Forming interracial friendships are not that big of an issue for children, but this easy companionship changes as they grow older and reach adolescence. A recent study found that teachers may be contributing to why interracial friendships fall apart as kids mature.
The study, which was published in The Journal of Early Adolescence and led by researchers from the New York University Steinhardt School, examined elementary and middle school students. It found that teachers' behaviors influence and shape how students pick and maintain friendships.
As the kids advance through school and reach adolescence, the number of their interracial friendships decline. According to the study, teachers handle students in the same class differently, and that behavior among educators can influence how children reach out to their peers in different races.
Diverse Classrooms Benefit Children
Children of all backgrounds and races benefit from diverse classrooms and schools, The Atlantic reported. Interacting with diverse types of people at an early age can help kids' development, especially when they enter higher education or the workforce.
A comprehensive review conducted by Teaching Tolerance, an educational project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, found that schools that practice racial and ethnic diversity "is necessary to obtain cross-racial understanding, which may lead to a reduction of harmful stereotypes and bias." Integrated schools also help children practice justice and impartiality as they grow up.
Educators' Teaching Style Play A Role
Minority students are more likely to form friendships with their white peers if their teachers are more emphatic, makes children feel good about themselves and when they show that every student is valued, The Atlantic noted. Educators' teaching styles and lessons, such as literature and books, also play a role in helping children understand that befriending other races are normal and good.
Parents also play significant roles when it comes to their children's interracial friendships. How parents arrange get-togethers outside of school can deepen some of their kids' friendships while allowing others to deteriorate.
UC Berkeley psychologist Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton said improving social relationships and changing interpersonal behavior at an early age is easier, Greater Good wrote. This is because prejudice hasn't settled in kids' minds yet.
To achieve this goal, it's important to expose children to positive role models of intergroup friendships so that any negative expectations will disappear. Most children fear rejection from other groups and races, so they don't make an effort to reach out. A study published in the School Library Journal that exposing kids to something as simple as books featuring intergroup friendships can entice them to engage in cross-group playtime and activities.
