay attention to this issue since the formation of children’s views on the world around them lies precisely in the field of responsibility of the teacher.
There are several steps you can take to help an elementary school teacher reduce the prejudice of his students towards each other. First, regularly, hold events dedicated to a particular country or culture. In the classroom, children will be able to present their customs and beliefs, talk about exciting and unusual social foundations, and also celebrate a variety of ethnic and national holidays together. Second, it is worth actively involving students’ parents in such events. They will be able not only to better and more detailed about their culture but also to establish more trusting relationships with children. Given the age difference, children will listen to the words and opinions of adults with much more attention and respect than their peers.
Teachers need to pay close attention to the cultural upbringing of children and make efforts to eradicate intolerance. This can be done through active participation in the interaction of children through cultural exchange. To achieve more effective results, it is necessary to involve students’ parents in development activities.
Reference
Birtel, M. D., Di Bernardo, G. A., Stathi, S., Crisp, R. J., Cadamuro, A., & Vezzali, L. (2019). Imagining contact reduces prejudice in preschool children. Social Development, 28(4), 1054-1073.