Traditional conceptions of civic education for young children in the United States tend to focus on student acquisition of patriotic knowledge, that is, identifying flags and leaders, and practicing basic civic skills like voting as decision-making. The Civic Action and Young Children study sought to look beyond this narrow vision of civic education by observing, documenting, and contextualizing how young children acted on behalf of and with other people in their everyday early childhood settings. In the following paper, we offer examples from three Head Start classrooms to demonstrate multiple ways that young children act civically in everyday ways. When classrooms and teachers afford young children more agency, children’s civic capabilities expand, and they are able to act on behalf of and with their community. Rather than teaching children about democracy and citizenship, we argue for an embodied, lived experience for young children.

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To overcome the resistance to radiotherapy in chondrosarcomas, the prevention of efficient DNA repair with an additional treatment was explored for particle beams as well as reference X-ray irradiation. The combined treatment with DNA repair inhibitors—with a focus on ATRi VE-821—and proton or carbon ions irradiation was investigated regarding cell viability, proliferation, cell cycle distribution, MAPK phosphorylation, and the expression of key DNA repair genes in two human chondrosarcoma cell lines. Pre-treatment with the PARPis Olaparib or Veliparib, the ATMi Ku-55933, and the ATRi VE-821 resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in viability, whereas VE-821 has the most efficient response. Quantification of γH2AX phosphorylation and protein expression of the DNA repair pathways showed a reduced regenerative capacity after irradiation. Furthermore, combined treatment with VE-821 and particle irradiation increased MAPK phosphorylation and the expression of apoptosis markers. At the gene expression and at the protein expression/phosphorylation level, we were able to demonstrate the preservation of DNA damage after combined treatment. The present data showed that the combined treatment with ATMi VE-821 increases the radiosensitivity of human chondrosarcoma cells in vitro and significantly suppresses efficient DNA repair mechanisms, thus improving the efficiency of radiotherapy.

This article describes the use of video‐cued multivocal ethnography (VCE) in the Civic Action and Young Children Study conducted with preschool children in South Texas. We detail how and why we continue to use the VCE method as a process of collective reflection and analysis with participating communities. We also explore how VCE helps us enact our commitment to equity, change, and justice as activist researchers and educators. [Video‐cued ethnography, early childhood education, civic action, school/community relations]

Background U.S. preschool children from Latinx immigrant and Black communities often experience schooling rooted in compliance and overdiscipline. In these contexts, schools do not recognize the rich lived experiences of Children of Color as suitable for civic learning. This article explores how, when schools value young Children of Color as capable and their work as important, classrooms become sites of children's daily embodied civic action. Purpose Our study sought to better understand how children conceptualize and enact their ideas about community and to document the kinds of civic action present in early childhood classrooms. Applying theoretical tools of critical geography, we specifically analyzed how children used space and materials to enact their vision of a just community. Participants Three classrooms—an inclusion classroom, a bilingual classroom, and an English-only general education classroom—located within a Head Start center in South Texas participated in this study. The campus is roughly 65% Latinx, 33% Black, and 2% White, serving 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children. Research Design This study used a multisited, comparative ethnographic methodology. Multisited ethnography allows researchers to locate patterns and contextual differences that impact people's lived experiences. Initially, researchers conducted ethnographic observations through field notes, photographs, and short videos documenting children's action on behalf of or with the classroom community. Next, we used video-cued ethnographic methods, filming for three days in each classroom and editing the footage into a 20-minute film. We showed that film to teachers, families, and children in focus groups. Analysis occurred in multiple phases, during which we refined codes through individual, partner, participant, and team-level work. Findings Children used physical space and materials to assert community membership and to strengthen community ties. They adapted space and classroom materials to include other community members in shared activities. Finally, children advocated for space for their own purposes. Conclusions When teachers and administrators approach the classroom as a civic space where children representing racial, linguistic, and ability diversity can access embodied experiences with civic action, children can use their space to act on behalf of the community. Rather than offering lesson-based social-emotional learning, schools can reflect on how children might build a just, caring community through authentic embodied experiences that include having some control over space and materials. Doing so may allow a shift toward class environments that support shared endeavors and opportunities for children to care for community members.