Children, Social Class, And Education: Shifting Identities In Fiji (culture, Mind, And Society)

The Book Series of the Society for Psychological AnthropologyThe Society for Psychological Anthropology-a section of the American Anthropology Association-and Palgrave Macmillan are dedicated to publishing innovative research that illuminates the workings of the human mind within the social, cultural, and political contexts that shape thought, emotion, and experience. As anthropologists seek to bridge gaps between ideation and emotion or agency and structure and as psychologists, psychiatrists, and medical anthropologists search for ways to engage with cultural meaning and difference, this interdisciplinary terrain is more active than ever. "Class-based self-perception is a rising issue worldwide. In Fiji, a Pacific Island nation where ethnic divisions between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijian descendants of indentured servants from India have been historically predominant, the production of social class-based identities is primarily done through mass preschool education, rather than within the family unit. Based on participant-observation in kindergartens in Suva Fiji, this book shows that Suva kindergartens instill social class-specific ideas about self and society. Teachers have different goals depending on the professional background of the families who attended their schools while students create friendships based on shared experience of toys, gender roles, and mass media"-- Provided by publisher "Children, Social Class, and Education: Shifting Identities in Fiji examines the production of social class based identities through mass preschool education in Fiji, a Pacific Island nation where ethnic divisions between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijian descendents of indentured servants from India have been historically predominant. Based on participant-observation in eleven kindergartens in Suva Fiji, Children, Social Class, and Education shows that Suva kindergartens were instilling social class-specific ideas about self and society"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of Figures 10 Acknowledgments 12 Chapter 1 Introduction: Social Class and Mass Preschool Education in Fiji 13 Chapter 2 Kindergartens and Culture in Fiji 46 Chapter 3 Nurturing Multicultural Pluralism 63 Chapter 4 Producing a New Middle Class 97 Chapter 5 Christianity and Multiculturalism in Ordinary Kindergartens 129 Chapter 6 Gender, Race, and Social Class: Shifting Social Categories 158 Chapter 7 Hierarchy and Friendship among Kindergarten Children 177 Epilogue 189 Notes 196 References 200 Index 206 Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction: Social Class and Mass Preschool Education in Fiji....Pages 1-33 Kindergartens and Culture in Fiji....Pages 35-51 Nurturing Multicultural Pluralism....Pages 53-86 Producing a New Middle Class....Pages 87-118 Christianity and Multiculturalism in Ordinary Kindergartens....Pages 119-147 Gender, Race, and Social Class: Shifting Social Categories....Pages 149-167 Hierarchy and Friendship among Kindergarten Children....Pages 169-180 Epilogue....Pages 181-187 Back Matter....Pages 189-202 Class-based self-perception is a rising issue worldwide. Through observation in kindergartens in Fiji, Brison examines how schools instil these ideas in Suva children. Teachers have different goals depending on the social background of the families while students create friendships through shared experience of toys, gender roles, and mass media.