Abstract
This article illustrates how one university-based initial teacher education (ITE) course sought to develop links with civil society organisations to develop meaningful active citizenship education. The purpose of the project was to enhance citizenship education for ITE students preparing to become secondary school teachers. The article discusses recent developments in theorising teacher education 3.0 to ensure teachers are empowered to engage with a wide range of social and political challenges affecting young people and their communities. It then describes a small project that involved university staff and students in a local community organising project, bringing together a range of local community groups to work together for social justice. The article explores how student teachers working within that community organising group developed an increasingly politicised view of their role—as public sector workers in a politicised policy landscape; as potential agents for the promotion of democracy; and as political actors in their own right. The article concludes that these insights into practice illustrate the potential for a broader conception of teacher education, involving civil society partners beyond schools and universities.
Highlights
IntroductionThere is a national curriculum programme of study for the subject and an examination in Citizenship Studies for (some) 16 year olds at the end of their secondary schooling, and each year a small number of teachers are trained as subject specialist teachers [2]
In reflecting on how these translated for student teachers we focused on processes of exclusion and inclusion in relation to provision rights; strategies for promoting student voice and consultation in relation to participation; and how to create a psychologically safe classroom, in relation to protection rights
The notion of community is central to any conception of community organising, and it is central to the earlier definition of initial teacher education (ITE) 3.0, but that does not mean it is amenable to easy definition
Summary
There is a national curriculum programme of study for the subject and an examination in Citizenship Studies for (some) 16 year olds at the end of their secondary schooling, and each year a small number of teachers are trained as subject specialist teachers [2]. The curriculum establishes the aspiration that all young people should “experience and evaluate different ways that citizens can act together to solve problems and contribute to society” [3]. This presents a distinctive challenge for citizenship teachers as it requires them to develop pedagogic strategies that support young people to engage in, and learn from, real active citizenship activity [4]
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