This paper shares a participatory action research study conducted by a team of researchers at a university laboratory school in collaboration with three classroom teachers and 60 preschoolers. The team engaged in this research in order to examine the ways in which school personnel could generate more authentic community service experiences with,…

Black experiences and discourse concerning citizenship are unique. Moreover, Black access to full citizenship is often a matter of life and death. The civic purposes driving this pursuit are often negated in conventional curriculum and pedagogy, especially in early childhood settings. Still, it is essential for educators and policymakers to…

The article adds to a growing conversation that recognizes and supports young children's civic capabilities, positioning them as citizens-now and not simply citizens in the future. They detail how three different classrooms sought to work with children to engage in social action on behalf of their broader community. This response wonders alongside…

Higher education institutions (HEIs) remain fraught with student activism because transforming and decolonising curricula to promote culturally responsive education is still lingering. Prolonging a trajectory of culturally apathetic education will not only lead to impoverished and decoupled human knowledge systems but also quell democratic…

Conventional civic educational efforts in the lower grades often frame young children as "future" citizens who need to learn nationalistic patriotism, obedience to rules and laws, and trust in civic institutions to operate fairly toward all members of the community. In this paper we present a framework of "critical civic…

Global Citizenship Education in its noblest terms is a commitment made by educators to provide students with opportunities to situate themselves as citizens within a global community. This article addresses the lay of the land for global citizenship and Human Rights Education in early years spaces. Drawing upon the context of a classroom teacher's…

Learn how to enact justice-oriented pedagogy and foster students' critical engagement in today's history classroom. Over the past 2 decades, various scholars have rightfully argued that we need to teach students to "think like a historian" or "think like a democratic citizen." In this book, the authors advocate for cultivating…

In our interconnected world, what does it mean to teach global environmental issues to young children? Using theoretical foundations from the social justice learning community and child-directed, inquiry-based learning best practices, this practitioner reflection details a seven-week, student-centered, interdisciplinary learning experience…

As young children engage in their play and daily activities, they show a natural interest in the world around them. Early childhood educators may capitalize on these interests and carefully plan a variety of experiences with social studies in mind, cultivating and extending young children's diverse skills and abilities to form and voice opinions,…

In this article we explore the notion of young children as citizens and the implications of this for early childhood education and care (ECEC). Citizenship has a place in the National Curriculum, in England, and is compulsory for pupils aged 11-16 years. In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, for children aged from 0-5 years, there…

Global Citizenship Education (GCE), in its noblest terms, is a commitment made by educators to provide students with opportunities to situate themselves as citizens within a global community. The author's presentation addressed the lay of the land for global citizenship and human rights education in early years spaces. Drawing upon the context of…

This narrative inquiry highlights the experiences of self-identified Soka educators in a PreK-12th grade school in São Paulo, Brazil, as well as volunteers through a program called "Soka Education in Action." Through their narratives, the role of care in value-creating education is explored as a critical aspect of education that supports…

Service-learning is a method of teaching that is increasingly used in higher education. Studies are few though on how local placements in service-learning can bring about global citizenship and promote social justice. Hence, this study used multi-sited ethnography to examine the teaching-learning process of service-learning to better understand…

This article probes the vicissitudes of racism and how the multicultural perspectives of a Montessori preschool environment can prevent prejudices. Barbara Hacker is whole-heartedly committed to human unity transcending color differences. Racism is incompatible with a Montessori classroom that shares different holidays and cultures, builds social…

Research Findings: Concepts of children's citizenship are highly contested. Contemporary policy and rhetoric increasingly includes the concept of citizenship in relation to children, yet there is considerable ambiguity as to what children's citizenship actually means. Unlike other marginalized groups, it is not children claiming citizenship rights…