Identity Options and School Experiences of Mixed-Parentage Youth in Spain: Between Invisibility and Racialization

Beatriz Ballestín-González; Dan Rodríguez-García; Miguel Solana-Solana

doi:10.29333/ejecs/2250

Authors

Beatriz Ballestín-González Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2374-9968
Dan Rodríguez-García universitat autònoma de barcelona https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1117-292X
Miguel Solana-Solana universitat autònoma de barcelona https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0811-1990

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/2250

Keywords:

Mixed parentage youth, school experiences, immigration, cultural identity, gendered racialization

Abstract

This paper examines the schooling experiences related to identity and sense of belonging of mixed parentage (binational) children and youth in Catalonia, Spain. Despite the growing reality of multiracial and multiethnic children and youth in the country, their educational experiences remain an under-researched area, as they have generally been subsumed under the experiences of immigrant populations. Using a qualitative approach grounded in semi-structured in-depth interviews, this research explores mixed parentage students' diverse and unequal experiences, considering the influence of both in-school and out-of-school factors. The findings reveal pervasive origin-based stigma despite mixedness, with significant differences between students of mixed parentage whose immigrant parent’s origin is socially and culturally valued, and who tend to be more economically affluent, and those whose immigrant parent’s origin is racialized and who are therefore more stigmatized and discriminated. These results challenge prevailing optimistic narratives about the inclusivity of schools for mixed-parentage students and highlight the role of racialization in shaping their sense of belonging, academic engagement, and overall educational trajectories.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Beatriz Ballestín-González, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Beatriz Ballestín-González (Corresponding author) is Lecturer in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a member of the INMIX–Research Group. Her research has focused on childhood and education in the contexts of immigration and cultural diversity, incorporating in recent years children from mixed families. Her contributions to ethnographic research on school engagement and the construction of identities by children of immigrant origin were pioneering in Spain. She has also conducted applied research on children, families and immigration in local public policies.

Dan Rodríguez-García, universitat autònoma de barcelona

Dan Rodríguez-García is Full Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology and Director of the INMIX-Research Group at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. His main areas of research are international migration, interethnic relations, discrimination, identity, and social integration. He has pioneered research on mixedness in Spain, investigating present-day intermarriage, mixed families, multiethnicity and multiracialism. His publications appear in leading journals in the field, such as Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Journal International Migration and Integration, Ethnicities or Journal of Intercultural Studies.

Miguel Solana-Solana, universitat autònoma de barcelona

Miguel Solana-Solana is Associate Professor at the Department of Geography at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a member of the INMIX–Research Group. His research interests are migration and social networks; the study of mixed unions and processes of identity and social integration; processes of urban social change and gentrification; and the development of qualitative methods for the study of the integration processes of foreign immigration in Catalonia.

References

Alba, R. (2009). Blurring the color line: The new chance for a more integrated America. Harvard University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674053489

Ali, S. (2003). Mixed-race, Post-Race: Gender, New Ethnicities and Cultural Practices. Berg.

Aparicio, R., & Portes, A. (2021). Los nuevos españoles: La incorporación de los hijos de inmigrantes. Edicions Bellaterra.

Aspinall, P. J. (2009). ‘Mixed race’, ‘mixed origins’ or what? Generic terminology for the multiple racial/ethnic group population. Anthropology Today, 25(2), 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8322.2009.00653.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8322.2009.00653.x

Aspinall, P. J., & Song, M. (2013). Mixed race identities. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137318893

Azzolini, D., Guetto, R., & Madia, J. E. (2017). Do mixed unions foster integration? The educational outcomes of mixed-parentage children in Italy. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 18(4), 1033–1060. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-017-0521-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-017-0521-5

Ballestín-González, B. (2008). Immigració i identitats a l'escola primària. Experiències i dinàmiques de vinculació i desvinculació escolar al Maresme [Immigration and identities in primary school. Experiences and dynamics of school dis/engagement in the Maresme region (Catalonia)]. (Doctoral dissertation). Autonomous University of Barcelona. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/5527.

Ballestín-González, B. (2011). Los niños de la inmigración en la escuela primaria: identidades y dinámicas de des/vinculación escolar entre el “color–blindness” y los esencialismos culturalistas [Children from immigrant families in primary school: identities and dynamics of school dis/engagement between color-blindness and cultural essentialisms]. In D. Poveda, M. I. Jociles, & A. Franzé (Eds.), Etnografías de la infancia. Discursos, prácticas y campos de acción (pp. 133–160). La Catarata.

Ballestín-González, B. (2012). “¡Dile al negrito y al Cola Cao que paren de molestarnos!”. Sociabilidad entre iguales y dinámicas de segregación en la escuela primaria [“Tell the Negrito and the Cola Cao to stop bothering us!”. Sociability among peers and dynamics of segregation in primary school]. In J. García-Castaño & A. Olmos (Eds.), Segregaciones y construcción de la diferencia en la escuela (pp. 119–142). Trotta.

Ballestín-González, B. (2023). An ethnographic approach to school engagement in immigration contexts: the role of sociability dynamics. Perifèria, revista de recerca i formació en antropologia, 28(2), 28–54. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/periferia.924 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/periferia.924

Ballestín-González, B. & López-Oller, J. (2018). Immigració. Inèrcies i canvis en les desigualtats i oportunitats dins l’espai juvenil [Immigration. Inertia and changes in inequalities and opportunities within the youth space]. In P. Serracant (Ed.) Enquesta a la joventut de Catalunya 2017 (pp. 283–372). Observatori de la Joventut (Generalitat de Catalunya). https://dretssocials.gencat.cat/web/.content/JOVENTUT_documents/arxiu/publicacions/col_estudis/Estudis36_EJC2017_V2_7-immigracio.pdf .

Baxley, T. P. (2008). Issues in education: “What are you?” Biracial children in the classroom. Childhood Education, 84(4), 230–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2008.10523014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2008.10523014

Bonilla-Silva, E. (2002). The linguistics of color blind racism: How to talk nasty about Blacks without sounding “racist”. Critical Sociology, 28 (1-2), 41–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920502028001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/08969205020280010501

Boyle, R. C. (2022). We are not ‘mixed’, we are ‘all’: Understanding the educational experiences of mixed ethnicity children to enhance learner agency. Education 3- 13, 50 (4), 471–482. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2022.2052237. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2022.2052237

Brunsma, D. (2006). Mixed messages: Multiracial identities in the “color-blind” era. Lynne Reinner Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781685857608

Burke, R., & Kao, G. (2011). Bearing the burden of whiteness: The implications of racial self-identification for multiracial adolescents' school belonging and academic achievement. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36(5), 747–773. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2011.628998 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2011.628998

Caballero, C., Haynes, J., & Tikly, L. (2007). Researching mixed race in education: Perceptions, policies and practices. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 10(3), 345–362. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613320701503389 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13613320701503389

Campbell, A. (2020). Educational experiences of multiracial students: A literature review. Journal of Educational Research and Innovation, 8(1) Article 1. https://digscholarship.unco.edu/jeri/vol8/iss1/1

Carrasco, S. (2003). La escolarización de los hijos e hijas de inmigrantes y de minorías étnico-culturales [The schooling of children of immigrants and ethnic-cultural minorities]. Revista de Educación, 330, 99–136. https://sede.educacion.gob.es/publiventa/descarga.action?f_codigo_agc=11213_19

Carrasco, S., Ballestín, B., Pàmies, J., Ponferrada, M., & Bertran, M. (2011). Segregación escolar e inmigración en Cataluña [School segregation and immigration in Catalonia]. In F. J. García-Castaño & S. Carrasco-Pons (Eds.), Población inmigrante y escuela: conocimientos y saberes de investigación (pp. 367-402). Spanish Ministry of Education.

Castagno, A. E. (2014). Educated in Whiteness: Good intentions and diversity in schools. University of Minnesota Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5749/minnesota/9780816681631.001.0001

Clua, M. (2012). Multiculturalism, Identities and National Uncertainties in Southwest Europe: The Rise of Xenophobia and Populism in Catalonia (Spain). EASA Workshop 2012: Working Papers. 3. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/chess_easa/3.

Davidson, A. L. (1996). Making and molding identity in schools: Student narratives on race, gender, and academic engagement. State University of New York Press.

Garrett, H. J., & Segall, A. (2013). (Re)considerations of ignorance and resistance in teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 64(4), 294–304. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487113487752 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487113487752

Gillborn, D. (1990). Race, ethnicity and education: Teaching and learning in multi–ethnic schools. Routledge.

Grosfoguel, R. (2007). The epistemic decolonial turn: Beyond political-economy paradigms. Cultural Studies, 21(2–3), 211–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380601162514 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380601162514

Hall, S. (1997). The spectacle of the other. In S. Hall (Ed.), Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices (pp. 223–290). SAGE Publications.

Halpern, C. (2019). Timely considerations of power discourses in bicultural education. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 6(3), 185–188. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/304 DOI: https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/304

Hambacher, E., & Ginn, K. (2021). Race-visible teacher education: A review of the literature from 2002 to 2018. Journal of Teacher Education, 72(3), 329–341. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487120948045 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487120948045

Harris, J. C. (2016). Applying Critical Multiracial Theory to conceptualizing and measuring monoracism. Race Ethnicity and Education, 19 (4), 763–788. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2016.1139195

Hosseini, M., & Haukås, Å. (2025). Beyond macroethics: Developing an ethical framework for interview data collection and analysis to acknowledge participant rights. Journal of Academic Ethics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-024-09594-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-024-09594-9

Jenkins, R. (1997). Rethinking ethnicity. Arguments and explorations. SAGE Publications.

Johnson, M. K., Crosnoe, R., & Elder, G. H. (2001). Students’ attachment and academic engagement: The role of race and ethnicity. Sociology of Education, 74 (4), 318–340. https://doi.org/10.2307/2673138 . DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2673138

Johnston, M. P., & Nadal, K. L. (2010). Multiracial microaggressions: Exposing monoracism in everyday life and clinical practice. In D. W. Sue (Ed.), Microaggressions and marginality: Manifestation, dynamics, and impact (pp.123–144). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Joseph, R. L., & Briscoe-Smith, A. (2021). Generation mixed goes to school: Radically listening to multiracial kids. Teachers College Press.

Kalmijn, M. (2015). The children of intermarriage in four European countries: Implications for School Achievement, Social Contacts, and Cultural Values. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 662(1), 246–265. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716215595391 . DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716215595391

Lewis, K., & Demie, F. (2019). The school experiences of mixed-race white and black Caribbean children in England. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 42(12), 2065–2083. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2018.1519586 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2018.1519586

Mateo, J. Ll. (1997). El moro entre los primitivos: El caso del Protectorado español en Marruecos [The Moor among the primitives: The case of the Spanish Protectorate in Morocco]. Fundació La Caixa.

Mateus, S. (2021). Blending ahead: The advantages of young people of mixed origin in Portuguese compulsory schooling. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 20 (5), 571–589. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2021.1973381. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2021.1973381

Miles, R. (1989). Racism. Routledge

Nadal, K. L., Wong, Y., Griffin, K., Sriken, J., Vargas, V., Wideman, M., & Kolawole, A. (2011). Microaggressions and the multiracial experience. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(7), 36–44. https://www.ijhssnet.com/view.php?u=https://www.ijhssnet.com/journals/Vol._1_No._7_[Special_Issue_June_2011]/6.pdf

Onay, O. (2024). Navigating racialisation and Whiteness: British Turks’ struggles for belonging in multiscale public spaces within the UK. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 11(2), 105–122. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/1964 DOI: https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/1964

Ortiz, V. (2017). Towards unifying racial and ethnic paradigms. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 40(13): 2240–2248. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2017.1344262 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2017.1344262

Peery, D., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2008). Blacks and Latinos as “non-white": The influence of phenotype and ancestry on racial categorisation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94(6), 1036–1051. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.94.6.1036

Peng, J. M. (2024). School racial‐ethnic socialization of multiracial K12 students: A systematic review of the literature using MultiCrit. Sociology Compass, 18(1), e13159. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13159 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13159

Phoenix, A. (2002). Mapping present inequalities to navigate future success: Racialisation and education. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 23(3), 505–515. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142569022000015508 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0142569022000015508

Ream, A. (2023). Three decades of multiracial identity research: a bibliometric review. Identity, 23(4), 267–287. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2023.2223599 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2023.2223599

Rockquemore, K. A., & Brunsma, D. L. (2002). Racial identity and the process of 'biracial' identity formation. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 2(1), 35–48. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532706XID0201_3

Rodríguez-García, D. (2022). The persistence of racial constructs in Spain. Bringing race and colorblindness into the debate on interculturalism. Social Sciences, 11(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11010013 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11010013

Rodríguez-García, D., de Miguel-Luken, V., Solana, M., & Ballestín-González, B. (2021a). Generación 2.5. Un análisis sobre la integración social de los hijos/as de uniones mixtas en España a partir de los datos de la encuesta ILSEG [Generation 2.5. An analysis of the social integration of children from mixed marriages in Spain based on data from the ILSEG survey]. In R. Aparicio & A. Portes (Eds.), Los nuevos españoles, la incorporación de los hijos de inmigrantes (pp.183–226). Edicions Bellaterra.

Rodríguez-García, D., Solana, M., Ortiz, A., & Ballestín, B. (2021b). Blurring of colour lines? Ethnoracially mixed youth in Spain navigating identity. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47 (4), 838–860. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1654157. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1654157

Rodríguez-García, D., Habimana-Jordana, T., & Rodríguez Reche, C. (2021c). "Tú, como eres negra, harás de lobo". El debate pendiente sobre la cuestión de la raza en España [“You, because you are black, will play the wolf.” The pending debate on the issue of race in Spain]. Perifèria: revista de recerca i formació en antropologia, 26(1), 29–55. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/periferia.833 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/periferia.833

Root, M. P. (2003). Issues and experiences of racially mixed people. Multiracial Child Resource Book. Mavin Foundation.

Song, M. (2003). Choosing ethnic identity. Polity Press.

Song, M. (2017). Ethnic options of mixed-race young people in Britain. In N. Worth, C. Dwyer, & T. Skelton (Eds.), Identities and subjectivities (pp. 123–139). Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-023-0_16

Stamps, D., Stepanova, E. V., & Chi, J. (2022). The effects of skin tone on the perception of discrimination in young African American Women. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 9(1), 161–184. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/922 DOI: https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/922

Stearns, E. (2004). The social organization of schools and interracial friendliness. Youth & Society, 35(4), 395–419. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0044118X03261617 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X03261617

Tarn, C., Lafreniere, K., Kuo, B., & Edmunds, K. (2024). “It’s the best of both worlds!”: Investigating bicultural stress in adult bicultural Canadians. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 11(1), 58–79. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/1870. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/1870

Tikly, L., Caballero, C., Haynes, J., & Hill, J. (2004). Understanding the educational needs of mixed heritage pupils (Research Report No. 549). Department for Education and Skills (DfES), UK.

Townsend, S. S. M., Fryberg, S. A., Wilkins, C. L., & Markus, H. R. (2012). Being mixed: Who claims a biracial identity? Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 18(1), 91–96. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026845 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026845

Turner, R. L. (2024). Examining Educators’ Attitudes Toward Multiracial Students in Michigan Charter Schools: A Quantitative Survey Design (Doctoral dissertation), University of Michigan-Flint. https://dx.doi.org/10.7302/22400

Wade, P. (2022). El concepto raza y la lucha contra el racismo [The concept of race and the fight against racism]. Estudios Sociológicos, 40, 163–192. https://doi.org/10.24201/es.2022v40nne.2071 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24201/es.2022v40.2071

Wardle, F., & Cruz-Janzen, M. (2004). Meeting the needs of multi-ethnic and multiracial children in schools. Pearson/A and B.

Williams, D. (2011). Mixed matters: Mixed-race pupils discuss school and identity. Matador.

Winn-Tutwiler, S. W. (2016). Mixed race youth and schooling: The fifth minority. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315777429

Zamora, T. I., & Padilla, A. M. (2024). Making sense of conflicting messages of multiracial identity: a systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1307624. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1307624 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1307624