A strong sense of identity and a positive
self-image is fundamental to the emotional and physical wellbeing
of a child. However, there is still considerable misunderstanding
about the nature of identity and its central importance to all
children. One of the reasons for this, is that identity is most
often spoken about in relation to black children in situations
where the child is perceived to be exhibiting identity problems. In
fact, many children about whom there are professional concerns have
problems with their identity, self-esteem and self-worth. These
issues have been shown to be particularly significant for many
children in the care system, both black and white. In their recent
study of the effectiveness of care in children’s homes, Sinclair
and Gibbs (1998) found that over 70% of children and young people
had low self-esteem.
The nature of identity:
Identity is difficult to define, yet it is central to every
person’s sense of their own individuality and place in society.
Definitions range from spiritual or religious, through to
psychodynamic, behavioural, social and structural interpretations.
Within most societies, identity fulfils two useful functions. It
allows individuals to understand and conceptualise themselves as
distinct from others and it allows individuals to form group
identities with other individuals who have similar characteristics
to their own.
Group identification:
Group identification allows individuals to categorise each other
in social interactions. Race, gender, class, disability, age,
sexual identity, are all features of group identity which have an
outcome for group members in terms of institutional discrimination
and disadvantage. For black children and their families, being
black in a white society is not just about personal or group
identity, it is about a lived experience of discrimination on the
grounds of colour and physical characteristics.
Individual and personal identity
Individual identity is the internal model which allows each
person to have a perception of themselves as an individual and
social being. We are all members of numerous social groupings, but
we are also distinct in our own individuality from any other member
of a given group to which we belong, despite some areas of
commonality.
There is a complex interaction that takes place between the
elements of one’s personality to form an individual identity.
Although each child is born with a specific genetic blueprint,
inherited from their parents, each is unique. This is because each
individual interaction between a child, his or her family,
relationships, social context and environment, will be processed
into an individual experience. These sets of individual experiences
contribute towards the development of a whole personality.
Identity, therefore, has to be defined and assessed in terms of
a holistic model of children’s development that incorporates other
facets of his or her developmental needs. The diagram below sets
out how these key elements interact to form a child’s identity.
From the time a child is born, he or she begins to develop an
individual identity. First interactions with their carers, siblings
and social contacts become part of the child’s internal model of
identity. These experiences also locate the child within a social
world in which group identities begin to influence identity
formation.
For black children and their families, racism affects both
individual and group identities. Although there is no biological or
genetic basis for the concept of a racial group, race has a social
significance in that it affects the way in which a child him or
herself and is perceived by others. A black child growing up within
a predominantly white society will receive negative messages about
being black, and needs a positive internal model of black identity
to counteract negative stereotypes.
The Development of a racial identity
Racial identity is relevant to all children whether black or
white. Being white is a racial identity, just as being black is
one. However, because being white in England is often perceived as
normative, being black becomes defined in terms of its difference
to white norms. In fact, all children go through a developmental
process of acquiring a racial identity, although many white adults
and children along with a percentage of black adults and children
are not aware they are doing so. Black children do not universally
acquire a negative sense of self despite the effects of.
The preconditions for identity formation for a secure black
child growing up in a loving environment with racially aware black
carers will be very different to the preconditions for a black
child who has an insecure base, a poor caregiving environment and
unaware or even hostile black or white carers.
For black children who do not have a positive sense of their
racial identity, Cross (1971) provides one model for understanding
and assessing racial identity. He explains the acquisition of their
racial identity in terms of a five stage process:
- Pre-encounter stage: This is before a child’s has encountered
racism, where their world view is influenced by a white
perspective.
- Encounter stage: This coincides with the child’s first real
encounter with racism. The significance of this experience forces
the child to reconsider their previous world view and to
reinterpret their experiences.
- Immersion-emersion stage: This is where the child seeks to
reject all previous aspects of their identity, and to become
immersed in their blackness. However, this is only a superficial
and reactive concept of black identity, which is more connected
with the semblance of blackness, than with an integrated working
model of a black identity. Individuals at this stage are often,
wrongly perceived to have a positive black identity.
- Internalisation stage: This is a move towards a more positive
and integrated model of identity, in which an internal working
model of black identity begins to take shape.
- Internalisation-commitment stage: This is where the internal
model links to aspects of a group identity, in that the child
commits themselves to active participation in and commitment to the
black community.
Cross’ model also helps provide some insight into the links
between personal racial identity and racial group identification.
It helps us to understand the connections between personal racial
identity, racial group identification and emotional and behavioural
development. For instance a black person who group identifies as
black, but is unable to internalise that identification will show
in the way they behave the dis-connections between their external
and internal worlds. Similarly, a black child who has an integrated
sense of their racial identity will exhibit this in their
interactions and relationships with others.
For black children with one white parent (children of dual
heritage) the connections between personal self-definition and
group identification can hold particular significance. Although a
number of recent studies have focused on the identity of children
of dual heritage, it should be stressed that these children should
not be pathologised as having identity problems or identity
conflicts. Many children of dual heritage have a very positive and
integrated racial identity.
However, for some children of dual heritage, the dynamics of
racial group identification are very complex. It is often stated
that such children "want to be white" or are "denying their
blackness". This is an over-simplification of their position.
For some of these children, particularly those who live with their
white parent and have little or no contact with their black parent
or the black parent’s family, black self-definition means more than
a journey towards self-recognition. For them there are emotional
consequences to black racial group identification. If they perceive
their white parent as caring and supportive, they may not wish to
hurt a loved person by rejecting the white racial identity of their
main carer, or white people in their main caregiving environment.
For these children it is important to understand the context in
which the process of identity development is taking place. Working
with these children and their white carers to strengthen the
child’s internal working model of racial identity is crucial to
helping them feel positive about their racial identity and to deal
with the racism which they will inevitably experience.
Whilst Cross’ model was developed to help understand black
racial identity, it is also applicable to the assessment of white
racial identity. Just as the acquisition of an integrated sense of
self in relation to race is a process for black people, so it is
for white people. White children’s attitudes to race reflect this.
In their study of mainly white primary schools Troyna and Hatcher
(1992) found that white children exhibited inconsistent attitudes
towards race, ranging from overtly racist frameworks of
interpretation through to well developed notions of race
equality.
An interesting aspect of their research findings is the
inconsistency between expressed values and behaviour:
A number of combinations of attitudes is possible, ranging from
children who hold overtly racist beliefs but do not express them in
behaviour, to children who hold racially egalitarian beliefs but
use racist name calling in certain situations.
This demonstrates the need for dialogue about race and racism
with white children and young people, as a way of exploring and
integrating their notions of race. An awareness of the impact of
racism and an understanding of their white cultural heritage are
also important parts of positive identity development for white
children in a multi-racial and multi-cultural society.
Cultural, religious and linguistic identity
Culture, religion and language are three distinct parts of
identity which interconnect with racial and ethnic identity.
However, they are distinct from both in that they can be acquired
through the process of socialisation. A child can be born into a
family from one cultural background, speak one language and be
brought up with a particular set of religious beliefs. With a
change of lifestyle, a new parental partnership, or a geographical
move some or all of these aspects of the child’s life may change,
whilst their racial and ethnic identity remain the same.
However, culture, religion and language are very important
aspects of group and individual identity. Whilst racial identity
forms one important aspect of identity, individuals from the same
racial group may have differences in terms of their cultural
background, religious observance and linguistic identity.
Culture
The following key points are crucial to an understanding of the
nature of culture and acquiring a cultural identity.
- Both black and white people have cultural identities;
- Culture is dynamic, not monolithic;
- Culture is acquired through live experiences;
- Culture is not static, but changes and develops over time;
- There are differences between families who have the same
cultural background;
- Views of black cultures are influenced by cultural and racial
stereotyping.
The acquisition of cultural identity
Just as for racial identity, cultural identity functions at both
a group and an individual level. It is acquired from live
experiences. From birth, the child’s senses are attuned to the
specifics of their environment: Individuation begins with the
environment and evolves largely through sensory and perceptual
experiences.
The particular music young children hear, the language spoken or
type of regional accent or dialect, the colours of clothing and
fabrics seen, distinct household and cooking smells all provide a
particular and distinct environment which contributes towards the
formation of their cultural identity.
As a child grows older, interacts more with their family,
community and the world at large, these interactions become more
complex and multi-faceted. At the same time as developing
capabilities for self-reflection and self-definition, the child
acquires an individual cultural identity which has been shaped both
by the particular context in which it has been developed and the
child’s own contribution to the process.
During this developmental process, the child will act and react
in relation to a host of cultural information. Some of this will be
specific to their own family traditions, some will be shared with
individuals and families who come from a similar cultural
background to the child. Through these interactions the child
learns about individual family values and norms as well as about
those norms and values which may be shared as group values.
For black disabled children there may also be other cultural
connections which are important to them in addition to their family
connections. For example, a black child who is deaf will also have
experiences of deaf culture, where they may share commonalities
with children and young people who have different ethnicities and
family backgrounds to themselves. Whilst these commonalities will
influence aspects of group-identification with other deaf children
and young people, family culture will also be significant in
defining identity. In this way, the acquisition of cultural
identity can only be understood by taking account of the whole
experience of each child or young person.
For some children, who do not grow up in an environment where
they experience their own culture, perhaps because of being in
substitute care, or because they do not have contact with any black
family members, the acquisition of cultural identity is a more
difficult process. For some of these children the only access to
such experiences is through books or television programmes.
These sources of information can provide the child with
information about cultural practices and traditions, but they
cannot provide the child with a live and interactive experience in
which the child has the opportunity to participate in and even
shape events. Although useful if used appropriately, such
information can also reinforce stereotypical and monolithic notions
of culture because of its essentially static nature.
Language
The acquisition of language is central to any child’s development.
It is also a feature of the child’s individual and group identity.
The particular language, dialect or accent which the child learns
and speaks will help them to define themselves, and others to
define the child in relation to themselves.
For children and adults, language represents more than the
ability to communicate. It also helps a child to access and be
accessed by groups of people who share the same language, and to
reinforce the child’s sense of their own cultural group
identity.
Dosanjh and Ghuman (1998) in their Study of Child-rearing
Practices of Two Generations of Punjabis found that the mothers
were keen to maintain religious rites and customs: Likewise, they
are eager to teach their children their mother tongue, despite the
lack of support from infant and primary schools.
It is vital that children have the opportunity to learn and
maintain family languages. Although actual figures are not
available, many children placed in long term substitute care have
little or no opportunity to practise and develop their language
skills apart from speaking English. For these children there can be
no more poignant reminder of the loss of opportunity than the
inability to communicate with other members of their own family and
community in their own language.
This opportunity is particularly important for disabled children
whose acquisition of language may be affected by their
impairment.
Choosing positive learning
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