ABSTRACT

In recent decades, Ireland has experienced an increase in diversity due to immigration. The purpose of this study is to explore how three Irish-born primary-grade children of Nigerian immigrants in Ireland, one girl and two boys in the 5th and 6th grades, describe experiences of racism and perceive being Irish in a predominantly White, but increasingly diverse, country. Drawing on the case study method, this article argues that the students developed racialized perceptions of being Irish that were influenced by experiences of racism from White peers and adults in school and the local community. These experiences led the children to feel less than fully Irish, even though all of them identified as Irish-born citizens. Data were collected in the 2014–2015 school year. Data sources include individual and group interviews with the students, teacher and principal interviews, and school observations. This research helps fill a gap concerning the way primary-grade students from immigrant backgrounds describe racism, and how racism can influence children’s perceptions of citizenship identity. The study’s results have implications for educators and educational researchers in considering how knowledge of diverse children’s perspectives can help create inclusive school environments that prepare young people for citizenship in multicultural societies.

摘要

近几十年来，由于移民，爱尔兰的多样性有所增加。这项研究的目的是探讨爱尔兰的尼日利亚尼日利亚移民的三个爱尔兰出生的小学三年级孩子，五年级和六年级的一个女孩和两个男孩如何描述种族主义的经历并以白人为主，但越来越多地认为自己是爱尔兰人。多样，国家。根据案例研究方法，本文认为学生受到了白人和成年人在学校和当地社区中的种族主义经历的影响，从而形成了对爱尔兰人的种族观念。这些经历使孩子们感觉不到完全爱尔兰的感觉，即使他们都被确定为爱尔兰出生的公民。数据是在2014-2015学年收集的。数据来源包括对学生的个人和小组访谈，老师和校长访谈，以及学校观察。这项研究有助于填补来自移民背景的小学生描述种族主义的方式的空白，以及种族主义如何影响孩子对公民身份的看法。这项研究的结果对教育者和教育研究者而言具有深远的意义，即他们考虑到各种儿童观点的知识如何帮助创造包容性的学校环境，使年轻人为多元文化社会的公民身份做准备。