Citizenship education and the promise of democracy: A study of UNESCO Associated Schools in Brazil and Canada

Abstract

With current manifestations of globalization creating local problems, including widening equity gaps, increased environmental destruction and burgeoning poverty, many policymakers, civil society, organizations and educators are seeking models of education that promise social justice and a democratic public sphere that reflects more than democracy of and for elites. This study of UNESCO Associated Schools, located in Brazil and Canada, identified how educators negotiate contradictory global agendas and employ UNESCO ideals of a peaceful world, human rights and democracy, and a healthy environment to create a platform for citizenship education. While there is no package of liberation and transformational education that comes with being a UNESCO Associated School, there is encouraging evidence that educators are working in creative and critical ways to educate toward more engaged citizens who are capable of contributing to a strengthened public sphere. This article compares the Brazilian and Canadian experiences with the UNESCO Associated Schools project, and examines both commonalities and differences. While global neoliberalized governance structures define much of what happens even in local contexts, the schools in this study demonstrated innovative ways in which citizenship education can be a pathway to understanding and resisting destructive global agendas while, simultaneously, maintaining a critical global awareness and citizenship engagement. Recommendations are made for citizenship education that prepares activist citizens to participate in a pubic sphere that challenges normative elitism and opens possibilities for a justice to be the common foundation of public engagement.