In this final chapter, we would like to extend the metaphor of the ‘unseen half’ by exploring how sociological theory itself is ‘unseen’ in early childhood, primary and secondary educational contexts, at least outside of pre-service teacher education and academia itself. When stories about education settings, educational-related issues or educational research findings enter the public milieu via the media, there is rarely any explicit acknowledgement of the theoretical perspectives that might have informed the analysis of the story, issue, or ‘problem’. We propose that ignoring these theoretical influences is due less to a lack of theoretical presence and more to theory’s unfortunate relegation to the background as bland, unintelligible, irrelevant or even elitist.

In 2022, the number of people forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, and disturbing public order increased by 21 per cent from 2021 to an estimated 108.4 million. This means that more than 1 in 74 people worldwide were forcibly displaced. This is a significant increase of 19 million compared to the end of 2021, with UNHCR’s statistics on forced displacement indicating that from 2021–2022 saw the largest ever increase. Over half of this increase was due to record numbers of refugees, asylum-seekers, and other people in need of international protection who were forced to flee in 2022. An estimated 43.3 million (40 per cent) were children below 18 years of age. English proficiency of school-aged children and young people across all migration streams 2018–19 indicates that most children and young people in the humanitarian migration stream identified as having low proficiency in English, highlighting the need for strong on-arrival and long-term English language programs.

Introduction

So far in this book I have sought to explore the many places in which children's engagement in philanthropic and voluntary action can be cultivated and encouraged. I have sought to argue that in many spaces, opportunities and learning continue to be bounded by concepts of civic duty, character and personalised responsibility. In this chapter, I seek to look at how children are encouraged and enabled to step outside of these bounded ideas of philanthropic action and actively participate in spaces of community organising, advocacy and activism. Drawing on the example of the Industrial Areas Foundation, which has inspired community-organising activities globally, I seek to consider how children's voices are increasingly being included in these spaces. I then turn my focus to the organisations concentrating on engaging children in political spaces, advocacy and protests, considering how can we increase children's engagement in an ethical way, which recognises their state as both being and becoming citizens (see Chapter 2).

Let's start though with the story of Francisco Vera, a young Colombian human rights defender and environmentalist, who founded ‘Guardianes por la Vida’ (Guardians for Life) at the age of nine to address the climate crisis. Highlighted as a young change maker by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), I summarise his story here (see OHCHR [2023] for the full story). Motivated by devastating fires in the Amazon and inspired by activists like Greta Thunberg, the organisation began with six children in 2019 and now boasts hundreds of members advocating for a healthy environment in Colombia. Their mission involves influencing public policies to combat pollution and climate change, and promote the right to a healthy environment. Francisco highlights the role children can play in enacting change and fostering intergenerational dialogue, articulating this beautifully in an interview for the OHCHR (2023):

Introduction

So far in this book, I have explored several spaces and places within society where children and young people are encouraged to be and become good citizens. In this chapter, I turn our attention to the uniform groups, focusing initially on the Scouts and then the splinter group of the Woodcraft Folk.

The roots of scouting trace back to the leadership of Sir Robert Baden-Powell, who was born in 1857 in London. Inheriting a passion for outdoor activities from his father, Baden-Powell organised a camp on Brownsea Island in 1907, marking the experimental beginnings of scouting. In 1908 he released his seminal manual, Scouting for Boys, setting the standard for scouting activities, emphasising self-reliance, good citizenship and moral development. This ignited a global surge in scouting, culminating in the formal establishment of the Boy Scouts Association in 1910. The Scout Law, the Scout Promise and the motto ‘Be Prepared’ became guiding principles. Scouts diversified across urban and rural settings, later including girls through the establishment of the Girl Guides. The global movement now impacts youth worldwide and is currently active in 216 countries and territories, with a global membership of over 31 million, male and female, with two thirds of the international membership in developing countries.

In the UK, scouting played a crucial role in both world wars, offering vital support and exemplifying commitment to community and military service. After the Second World War, adapting to changing societal needs, scouting introduced various sections for different age groups. Today, UK Scouts state that they strive for inclusivity, welcoming participants from diverse backgrounds, although with varying degrees of success. They continue to receive strong support from the British royal family, symbolising British values of character, resilience and grit. Indeed, Bannister (2022) argues that scouting and guiding organisations play a crucial role in the ritual socialisation of young people in Britain, instilling values, norms and identity among their members, contributing to their socialisation into society, and shaping the moral and social development of youth within these organisations and their broader communities.

Introduction

As a mum to two boys, I am concerned about what the future holds for my children. Indeed, as a citizen of the world, I am concerned about that future for all children. The existential threats of climate change are taking hold, though their seriousness appears to be continually largely ignored by many governments, human rights are being limited across many parts of the world, and war in Europe, rising tensions in the Middle East and conflicts across the globe all cause significant concern. But also, within that is a lot of hope, amazing people doing amazing things, many of which I will touch upon in this book. Nonetheless, in this chapter I want to focus on some of the challenges facing our children as citizens of the world, particularly the conceptualisation of childhood, children's rights and how we construct notions of good citizenship within civil society.

In the evolving landscape of childhood citizenship, children are often cast as future stakeholders rather than co-citizens. The UNCRC (1989) sparked a paradigm shift, challenging us all to reconsider the complex nature of children's citizenship – whether it is a right, a developmental milestone or a response to societal demands. Thus, the debate between ‘being’ and ‘becoming’ citizens unfolds: should children be acknowledged as fully enfranchised members of society or do their rights evolve with their cognitive and emotional growth? Advocates for ‘being’ champion children as integral citizens, while the ‘becoming’ perspective recognises maturation, calling for age-sensitive participation. I, along with others, argue that striking a nuanced balance is crucial, recognising children as citizens while accommodating their unique developmental needs. Nonetheless, despite international legal frameworks, critiques highlight children's exclusion from impactful decisions, a challenge exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, character education rises in prominence, emphasising virtues through community action, while critics caution against its potential to divert attention from structural inequalities.

Amid these discussions, a stark reality emerges – threats to civil liberties and the right to protest. Many governments, including my own here in England, propose legislation limiting these rights, creating a hostile climate towards activism.

Introduction

Do you remember the last time you were asked to donate to a school fundraising campaign, maybe as a parent, family member or member of the local community? Maybe it was through baking a cake for the school fair, a Parent Teacher Association (PTA) charity quiz fundraiser, a nonschool uniform day, a sponsored activity or simply in response to a direct request for help? Indeed, barely a week seems to go by without a sponsor form for families to complete, requests for old toys or books, or some larger-scale fundraising campaign. These activities highlight how voluntary, community and philanthropic action is an important and multilayered part of everyday school life, with a combination of parents, grandparents, community members, teachers (and their friends and families!) and children coming together to raise funds and partake in charitable action to support a range of good causes.

Such activity enables schools to draw on a wide range of additional skills and resources, can strengthen a school community and can engage children in philanthropic activity from an early age. Unsurprisingly, voluntary action in education tends to be viewed as a positive and good thing, and is increasingly encouraged within policy and practice. Indeed, fundraising, volunteering and social action in primary schools are becoming progressively central to school activities, with many primary schools keenly seeking to strategically engage and grow this area of activity. Schools increasingly purposefully foster children's philanthropic citizenship in a bid to help cultivate prosocial habits now and in the future, as well as increasingly fundraising for their own needs (Body and Hogg, 2021).

Under this topic, I remember the first time I met the wonderful Amy Neugebauer, Executive Director and Founder of The Giving Square. We both featured on a podcast for the Urban Institute, funded by the Gates Foundation, entitled ‘Teaching Kids How to Give’ (Urban Institute, 2021). We followed up with a chat afterwards and I felt so inspired by the work they were doing – approaching philanthropic conversations with children from a social justice mentality – that we have stayed in touch ever since.

Introduction

I am not the first person, or indeed the last, to seek to question the systems and structures under which our children are raised. Nor am I the first (or last) to seek to critique the role and understanding of philanthropy in our society. Nonetheless, I do hope this book brings a renewed focus on the role of children as change makers through the lens of philanthropy and philanthropic citizenship.

In this book I have sought to question how we raise our children as philanthropic citizens. Philanthropy, often associated with power and privilege, is a subject of intense debate and criticism. While acknowledging these concerns, I argue for a shift in focus towards the central question of what it means to be philanthropic and why it matters. While Chapters 1 and 2 seek to outline some of the concepts and challenges behind these ideas, Chapters 3– 7 focus on the spaces and places in which children can begin their philanthropic and citizenship journey, but, as argued, too often framed in a very particular discourse. Chapters 8 and 9 focus more on engaging children in collective action, community empowerment and change making, while Chapter 10 draws on the voices of civil society leaders to consider: where next? Across these chapters I have sought to challenge traditional views of philanthropic engagement, especially in terms of how children are socialised into philanthropic behaviours, and I have advocated for a model of children's philanthropic citizenship that encourages different ways of engagement rooted in critical thinking, collective action and social justice.

Ultimately this book argues that fostering an active and thriving civil society is crucial for a fair and just world. Therefore, in this last chapter I will outline what I think (some of) the most pressing tasks are that lie ahead of us all within the philanthropic ecosystem:

• 1. We must hold, and indeed defend, the space for children and young people (and us all) to consider, debate, deliberate, voice and act on issues they care about.

• 2. We need to ensure we challenge and continue to challenge institutionalised notions of what is seen as good and selfless, and support children and young people's critical engagement in the causes that matter to them.

Introduction

I’m not sure how it works in other households, but I feel my two sons are constantly asking me for money to give to one charity cause or another, through their school and community activities. I’m always happy to support; however, less common is their ability to give me a detailed description of what cause that money is for, and why or how the fundraising activity will benefit the cause. Sound familiar?

Children have increasingly been drawn into the world of fundraising as donors and are recognised as a valuable source of income for charities, as they contribute funds (normally those of their parents or carers) to partake in activities, such as school dress-up days, sponsored walks and bake sales. Drawing on extensive research on child-focused fundraising and the ethical dimensions of nurturing philanthropic citizenship, in this chapter I scrutinise the involvement of children as donors in national fundraising campaigns like Comic Relief, Kids Heart Challenge and Daffodil Day. Despite the widespread participation, questions arise about the meaningfulness of children's engagement and their status as legitimate donors. I critically explore the framing and ethics surrounding children's often passive participation in fundraising, raising a dual dilemma: first, such activity overlooks children's rights as active citizens, denying their agency in decisions affecting them – a fundamental principle of the UNCRC; second, it embodies tokenistic engagement, reducing giving to a transactional act, failing to meet the needs of children as donors or to appropriately and ethically consider the needs and rights of the beneficiaries.

I then explore the broader role of fundraising in fostering children's philanthropic citizenship. I argue that large-scale fundraising methods targeting children in schools and communities often hinder the development of sustained philanthropic commitment. This commitment should encompass both giving and critical reflection on the societal structures driving charitable efforts. This potentially stands in contrast to organisations primarily focused on transactional fundraising for financial gain, presenting complex ethical considerations. In dissecting the ethical dimensions of child-centric fundraising, I call for a re-evaluation of current practices.