Education for citizenship in the early years

Photo of pre-school age boy, holding up hands covered in paint

Photo of pre-school age girl, peeking out of play equipment

Education for citizenship relates to the work you do with children and young people in many different ways. The aim of education for citizenship is defined as 'the development of capability for thoughtful and responsible participation in political, economic, social and cultural life'.

Responsible citizenship is one of the four capacities of Curriculum for Excellence. The strategies for learning and teaching that support education for citizenship also contribute to the other capacities of Curriculum for Excellence - they help to develop children's ability to be effective contributors, successful learners and confident individuals.

Education for citizenship has links to many aspects of the early years curriculum such as emotional, personal and social development, knowledge and understanding of the world, and communication and language. It includes support for young children to:

participate in decision making
develop their capabilities to be an active citizen
develop their involvement with the community.

For a more detailed description of education for citizenship, read the framework paper 'Education for Citizenship in Scotland'. For an explanation of the importance of early years education in developing citizenship capabilities, read this article - Education for Citizenship - in Early Years' Matters.

In early education settings and in the early years of primary school this has involved young children in projects and work such as:

Participation in decision making

Daily interaction between practitioners and children which seeks, respects and is influenced by children’s views and opinions
Having a say in the reorganisation of their nursery class through consultations
Children being involved in processes where they identify issues to discuss, and take action on these issues both individually and in groups. Some early years settings have become involved in projects or campaigns to improve their local community from the children’s observations and opinions
Children reviewing their early years centre service - both indoor and outdoor spaces, resources and activities.

For more information and case studies read our participation page.

Active citizenship

Global citizenship, looking at similarities and differences between people across the world
Children being genuinely consulted on policies of the centre, from behaviour policies to equal opportunities
Children reflecting with their parents/carers on their learning and development and feeding their views into a nursery annual review and development plan.

For more information on active citizenship, find out about Eco Schools, enterprise projects and fair trade initiatives.

Community links

Children seeing that their involvement has made a real difference, for example in the creation of a nursery fairy garden or the cleaning up of an area beside the nursery
Children campaigning on issues they identify as important, such as the reduction of speed limits near their nursery or school
Joint projects between early education centres and with local schools - paired reading, buddying and ICT schemes
Joint projects involving participation in arts projects with older people living in local nursing homes.

For more information read our community links page.