Young children's moral evaluations of inclusion and exclusion in play in ethnic and aggressive stereotypic peer contexts

Previous research has emphasised the importance of active citizenship in the early years for the development of tolerant and cohesive societies. This paper reports data from 174 children, aged 6-7 years, who were interviewed in the first year of a longitudinal study. Children were presented with two scenarios about inclusion of others in play. One scenario focussed on a peer from a different ethnic background and the other scenario was about a peer who was aggressive to others. Children were asked about their reasons to include or exclude the other child. Children were more likely to include the peer from a different ethnic background than the aggressive peer and cited moral or prosocial reasons. Children were also asked if they would still include or exclude, if friends or teachers disagreed with their decision. Most children maintained their original judgement in the face of contrary views by their peers but were more likely to change their opinion if a teacher disagreed. The implications of these findings for teachers in early childhood education are discussed with a focus on understanding contextual influences on children's moral judgements and how children come to value diverse perspectives.