“You don’t need to be mean. We’re friends, Right?”: Young Korean-American children’s conflicts and references to friendship

Abstract

In the eyes of adults, conflicts between children are often treated as problematic social interactions that should be prevented. This study describes how young Korean–American children’s conflict negotiation was a central part of their peer culture at a Korean heritage language school in the United States. Eleven young Korean–American children attending a Korean heritage language school, their guardians (mothers and grandmothers), two pre-kindergarten classroom teachers, and two school staff members at a Korean heritage language school were recruited as participants. Data were collected through participant observation, formal and informal interviews, and artifact collection during an academic year. The analysis showed that the heritage language school highly valued the traditional Korean culture in many different ways, and that the ways in which the young Korean–American children negotiated conflicts reflected the ideal of group harmony that is highly valued in the Korean cultural community. This study concludes with implications for early childhood educators working with young children from different cultural backgrounds.