School Citizenship – Children’s Voices During the Pandemic and the War in Ukraine

The article concerns school citizenship - children's voices during the pandemic and war in Ukraine. School citizenship is based on viewing children as students able to act in the school environment and entitled to a say in what is done for them and how they are treated. The theoretical framework is the participatory model of childhood. I also draw on the Korczak tradition, which emphasizes the value and importance of children's subjectivity. The aim of my research is to recognize children's voices of participation and citizenship in the socio-political context. The study used the method of free autobiographical statement on the topic "My school day". The research technique was a diary written by students. Being at school is associated with fulfilling duties, controlling, checking and asking questions. There is no space for free conversation and reflection on the difficulties and obstacles that students face in an insensitive institution. An institution that sticks rigidly to the curriculum framework, in which there is no place for students who are "not suited" to school conditions. Such research is very important for children because it gives them the opportunity to express their views on issues that concern them, and often also prompts reflection on students' "existence" at school. This form allows students to unleash their development potential and allows adults to get to know and look at the child from a different perspective. The research is participatory in nature. Participation is speaking and being heard, and it is both an individual right and a practice rooted in a network of intergenerational relationships.