THE ROLE OF PARENTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN'S ETHNIC ATTITUDES

Abstract

Investigation into the dynamics of children's prejudices leads inevitably to a study of children's experiences in the home. This research, through interviews with the parents, studies parents' attitudes and values concerning racial and religious groups in our culture as these attitudes and values are incorporated into the child rearing practices and philosophies of the parents. The research problem may be broken down into its specific questions: Do parents accept as one of their responsibilities the development of their children's attitudes and values concerning human relations? Are they aware of their children's beliefs and attitudes about racial and religious groups, and of the children's feelings of security and insecurity arising therefrom? Are parents aware of their own contributions to their children's social learning? By the freedoms granted and the restrictions imposed in their children's social relationships, how are parents influencing their children's attitudes? Are the parents' ideologies concerning group differences consistent with their behavior, or is there a discrepancy in the direction of democratic ideology but exclusive and discriminatory behavior toward out-groups? Are there feelings of guilt related to such discrepancies? How adequate is parents' understanding of cultural differences, and how effective is their guidance in developing democratic group relations among the children? When confronted with intergroup tensions, how do parents handle these tensions for themselves and their children? In summary, the purposes of this research are to study (a) the kinds of training which parents provide for their children in the area of human relations, and (b) the beliefs and attitudes of the parents which underlie their treatment of cultural differences. An additional problem of the research concerns the parents' opinions regarding the role of the school in intercultural education.