Our research critically examines the concept of citizenship education, particularly its role in balancing individual agency with collective identity in democratic societies. Anchored in the theory of 'citizenship-as-practice' (Lawy & Biesta, 2006) and the 'funds of knowledge' approach (Moje, 2008; Hogg, 2011), our study is situated within the field of the new sociology of childhood. This framework offers a unique lens for understanding how children, as integral members of society, understand solidarity.

Citizenship education, traditionally aimed at cultivating responsible members of society, often risks endorsing a homogenized set of values and behaviors as emblematic of the "good citizen" (Schugurensky & Myers, 2003). Yet, it also possesses the potential to empower individuals to critically engage with societal norms, advocating for change and social justice as well as global issues. This dual nature necessitates a critical reflection on the objectives and outcomes of citizenship education, particularly in how it balances individuality with collectivity. 

Building on this, we delve into the concept of solidarity as an integral aspect of citizenship education (Santora, 2003; 2011) and characterized by the same type of tension. Solidarity, often at odds with the principles of diversity and individualism, poses the challenge of fostering unity without diminishing the value of diverse perspectives, a crucial element in democratic communities. This exploration of solidarity leads us to investigate its manifestations and understandings among children in educational settings.

Our research into children's understandings of solidarity in educational environments provides an insightful perspective on the interplay between individuality and collectivity. Employing 'citizenship-as-practice', we aim to understand how children, as active agents, navigate the complexities of solidarity amid their diverse experiences and collective educational objectives. This investigation is further enriched by incorporating the 'funds of knowledge' concept (Gaztambide-Fernández, Brant & Desai, 2022), which emphasizes the importance of leveraging the culturally and contextually rich knowledge that students bring from their communities. By doing so, citizenship education transforms from abstract principles to a lived, community-connected practice, making the concept of solidarity more tangible and relevant to students.

Our methodological approach, informed by the new sociology of childhood (James, Jenks & Prout, 1998; Epstein et al, 2006), places a strong emphasis on children's agency and perspectives. We adopt participatory qualitative methods, valuing students' backgrounds and experiences as integral to the research process. 

Guided by the questions: How do children in Romania understand and engage in practices of solidarity in  the current European context?  and How do children engage in constructing and performing individual and collective identities in the process of learning about solidarity? our research seeks to uncover new insights into how children conceptualize and practice solidarity, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of citizenship education in diverse and dynamic societal settings.

The relevance of our study is twofold.  First, focusing on Romania (a country grappling with high economic inequality and receiving a significant influx of refugees) provides a critical context for researching  how these broader issues shape children's understandings  of solidarity. Second, it complements the data provided by ICCS2022 study, that investigates the ways young people are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens from a curriculum, school and classroom perspective.

The research informing this paper was carried out in six schools in Romania by six different women researchers. Each researcher carried out a 4-day workshop with approx. 15 participants aged 11-13 years old, based on dialogic participatory research and active learning methods in one school. The middle schools were selected from all regions of Romania, both in urban and rural areas, to cover a diversity of socio-economic and cultural contexts: a school in an area close to the Ukrainian border, a school that caters to children coming from educated middle class family background, a school that caters for mostly institutionalized or highly marginalized children, for example with parents working abroad, or belonging to families with a low socio-economic status etc. The research methods were compiled in guidebooks by members of the research team. These involved drawings about themselves, the community and the future (Mitchell et al, 2011) ; photovoice about encountering solidarity in everyday life settings (Wang, 1999; Abma et al, 2022), forum theater plays about solidarity (Hammond, 2013), as well as artificial intelligence based story-telling (Murgia et.al 2023), alongside focus group discussions about each of the activities and the children’s process of learning about solidarity (Green, 2002). All meetings were documented with audio-recordings, as well as with fieldnotes. Occasionally short videos (e.g. of forum theater plays), as well as photographs were taken for internal use. Following the workshops, researchers met online, as well as offline to reflect on the research experience and about ways forward in the participatory process. All conversations were recorded and the data is in the process of being transcribed and analyzed. The corpus consists of both textual and image based data compiled into a shared database and analyzed by all contributing researchers. The data was analyzed through the lenses of our research questions: How do children in Romania understand and engage in practices of solidarity in the current European context? and How do children engage in constructing and performing individual and collective identities in the process of learning about solidarity?

Our exploration into the multifaceted concept of solidarity, as experienced by children, reveals that students find participative methods like collages, drawings, AI storytelling, theater, and Photovoice both innovative and engaging for expressing themselves and grappling with social issues. These children frequently reflect on current global crises — pollution, conflicts, energy challenges, poverty, and democratic deficits — which prominently influence their perception of today's world and future outlook. Children's representations of the future reveal a dichotomous structure. On a personal level, children express desires for “expensive cars”, “glamorous jobs”, and ‘amusing experiences”. From a collective perspective, children foresee a future marked by climate crises, environmental damage, a society governed by robots, and animals suffocated by plastic and pollution. These dominant themes are derived from drawings and collages. Notably, in the theater workshop, children primarily expressed experiences of exclusion, bullying, and seeking/receiving help. In utilizing Chat GPT as a platform, children predominantly employed vocabulary linked to the curriculum framework, incorporating key concepts from subjects such as critical thinking, children's rights, and civic education for democratic citizenship. In the development of stories and various scenarios, frequent references were made to “local authorities”, “laws”, “rules”, and “regulations”. Preliminary interpretations suggest that learning about solidarity leads children to actively engage with both local and global issues by means of participative methods that create space for their agency. Educators could leverage such examples to enhance students' capacities and skills, fostering their involvement in co-creating meaningful solutions within their communities. Embedded in a specific place and time, children's expressions about solidarity reflect their individual and collective identities. Moreover, these activities allow children to explore complex concepts like research methods, societal equity, and power dynamics, typically considered adult-centric topics.

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