Children as advocates: The potential of using social media in the early and primary years

We three authors come to this paper as teachers of a few decades of experience. In our professional lives, we often discuss the notion of advocacy. Sometimes we frame our discussions from the viewpoint of the teacher as an advocate for children however, on this occasion we turn our talk to children as advocates for causes that matter to them. We think that teachers have an important role to play in preparing children as capable and accomplished advocates, both in their childhood and also in later life. We acknowledge that the ability to advocate is a skill for effecting one’s life choices and life chances (Janks, 2010). In this new era of the ‘digital turn’ (Mills, 2010) and web 2.0 technology (Jenkins, 2009), we are also curious about the potential of using social media for facilitating these ends in the early and primary years