Friendship Relationships between Turkish-French Children and Their French Peers

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationships between Muslim-Turkish children born in France and
their French peers. 96 students aged 9-15 participated in the study. 60 of the students were girls, and 36
were boys. The drawings, interviews about the drawings and answers given to the open-ended questions
were evaluated together. The data were analysed by the maxqda 2018 software. The study was designed
with the research method of phenomenology and analysed by the induction method. The data were
depicted in two main themes as tolerant and discriminatory relationships. Differences in terms of gender
and age in these themes were examined. Girls made more friends with their French peers. The
friendships with the peers increased from 9 years old to 10-12. However, this rate decreased at 13-15
years. Boys expressed that they were exposed to discriminatory attitudes and behaviours by their native
friends more. There was an increase from 9 to 10-12 in perceived racial/ethnic exclusion. This decreased
at 13-15 years of age. There was a continuous increase in perceived religious exclusion with increasing
age.