The Problems with Using the Concept of ‘Citizenship’ in Early Years Policy

Early years policy increasingly uses the concept of 'citizenship' in relation to children in Australia and worldwide. This concept is used as a taken-for-granted idea; however, there is no singularly agreed-upon answer to the question of what 'citizenship' means when used in relation to children, and what practical considerations it carries both for policymaking and for implementation. This article introduces theoretical ideas of 'citizenship' from the field of political theory in order to begin a discussion on how we imagine and might imagine children as citizens in policy discourses. Some conceptualisations of children as citizens are also discussed and questioned as starting points to consider in regard to the use of the notion of children as citizens in policy and practice