Abstract
The purpose of this research is to explore the development of a curriculum in which Vietnamese culture was integrated. It also investigated the possible changes in ethnic group relations of the kindergarteners after implementing the curriculum. The first author is the teacher of a kindergarten, affiliated to an elementary school in southern Taiwan. She invited the co-teacher, her 30 children, and their parents to participate in this study. The research tools include interviews, observations, expert meeting notes, and reflective journals, with all data finally gathered and analyzed. At beginning, as the research has little knowledge about Vietnam culture and the children had a weak ethnic relation with the Vietnamese new-immigrant families, she consulted various people who are familiar with the target culture, designed activities from easy to in-depth, and used Vietnamese resources in the community. Then, as some children had negative attitudes toward Vietnamese culture, the researcher guided them to behave properly during facing different cultures. She also used plays and stories to help them understand several bias, incorporated with some anti-bias strategies at the same time. Finally, if children misunderstood anything about Vietnamese culture, the teacher would explore the funds of knowledge offered by the new-immigrant families, guide them to role play in the context of a Vietnamese restaurant, and do some cross-cultural comparisons. Gradually, the children's attitudes toward the Vietnamese and its related culture changed from ＂mostly superficially positive＂ to ＂entirely sincerely positive.＂ The children's knowledge of Vietnamese culture also changed from ＂deficient＂ to ＂rich and detailed.＂ Regarding the ethnic identity of children of Vietnamese new-immigrant, a student, among all, changed from ＂shy to express＂ to ＂positive with a sense of belongingness＂; while another one changed from ＂lacking motivation＂ to ＂sharing Vietnamese culture if he has been asked, though he remains his identity mainly in the mainstream culture.＂