Teachers were asked to reflect upon the following: whether adoption is ever a topic of conversation in class; issues around differences in appearance and how the adopted children’s peers respond to this; and whether teachers had noted if children and young people had experienced discrimination as a result of their
adoptive status.
Within the schools that took part, 60% of teachers stated that there were other internationally adopted children attending the school - the number of children in the schools ranged from one child to seven children. In 40% of schools, however, the child was the only internationally adopted child in the school. Teachers were asked whether the issue of the child being adopted was ever discussed in the class. Approximately 50% of teachers responded that the topic of adoption had never come up in classroom conversations. This figure greatly differed from primary school to secondary school, for primary school students the topic of adoption arose for over one half (55%) of children, whereas in secondary school it came up as a topic of conversation for just one student:
In the time I have spent with him I have never heard any issues raised during class regarding him being adopted, though he has discussed it with me during our one-to-one sessions on a few occasions. (Teacher of boy, 17y, EE)
This inconsistency may have been because more time is given over to classroom discussion in primary school, particularly as part of the Social Personal and Health Education (S.P.H.E.) curriculum. Also children in primary schools tend to know teachers better than in secondary schools as they spend all day with the one teacher, in secondary schools young people have different teachers for different subjects so there is no opportunity to build up a similar, trusting relationship. In addition, young people in secondary schools may not feel comfortable discussing adoption in school.
A small number of teachers of the younger (infants) classes suggested that children did not really appear to understand what adoption is at this young age. Therefore it was generally not discussed and even when it was, few questions were asked by peers:
Being so young I feel it’s inappropriate to broach the issue of adoption with others just yet. (Teacher of boy, 7y, EE)
The responses from (girl) was that she had two “Mums”, one from Russia and the one that she had here in Ireland. I, as her teacher knew this background information and asked her to talk about it which she was very willing to do. She just explained she came here when she was a baby. Classmates passed no comment, they are too young to fully understand. (Teacher of girl, 5y, EE)
When asked about the discussion of adoption within the classroom, teachers reported that: other children accept the fact that the child was adopted and also accept the fact that the child came from a different country. Schools encourage an attitude of acceptance and respect for difference. Teachers did not
differentiate between “being adopted” and “being from another country” and said conversations about the country of birth were part of the discussions about adoption:
All response are positive, on Chinese New Year Day, she enjoyed reporting on her
background etc. She was always open and informed about her country of origin. (Teacher of girl, 9y, A)
Teachers said that talking about coming from another country was easier than talking about being adopted. The culture and heritage of the child appears to be what is focused on as opposed to the family history:
There is an acceptance that she comes from A. Adoption or that she is adopted never comes up. She has a Mum and Dad like all others in the class. (Teacher of girl, 5y, A)
Teachers also indicated that adoption was more likely to be discussed on particular days relating to the child’s adoption or celebratory days in the country of birth. Three teachers mentioned that children talked about their adoption when they were celebrating their adoption days:
He celebrates the date on which he was adopted and he told us about it. This provided a great opportunity to talk about where he was born and when he first met his adoptive parents. (Teacher of boy, 8y A)
And one school participated in celebrating an important event with the child:
We had a lovely celebration of the Chinese New Year in school with her and her Mum sent in some Chinese goods for us to see. (Teacher of girl, 5y, A)
The topic of adoption also frequently came up when families are mentioned in class, sometimes as part of the Religion or the Social Personal and Health Education (S.P.H.E.) curriculum:
It has come up once, as a result of SPHE topics, pictures of different kinds of families, especially from other countries, He didn’t show any great response really. Some classmates knew of his adoption, they didn’t linger on the topic. The children in Seniors and First had a good idea of adoption. Child was quite indifferent, didn’t really bother him at all. (Teacher of boy, 5y, EE)
It also arose when more general topics of different countries and cultures came up in class:
One day we were talking about Russia. He said “I was born there.” I said “yes, that’s right.” There was no further comment from anyone on the topic. (Teacher of boy, 8y, EE)
Three children had brought in photos or storybooks to help explain their adoption story, in one case this was because children were required to talk about their history from birth. Children seemed comfortable talking about it in this way and peers seemed interested:
His first photo was one of the orphanage. He stood up and told his story proudly, took questions from the other children and was well able to respond. He was so open and well- informed, a joy to listen to. Classmates found it informative and listened intently. (Teacher of boy, 6y EE)
Teachers expressed different comments to the children in terms of their own beliefs about adoption, all of which were positive:
She openly speaks of her situation if we talk about family. My response is that she’s lucky her parents chose her from a number of children. (Teacher of girl, 7y, EE)
When he mentioned his adoption I always stressed how lucky his parent, and we as a school, are to have him here with us. (Teacher of boy, 6y, EE)
Both teachers use the word lucky, however it is used in different contexts. One teacher believes the child is “lucky” to be chosen – this is a common concept in the adoption literature, which may encourage the child to grow up with an over-inflated sense of gratefulness to their family. The second notion of “luckiness” is that which is generally referred to these days. It is that the family and the community are lucky to have the child in their lives. Their lives are enriched by him being there, i.e. it is not just the child who benefits.
In general, when the topic of adoption did arise (in just 50% of cases), teachers reflected that children were open to talking about it, and in turn, peers and teachers showed a positive interest in the child’s story. Teachers were also asked whether the issue of racial differences had ever been discussed in class. Forty percent of the teachers reported that this issue had never arisen in class, perhaps related to the fact that the racial differences were not relevant.
She looks like her peers and blends in extremely well. (Teacher of girl, 5y, EE)
When the issue of the child looking different had come up it was generally as a result of some topic that was being discussed in class, for example as part of the S.P.H.E. curriculum. Teachers commented that schools and classes have become more multi-cultural and diverse, and that schools work to foster positive attitudes, where diversity is celebrated. Intercountry adoption is viewed within this context. Thus teachers reported that children who have been internationally adopted do not stand out as being different when there are children from many different nationalities in the class.
The issue of skin colour has come up during Thinking Time discussions. Children have been very sensitive towards this, commenting that it’s not what we look like on the outside that counts, but rather what we are like as people and how we treat others that is important. Again, there are children from Asia in the class and I think this encourages a positive attitude towards respecting differences/ celebrating what we have in common. (Teacher of boy, 9y, EE)
Four teachers commented that differences in looks or accent were a source of envy and admiration for classmates.
Sometimes the children refer to his tanned skin. When this happens I usually express envy. The other children also consider him to be ‘a lovely tanned colour’ and he appears to be very proud and happy. (Teacher of boy, 10y, SA)
Only two teachers remarked that skin colour or looking different was viewed negatively: in both cases it appeared that the child him/herself was more conscious of looking different than classmates, however this self consciousness may have developed from previous negative responses.
Because of the colour of his skin other children have commented on his saying that he is ‘brown’ or “black”. This occurred mostly in younger classes when he was new to the school. He seems to be very conscious of the colour of his skin, and does not seem to like that he looks different. (Teacher of boy, 8y, SA)
In conclusion it appears that, according to teachers, looking different is not an issue in schools. Differences are either not commented on or are mentioned in a positive light, and peers tend to react positively to difference.
Teachers were specifically questioned about whether the child had ever experienced bullying or
discrimination related to their adoptive status or ethnic/racial differences. Almost all teachers reported that they were not aware of experiences of bullying or discrimination. It is important to note that teachers were only reporting on what they observe in the classroom and school-playground. Negative comments may not have been made in the presence of the teachers.
A minority of teachers (7%) reported that children did experience some form of bullying and discrimination in school. For three children this was due to racial differences. The bullying took different forms, from one isolated incident for one boy to name calling which went on for a prolonged period for another boy. In this latter case, children had commented on the colour of his skin, but the issue of adoption per se had not arisen. One child had experienced bullying due to her adoptive status - these negative comments lasted for a week in school.
A few boys made some comments in the first week about her adoption status but the child has had no difficulties since and is very confident about herself. (Teacher of girl, 9y A) No. But his adopted father is older and I believe he does not like people thinking this man is his grandfather. (Teacher of boy, 16y, EE)
One teacher commented that bullying had not occurred within the school but had occurred at a sporting activity outside of school hours.
I have never heard that this happened in school, but I was told by an adult that it has happened outside of school, in the parish G.A.A. grounds where he was playing a match with children he didn’t know. (Teacher of boy, 10y, SA)
Overall it appears that children were not singled out and subjected to discrimination due to their adoptive status or to ethnic/racial differences. This a very positive finding, however, again it must be kept in mind that the majority of teachers conceded that such discrimination could happen outside the classroom, in the school yard or in the wider community as the previous quote illustrates.