# Parental/caregiver racial-ethnic socialization during early childhood: a meta-ethnographic review

## TL;DR

This paper reviews how parents teach young children about race and ethnicity, showing it's a complex process shaped by family experiences and values.

## Contribution

The study provides the first meta-ethnographic synthesis of qualitative research on racial-ethnic socialization in early childhood.

## Key findings

- Parents' life experiences strongly influence their racial-ethnic socialization values and methods.
- Racial-ethnic socialization is deeply integrated into general parenting practices and family dynamics.
- The literature lacks diversity in family structures and racial-ethnic backgrounds of study samples.

## Abstract

Racial-ethnic socialization (RES) is an ongoing developmental process through which parents and caregivers share information, values, and perspectives about race and ethnicity with their children. While there is a substantial body of research on RES during adolescence, little empirical work has focused on early childhood.

This review applied a systematic search strategy and meta-ethnographic methods to examine and integrate the existing qualitative research on RES during early childhood. Out of 1,900 screened studies, 277 were reviewed for eligibility, and 27 met the inclusion criteria.

Findings from the seven phase meta-ethnographic review process highlight the dynamic and multifaceted nature of RES in parenting. Parents' own life experiences strongly shape their values, beliefs, and intentions for RES, which in turn inform the approaches and messages they use with their children. These strategies are often interrelated but can also be influenced by competing beliefs triggered by children's characteristics, experiences, and environments.

Overall, the synthesis supports prior claims that RES in early childhood is deeply embedded within general parenting practices and family dynamics. It also identifies critical gaps in the literature (e.g., limited diversity of study samples in terms of family structures and racial-ethnic backgrounds) that future research should address.