‘Córdoba, through Children’s eyes’. Assessing citizenship literacy in Early Childhood Education and Special Education classes

ABSTRACT

This dissertation assesses an innovation experience carried out by the RIECU network (Early Childhood Education Schools -Teachers’ Centre- University). The aim is to enable children to investigate the wealth of their city’s heritage through an inclusive proposal, due to the value of a paradigm of peaceful intercultural coexistence. 234 people participated: Early Childhood Education and Special Education teachers, advisers and children, as well as students and professors. The experience focused primarily on development of project to learn more about the monuments and main features of the three cultures that coexisted peacefully in the city of Córdoba. This project was assessed with the help of a mixed focus group in which all the parties involved participated. The data analyzed reveal that: (1) Children explored the main features of the monument assigned and the culture to which it belongs; (2) The innovation experiences positively impacted educational inclusion processes; and (3) Children did not acquire an overall understanding of the city as a paradigm of peaceful intercultural coexistence.

KEYWORDS:

• Educational city
• early childhood education
• special education
• educational innovation
• citizenship literacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

M. A. Olivares-García http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9440-5628

M. E. González-Alfaya http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8264-3680

R. Mérida-Serrano http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9389-3263

M. Muñoz-Moya http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6250-2995