One Child's Transformative Dissent in an Early Childhood Education Classroom

• In Event: Young Children as Democratic Citizens in Early Childhood Education: International Perspectives

Abstract

The yearning to matter – to make a difference in the creation of the world – is necessarily held tightly by all members of a society. This is highlighted in democratic societies by calls for the diverse inclusion of all citizens in nation-building efforts: this mattering is not the reservation or the prerogative of the strong or eloquent only but is meant to be accessible to all. It is therefore urgent for adults to recognize that each child enriches the democratic project as she resists the powerful and challenges her world. If we view each child as having human rights rather than (only) developmental needs, we must immediately come to recognize each child’s present capacity to matter. Power and agency here are not sought-after pedagogical goals – they are always-and-already present in the child’s humanity. Where is the child powerful? How does she assert her agency and rights within democratic spaces as she encounters the world?

Ethnographic methods were used to explore this notion over nine months with a two-year-old girl – “Emily” – as she moves throughout her world, including school, home, and around her city. An argument is presented utilizing the Transformative Activist Stance as a theoretical framework to establish a reverential view of Emily’s agency – her mattering. “Adult imperialism” is seen as an extension of control by adults into children’s lives and is displayed as a cultural force which delimits the possibilities for democratic engagement by young children. Despite the presence of this imperialism, Emily is seen to powerfully and irreparably alter the world. She generates novel cultural and social landscapes through her agentive presence, which she accomplishes through transformative dissent and an ongoing stance of resistance. Emily, like all children, deserves to be acknowledged, appreciated, and celebrated for her capacity to matter in the ongoing acts of collaborative society- and world-creation.

Author

• Noah Hichenberg, American Jewish University
  Presenting Author