ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the ways in which a community-based literacy makerspace camp in rural South Africa provided opportunities for primary grade students (ages 5–10) to engage in critical global literacies. The camp took place for six days during an international service-learning project with preservice teachers. During the camp, students completed two making activities: a child-centered problem-based activity and a community-centered problem activity. They used digital, craft and recycled materials. Using a deductive, content analytical approach, findings suggest the makerspace provided opportunities for young students to explore and expand their thoughts and feelings about their community and make connections to other relevant global issues. They read their community as a text and created solutions that lead to direct action. Through creative making, the students reflected on their role as citizens and enhanced their collective agency. The camp positioned students as knowledgeable members of their community and provided a space for hopeful and imaginative discourse. Imagination heightened the students’ local and global awareness and was critical to their development as global citizens.
