WHO COUNTS - WHO CARES - SCOTTISH CHILDRENS NOTIONS OF NATIONAL IDENTITY

Compared to the literature on children's racial and ethnic identities, relatively little is known about their understanding of national iden tity. Such knowledge is necessary if schools are to challenge racism, xenophobia and ethnocentrism effectively. In this paper, we present th e findings of a case-study (undertaken in a mainly-white Edinburgh pri mary school) of 9-11 year-olds' understanding of this complex form of collective identity. Particular attention is given to age-related diff erences in response. Comparisons are drawn between the Scottish childr en's conceptions of their national identity and those of a multiethnic cohort drawn from three English primary schools (in a recently-comple ted, parallel investigation by the same authors). We conclude by explo ring the policy implications of our data.