Date of Award

Spring 2025

Document Type

Thesis

Terms of Use

© 2025 Carrie Ryter. This work is freely available courtesy of the author. It may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. For all other uses, please contact the copyright holder.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Educational Studies Department

First Advisor

Jennifer Bradley

Abstract

This study began with the researcher’s noticings and wonderings about young children’s understanding and impact in family activism spaces and broader social movements. Thus, the overarching research question was born: what is the multidirectional impact of young children on social movements? Secondary questions tackled children’s agency, families’ negotiation of activism at home and in the streets, and the rhetorical impact of children’s involvement. The bulk of the data was conducted via semi-structured interviews with young children (aged 3-8), caregivers, and educators. Qualitative thematic coding and analysis was conducted. A number of themes emerged, including: 1. Children make social movements more rhetorically and physically accessible, ultimately expanding who can contribute and how 2. Children contribute an acute sense of fairness and justice to movements, making them ripe for developing a power analysis with adult support. Implications are discussed, highlighting the increased risk of indoctrination when there is an absence of critical discussion about social issues in the home, children’s right to understand their role in movements, and the imperative that our movements tactically reflect their ideology. Finally, specific considerations and recommendations are given for folding children into social movements before limitations and future research suggestions are presented.

Keywords

family activism, children’s agency, social movements, early childhood, power

Included in

Education Commons

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