Preschoolers' awareness of, and sensitivities to, social justice issues: children's literature and participatory action research

Abstract

[Abstract]: This paper will discuss the preliminary findings of a doctoral study that is investigating ways in which children’s literature (picture books) may help preschoolers’ to reflect upon, clarify and articulate their awareness of and sensitivities to social justice issues. The study is underpinned by a constructivist paradigm that makes the assumption that children are active participants in the construction of their own socio-cultures (Hatch, 1995; Vygotsky, 1978). The paper will discuss the research process so far: the topic’s background and literature review, purposeful participant recruitment, Participatory Action Research (Greenwood & Levin, 2005; Kemmis & McTaggart, 2005; Torres, 2004), data gathering and initial findings and how they may contribute to early childhood education as a whole and specifically to teaching for social justice. However, this research is a work in progress as data gathering has only recently been completed and synthesis and thorough analysis are now in progress.