Teachers Explore How to Support Young Children’s Agency for Social Justice

Abstract

This study reports findings from an exploratory research project that contributed to an OMEP World Project on the importance of equality in being able to achieve a sustainable world and a healthy society. The teachers and researchers came together because of their interest in social justice to explore how they could support young children’s sense of agency and make learning about social justice more visible to children and their families. The project was carried out with teachers of children aged from 3 to 5 years in early childhood contexts of Aotearoa New Zealand. Five early childhood teachers participated in the research group which met five times over a 4-month period. As the teachers in the study became more familiar with how to support young children’s agency, they were able to engage in more sustained dialogue with children about social justice. Picture books were used as a tool to support children to express their views, and teachers also made this learning more visible through documentation of Learning Stories. In the research group, teachers provided examples of their practices within the reflective discussion groups held with the other teachers and the researchers. Teachers recognised that they could have an important role in supporting children’s sense of agency and awareness of social justice issues.