E.11. The Child is a Citizen: Democratic Experience, Participation and Rights in the Early Age

The panel is proposed for the section: 6. Inclusion, Difference, Equality, Diversity, Citizenship, and Social and Cultural Justice in the Education–Democracy Nexus

Since the early twentieth century, the theme of education for citizenship represents one of the foundational pillars of progressive pedagogy. The thought and experience of John Dewey continue to be an essential reference for understanding the role that democratic education can play in the social and political inclusion of children. At the same time, the extension of human rights to childhood, which was consolidated at the end of the twentieth century, has introduced a new horizon for pedagogical planning, starting from the idea of the child as citizen (Moro, 1991). With these premises in mind, and referring to the topic of the call “Childhood: Building the Foundations of Active Citizenship from Early Age,” the panel aims to gather contributions that focus on the following thematic issues: 1) deepening and revitalizing, according to Dewey’s theoretical perspective (1899), the principle of “democratic experience”; 2) pedagogical perspectives in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the child oriented approach in education; 3) reflections, projects, and experiences of democratic education based on the principles of Inclusion, Diversity, Equality, and Citizenship dedicated to childhood. The goal is to offer a multidisciplinary space to rethink the connection between education and democracy, recognizing “childhood” as a generative space for rights, relationships, and genuinely democratic practices.