CHICAM

Children's social relations in peer groups:
inclusion, exclusion and friendships

Research Findings

1. Strategies for handling exclusion and discrimination could vary:

Some chose to acknowledge it directly and deal with it openly, trying to find a solution and a way to resolve it. This was mostly the case where conflicts arose within the club and were directly observed by us, and had to be dealt with in some way.
Some chose to keep silent about suffering from exclusion and discrimination. Silence for them was a mechanism for dealing with a traumatic experience. By delegating it to a controlled space and by not exposing it, they felt that they could deal with it better and prevent it from happening again. Silencing something is a refusal, a way of pre tending it has not happened.
Some chose to project positive images in terms of their degree of integration into the new society and their success in leaving all negative things behind and focusing on their achievements.

2. It was found that the children’s primary concern was in understanding and fitting into their local contexts, both within the clubs and, more significantly, in their new national context. Generally, their families were very keen to support their children in doing well in their new contexts.

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