The Young Child as Activist: A Playful Community of Practice

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: Ring the Alarm! Activism, Restorative Justice, and Equity for Children, Families, and Communities

Abstract

This ethnographic study follows the creation and evolution of a child-centered racial justice collective working in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Over the course of six years, a Community of Practice emerges, with play at its core. This paper examines how two early childhood practices, strewing & modeling, and child-led activism, allow children to serve as natural, playful, and expert activists.

Author

• Jen Bradley, Swarthmore College