'It's like we're a normal way and everyone else is different': Australian children's constructions of citizenship and national identity

The more people are urged to 'think globally' and to see themselves as 'cit izens of the world', the more taken-for granted notions of national belongi ng (national identity) are called into question. Nowhere has this been more evident than in Australia where, in recent times, a number of events have caused Australians to think most carefully about what it means to be Austra lian. While there have been plenty of opportunities for adults to debate th ese issues, little attention has been paid to the way children are now conc eptualising their senses of 'belonging'. Do children see themselves as glob al citizens, an identity they are increasingly encouraged to embrace throug h mass media, mass communications and the Internet, or do they see themselv es as belonging to an entity called 'Australia', or are they juggling with both identities? This study examines how 28 young Australian children are t hinking about what it means to be 'Australian' and 'a citizen' in global ti mes.