Young children as citizens: Learning from practice in the early childhood setting

Abstract

This paper examines enactments of young children’s citizenship in early childhood settings in England, which is an under researched area, in this study young children are positioned as social actors, competent and capable of making decisions and enacting citizenship. Values, child rights and citizenship are interconnected and often inseparable in practice. A mixed methods multiple-case study was conducted in England across several early childhood settings in the private and independent sector. Our findings indicate that young children enact citizenship through micro acts embedded into their day-to-day activities; such acts are often spontaneous in response to events or interactions. These are often pro-social in nature comprised as behaviours such as helping or showing concern for others. Our findings give visibility to the distinctive ways in which young children may enact citizenship including, for example, physical expressions.

Keywords

• citizenship
• early childhood
• values
• child rights
• birth to three years old