Teaching for Active Citizenship : Moral Values and Personal Epistemology in Early Years Classrooms

There is strong social and political interest in active citizenship and values in education internationally. Active citizenship requires children to experience and internalize moral values for human rights, developing their own opinions and moral responsibility. While investment in young children is recognised as an important factor in the development of citizenship for a cohesive society, less is known about how early years teachers can encourage this in the classroom.

This book will present new directions on how teachers can promote children's learning of moral values for citizenship in classrooms. The research provided offers important insights into teaching for active citizenship by:

• providing an analysis of educational contexts for moral values for active citizenship

• highlighting teachers’ beliefs about knowing and knowledge (personal epistemologies) and how these relate to children’s learning and understanding about social and moral values

• discussing the impact of teachers’ beliefs on teaching practices.

Evidence suggests that investment in the early years is vital for all learning, and specifically for developing an understanding of active citizenship for tolerant and cohesive societies. This book will be essential reading for the professional education of early years teachers interested in teaching for active citizenship.

Joanne Lunn Brownlee is Professor in the School of Early Childhood, Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.

Eva Johansson is Professor of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Arts and Education, University of Stavanger, Norway.

Susan Walker is Professor in the School of Early Childhood, Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.

Laura Scholes is a research project manager in the Office of Education Research, Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.