Ethnic identity as a process and structure is formed in the development of human activity and communication. Awareness of the ethnocultural features of the community determines ethnic self-identification. Identification is the most critical process in the formation of ethnic identity. Similar processes of human social activity are beginning to occur in large numbers in the environment of American schools. Ethnocultural features of development, life, behavior, and communication begin to manifest in their diversity in this group and, in particular, in each student.
In the process of its formation, ethnic identity goes through several stages, correlated with the stages of the child’s mental development. One of the first concepts for developing a child’s awareness of belonging to a national group was proposed by J. Piaget. In a 1951 study, he analyzed – as two sides of the same process – the formation of the concept of homeland and images of foreigners (Svensson et al., 2018). The Swiss scientist considers the development of ethnic identity as the creation of cognitive models, and ethnic feelings, in his opinion, are a kind of response to knowledge about ethnic phenomena.
There are three stages in the formation of ethnicity. The school begins its influence at the first stage, but it is initially insignificant – the immediate environment and family play a more considerable role for a child of 6-7 years old. At 8-9 years old, the child is already aware of his language, place of birth and residence, and nationality of his parents. At this stage in school, the child can already see more apparent differences between his family and his classmates’ families, and based on these differences, identification appears. In early adolescence, ethnic identity is formed in full, as features of different peoples, the child notes the uniqueness of history, the specifics of traditional everyday culture, which is included in the school curriculum. As an educational institution, the school contributes to the systematization of knowledge at this stage. In the future, the school can be viewed as a place of interaction between representatives of different or familiar ethnic identities among peers, which can often lead to conflicts. At this stage, such identification is influenced not by family and environment but by more global status relations between ethnic groups.
Reference
Svensson, Y., Berne, J., & Syed, M. (2018). A narrative approach to the role of others in ethnic identity formation. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 24(2), 187. Web.