| The development of ethnic identity is an important task for minority individuals. The research for appearance and development of individuals’ ethnic identity is the key to further understanding of ethnic identity. So far, domestic researches have focused on the ethnic identity of undergraduate students and teenagers, rarely on that of children under 12.Foreign related researches point out that there are three core factors in ethnic identity development for children from 3 to 12: awareness, self-identification, and attitudes, which mainly reflected in color preferences, labeling and ethnic constancy. Besides, children’s ethnic identity is related with family culture socialization.This study tests the relationship between characteristics of Chinese minority children’s ethnic identity with family culture socialization, using variants of doll study paradigm, for 3-6 children of Miao lived in the Qiandongnan state of Guizhou as subjects.In preparatory study, briefly tests children’s distinguished clues for ethnics, labeling behaviors, constancy, which collect materials and determine the age range for followed researches. Interviews for 30 Miao children from 3-12 years old found that their essentially distinguished clues for ethnic identity are costumes and languages, and ethnic constancy appears at 6 years old. As a result, the range of sampling of age is 3 to 6.Study 1 exams the ethnic identity of 3-6 years old preschoolers of Miao through 2 sub-studies as costumes and languages as clues.Sub-study 1 is for the experimental research of costumes preference in three aspects of gender, age and family address, exams the ethnic preference, ethnic recognition, self recognition and ethnic constancy for 111 Miao children.Sub-study 2 is for the experimental research of language preference in four aspects of gender, age, family address and speaking Miao language or not, exams children’s languages preferences. The subjects are as same as the sub-study 1.Study 1 found:(1) Miao children prefer to Han in both costumes and languages; the preferences changed with the age increased from Miao to Han; besides, the preference to languages are affected with whether children can speak Miao languages or not.(2)More than 50% children can correctly distinguish three ethnics. Correct rate of girls is higher than boy’s, and older-group higher than younger-group.(3) More than 50% children can correctly distinguish their own ethnic, and correct rate of girls is higher than boy’s; younger children prefer to choose that Miao resembles themselves, however, the correctly distinguished rate of older children is higher than that of younger children; villages children higher than town children.(4)Ethnic constancy of boy is higher than girl; the level of what increased when age grew; villages’ children’s constancy is higher than town children’s.Study 2 exams the relationship between Miao family culture socialization and children ethnic identity.Sub-study 1 formulates assessment list for Miao family culture socialization.In sub-study 2, one-to-one survey are implemented for 111 children’s parents who are in study 1, and analyze the relationship between family assessment list and children ethnic preference, ethnic identity, self identity, ethnic constancy,using Miao family culture socialization assessment list. The research found that there are five factors in formulated family ethnic culture socialization assessment list: basic necessities of life, art heritage, cultural practices, festival rendering, natural worship. Three factors of list, basic necessities of life, cultural practices, and natural worship can predict ethnic constancy of Miao children.In summary, there are characteristics on ethnic identity for Miao children between 3 to 6.1. On the clothing preferences, prefer Han; on language preference, prefers Mandarin.2. Most children can correctly distinguish Miao. And girl is better than boy.3. Most children can correctly do ethnic self-recognition. And girl is better than boy.4. As the growth of the age, ethnic constancy performance is getting better and better, and village children’s better than town children’s.5. Miao children can label for Han and Miao from 3 years old and correctly recognize their own ethnics. They have ability for ethnic constancy at about 6 years old.6. Festival custom and languages are clues for Miao chilren in habitation to distinguish ethnic.7. Family culture socialization can predict the ethnic constancy of Miao children. |
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