Does Citizenship Education Work? Evidence from a Decade of Citizenship Education in Secondary Schools in England

Abstract

In 2002 compulsory lessons on citizenship were introduced into secondary schools in England following the recommendations of an advisory group chaired by the late Bernard Crick. This study examines if this initiative has been successful in affecting the civic engagement of young people who were exposed to the citizenship curriculum over the decade since it was introduced. It utilises a survey of 18-26 year olds conducted in 2011 and compares respondents who were exposed to the curriculum with those who were not in what is a natural experiment. The findings are that citizenship education had a positive impact on three key components of civic engagement: efficacy, political participation and political knowledge. This suggests that the reform is likely to help offset some of the trends in civic participation among young people which have shown a sharp decline in key activities like voting and voluntary activities over time. The study concludes by speculating on the likely effects of the coalition governments decision to drop citizenship education as a compulsory subject in the national curriculum in schools in 2014.