Children’s accounts of Wales as racialized and inclusive

Abstract

The article is a discussion of the aspects of children’s accounts of Welshness that are either racialized or inclusive. The empirical basis is a qualitative research project on children’s national and local identities in Wales, conducted with 8-11 year olds in six primary schools across the country, with schools selected to provide diversity of region, language, social class and ethnicity. This article focuses on the aspects of the children’s talk that highlight ‘race’ and the position of minority ethnic children within Wales. There is discussion of Welshness as racialized, children’s views on being white and on being a minority, and evidence of inclusivity amongst children. We found aspects of the children’s talk that pose a barrier to the development of an inclusive Welsh citizenship and also aspects that support it. There is consideration of children’s agency in the construction of nationhood and the limited repertoires they can draw on for this process.