2 Influencers of racial identity development in primary years and their effects

Think back to Arjun’s story. His classmates didn’t develop those ideas about ‘dark’ characters being villains in isolation, they learned them from somewhere. As children move through the developmental stages you explored in Section 1, the world around them becomes increasingly influential in shaping their racial identity.

At this stage, children don’t just notice racial differences, they start to internalise the meanings and social implications associated with these differences. They’re actively trying to understand: ‘What does my race mean? How should I feel about myself and others?’

Figure 3 shows the four key influences that shape this process. The following sections will explore how that influence impacts children’s developing understanding of race and identity.

We’re unable to create an image with clickable links so I suggest we just have the circular image with the four pieces of text and an image in the centre.

Redraw: Figure 3

Through observation, imitation and social reinforcement, children begin to understand how race is perceived and treated in society. This internalisation often occurs long before children fully grasp the social and political significance of race, but it lays the groundwork for how they will navigate their racial identity in the future.