Culture and play as key elements of identity formation and academic performance for children of color in primary education

The significance of culture and play as vital constructs facilitating early childhood education and a positive sense of racial and cultural identity are discussed primarily from the vantage point of African American and Hispanic children. These comments, however, have serious implications for other children of Color who also experience themselves as “Othered,” a term signifying their exclusionary status within American society. The concerns raised here also have functional value to children across the globe who bear the status of recent immigrant or refugee. Therefore, the role of culture is examined primarily as a facilitative agent in establishing an attachment to school or, alternatively, the consequences of a failed attachment to school.