Civic Action and Learning with Young Children: Comparing Approaches in New Zealand, Australia and the United States

Our comparative, ethnographic study focuses on how young children from marginalized communities in New Zealand (Maori), Australia (Aboriginal) and the United States (Latino Immigrant) use their own developmental skills and understanding to fix social problems that are important to them. The purpose of the study is to a) identify the types of civic action understanding(s) that children bring with them to preschool from their homes and communities, b) identify a range of principles that enable young children and teachers to engage in authentic, meaningful, capacity-building activities around civic action and c) explore preschool teachers’ pedagogies that foster children’s capacity for civic participation and engagement.Children at each preschool site will choose issues and/or problems that seem troubling to them and work to solve them in a series of three projects with adult guidance, rather than instruction or tasks. The first project will be something in their classroom. The second and third projects will be something they want to change in their school and community, respectively. Although we anticipate that the projects will have important outcomes for the children our study will not necessarily seek to engage children in for example, immigrant rights or indigenous rights projects [yet] but in child-selected activities that will give them the skills and attitudes necessary to advocate for immigrant rights or Indigenous rights when they are older.,