Geography, education and citizenship: engaging with children’s rights in, and to, the city in London

Journal article

Drawing on a small-scale study in London that investigated children’s rights in, and to, the city, this article considers the relationships between geography education and citizenship. We begin by examining children’s citizenship in cities, before exploring curricula constructions of citizenship in England. The research, which was co- created by a university-based geography educator and a school-based geography educator, involved 11–12 years olds drawing/mapping London and their dream city. Analysis revealed that the young people who participated often had a sense of attachment to London, wishing to make the city more liveable for themselves and the more-than- humans they share it with. However, while some young people expressed that school helped them to have rights in the city, others raised concerns that practices in schools potentially curtailed their citizenship. The article concludes by arguing for further research to examine the relationships between children’s (lived) citizenship and geography education in schools.

Authors: Hammond, L; Freeman, D

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Journal: Geography
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 16-25
• Publication date: 2025-01-31
• Acceptance date: 2024-10-07
• DOI: 10.1080/00167487.2025.2437948
• EISSN: 2043-6564
• ISSN: 0016-7487
• Language: English
• Keywords: citizenship; children's rights; right to the city; geography education; citizenship education