Introduction Of Citizenship Education Research Articles

Citizenship education for Lesotho’s context: Towards a stable democracy

This article represents a contextual analysis that seeks a lasting solution to Lesotho’s current democratic instability, which has typified its political landscape since independence. This article analyses the literature to argue that the optimised political and institutional reforms that have recently raised people’s hopes are not likely to bring about a lasting solution of democratic stability. They are likely to suffer the same fate as those that came before, which only managed to provide a temporary solution. This article contends that the sustainability of democracy in Lesotho can ideally be achieved through the cultivation of the ‘spirit of democracy’, which can be nurtured through citizenship education. The article concludes by exploring possibilities for the introduction of citizenship education in Lesotho.

History, nation and school inspections: the introduction of citizenship education in elementary schools in late nineteenth-century Sweden

It was in the late nineteenth century that teaching in Sweden’s elementary schools began its transformation from a religious education to a broader, national citizenship education that included history and geography. International research has pointed to a connection between the introduction of school inspections and the reform of public education during this period. In Sweden, however, the practice of inspection has not been explored at any length. This article therefore considers the part played by school inspections in the implementation of a more extensive curriculum in Swedish elementary schools in the period 1860–1900, with a particular focus on the subject of history, using a study of inspection reports from the diocese of Uppsala. It is argued that school inspectors had a key role in initiating reform at the local level, but also that the move towards broader-based citizenship education was not a simple, straightforward process.

'Political ideas can only be discussed if they are in the syllabus; otherwise a political discussion is not necessary': Teachers' views on citizenship education in Zimbabwe

This study on the introduction of citizenship education in Zimbabwe reviewed teachers' opinions about and preparedness in implementing the programme. Data were collected through in-depth face-to-face interviews with 21 teachers purposefully selected from two high schools in the country. Interviews focused on teachers' conceptions of citizenship and citizenship education, the status of citizenship education in the curriculum, teaching techniques regarded as appropriate for teaching citizenship issues, assessment and training needs. In the sample there were a wide range of views on the meaning and purpose of citizenship and citizenship education. While some teachers are positive about the purpose of this subject, others think that it is an attempt to indoctrinate and silence young people from being critical of the government.

Active citizenship: a preliminary study into student teacher understandings

Background: The last two decades have witnessed an increase in interest in education for citizenship in a number of westernised democracies. In England, citizenship education has been a statutory subject within the secondary National Curriculum since August 2002. As a relatively new subject within the curriculum, practice in citizenship education is in a developmental stage. A number of terms and concepts within citizenship education are therefore being defined and re-defined both through practice and research, including the central concept of active citizenship. To support the introduction of citizenship education, initial teacher education programmes have been established in a number of higher education institutions across England to train specialist teachers of citizenship education. Research has highlighted the positive contribution that specialist citizenship teachers are playing in establishing and developing citizenship education in schools (OfSTED 2006, Towards consensus? Citizenship in secondary schools, Report HMI 2666, London: OfSTED; Kerr et al. 2007, Vision versus pragmatism: citizenship in the secondary school curriculum in England, available from http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR845.pdf), yet little research has been undertaken that explores how these new specialists understand central aspects of the subject. Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the understandings of active citizenship held by student teachers undertaking specialist pre-service Post Graduate Certificates of Education programmes in England. The student teachers were training to teach citizenship education to pupils in the 11–16 or 11–18 age range. In view of the relatively small population from which the sample was drawn, the research was intended as an exploratory study of the present situation, the findings from which can inform further research within the field. Sample: In the final synthesis, the sample comprised 149 student teachers from 12 higher education institutions (HEIs) in England. This represented well over half of the total population of secondary citizenship PGCE students in English HEIs for the academic year in which our data were collected (2006/07) (Training and Development Agency for Schools 2005, Secondary ITT place allocations for 2006/07 and 2007/08. Annex B, 6; London). Design and methods: A closed response questionnaire was administered to the student teachers. Specific questions were formulated in relation to issues relevant to student teachers' understanding of active citizenship, in terms of its nature and application. A three- and five-point Likert scale was employed as a reliable and effective means of enabling respondents to answer the questions. However, the questionnaire was not intended to establish an overall scale. Because there were multiple questions being investigated within individual questions, with non-random allocation to groups, significance testing was considered inappropriate in this exploratory study. However, as an approximate guide, all associations mentioned in the text produced a significance at the 5% level in the Kruskal–Wallis test, where association is employed as a means of explaining some of the variation between responses to questions. Results: Analysis showed that 47% of student teachers strongly agreed or agreed that ‘active citizenship is a coherent concept, the meaning of which is shared by citizenship educators’, whereas 35% strongly disagreed or disagreed with this statement. Furthermore, there was a clear spread of student teacher responses across the higher education institutions and the reactions to this statement were indicative of an association between response and HEI attended – i.e. student teacher views may have been influenced by the HEI attended. Whether the student teachers did or did not perceive active citizenship to be a coherent concept did not seem to have impacted on nor influenced their responses to the other questions in the questionnaire. Conclusions: Results from this exploratory study suggest that citizenship student teachers perceive active citizenship to play an important part in providing active learning activities for pupils within community, whole-school and classroom settings. However, the research raises a number of questions that deserve the attention of citizenship teacher educators. If ‘active citizenship’ has, indeed, become part of the new vocabulary of citizenship education, then it is essential that the specialists, who will forge the curriculum in our schools, are aware of wider debates and issues surrounding the subject, its role and its meaning.

Citizenship, diversity and national identity

This article explores the issues of citizenship, diversity and national identity in the context of the introduction of citizenship education in the UK. It considers the historical context of national identity in the UK and notes that the 'British national identity has historically implied diversity'. It also analyses the views of British national identity in the speeches of major contemporary politicians including Gordon Brown and the challenge they provide for citizenship education

Educating for citizenship—the emerging relationship between religious education and citizenship education

The introduction of citizenship education to school in England (and Wales) in 2002 has generated interest and concern among religious educationalists, some of whom welcome the opportunities this new educational territory opens up for religious education and some of whom suspect it augurs religious education's demise. This article reports findings of a school‐based study of the early implementation of citizenship education and its impact on religious education. It discusses those findings in the context of the current debate about the future relationship between the two subjects, noting a similar ambivalence toward citizenship education among religious education heads of department, as there is among religious educationalists. The discussion includes an examination of the Crick Report, noting its lack of interest in religious education, and argues that its conceptualization of citizenship leaves it open to two quite different broad interpretations of what might be meant by an education for citizenship, one of which religious education practitioners appear to endorse and associate with religious education, and one of which they reject and associate with citizenship education.

Intercultural education and recent European pedagogies of religious education

I give a brief account of the emergence in Britain in the late 1960s of a secular religious education (RE), utilizing material from the religions of the world, and refer to its role in multicultural education in the 1970s. Next, I summarize some developments in the history of the uneasy relationship between multicultural and antiracist education up to the early 1990s, when new critical approaches to multicultural education appeared, noting that the political climate in Britain under Conservative Governments prevented any positive influence from these on policy. Since the election of a Labour Government in 1997, two main factors have resulted in the restoration of some multicultural/intercultural education to the curriculum: The first is a response to social disruption nationally and globally. The second is the introduction of citizenship education in the curriculum of English and Welsh schools. In the case of social disruption, in relation to riots in England and to the events of 11 September 2001, in New York and their global consequences, religion has been a key element requiring analysis and response. Policy discussions, in England and Wales and in Europe more widely, are recognizing the importance of the religious dimension to intercultural education. New interpretive and dialogical pedagogies of RE share similar analytic stances towards ‘culture’ and ‘religion’ and similar critical and reflexive methodologies to recent approaches to multicultural/intercultural education. Thus, RE, employing these pedagogies, can make a direct contribution to an intercultural education working to promote social cohesion. There are also opportunities for fruitful collaboration between educators in the RE and intercultural fields.

Children's Space and Interests: Constructing an Agenda for Student Voice

Student voice is now a more prominent feature of the education policy agenda in England and Wales. The introduction of citizenship education and the demands on schools to become more socially inclusive have forced educationalists to look more critically at the most popular expression of student voice, the school council. Drawing on empirical data from four secondary schools, this paper explores the strategies adopted by students and staff in establishing the position of the school council both as a mechanism for the expression of students' interests and as a possible forum within a broader decision-making process in school. As such the paper provides an insight into new ways of governance that may resonate with young people's experiences in other settings, both temporal and spatial.

Citizenship Education in Northern Ireland: Beyond national identity?

The introduction of citizenship education to the curriculum of all schools in Northern Ireland is one way of underpinning a long-term commitment to democratic politics as part of a fragile peace process. However, the concept of citizenship requires careful consideration in a society where there are different loyalties that give rise to conflict over the future constitutional status of the society itself. Neither British nor Irish national identity provides the basis for a 'patriotic' model of citizenship that could be accepted in all schools. This article describes the commitments and confidence-building measures contained in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and its implications for developing a concept of citizenship that might transcend the two main nationalisms that exist in Northern Ireland.

Citizenship Education in England, Ireland and Northern Ireland

The 1990s have seen a resurgence of interest in citizenship education in the UKand Ireland. Within the UK, interest in citizenship education has been fuelled by the Labour government's commitment to a process of devolution and the establishment of new legislative Assemblies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This has given rise to renewed debate on issues related to nationality, identity and citizenship in each of the constituent countries of the UK. Alongside this, there is a growing concern within each of these jurisdictions to understand how a sense of citizenship might be maintained within a context of increasing social, cultural and political diversity. In England in 1998 an Advisory Group on Citizenship, under the chairmanship of Professor Bernard Crick, issued its final report, Education forCitizenship and the Teaching of Democracy in Schools. One outcome has been the introduction of citizenship education for pupils in all schools from September 2000 for 5- to 11-year-olds and from September 2002 for 11- to 16-year-olds. The English citizenship curriculum has three main strands (Social and moral responsibility; Community involvement; and Political literacy).The Republic of Ireland has had a longer involvement in the development of civic education. A pilot project between 1993 and 1996 led to the introduction of a new curriculum programme in Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) in all secondary level schools from September 1997. CSPE is a course in citizenship based on human rights and social responsibilities. It aims to develop active citizens who have a sense of belonging to the local, national, European and global communities. The course incorporates seven key concepts (democracy, rights and responsibilities, human dignity, interdependence, development, law and stewardship) and is taught through four units of study (The Individual and Citizenship; The Community; The State; Ireland and the World). In terms of its constitutional status, Northern Ireland is part of the UK, yet geographically it is part of the island of Ireland. For historical and political reasons it has a Unionist and Loyalist population (predominantly Protestant) that wishes to remain part of the UK and a Nationalist and Republican population (mainly Catholic) that seeks to be part of a unified Ireland. Competing loyaltiesbetween British and Irish identities have been a feature of the violent conflict in Northern Ireland for the past 30 years. However, the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in April 1998 led to the establishment of new, democratic structures as part of an emerging `peace process' and guaranteed equal status to British and Irish identities. This is the context in which current plans for the introduction of citizenship education in the Northern Ireland Curriculum are taking place.This article describes recent developments in civic and citizenship education in each of these situations, highlighting the differing political contexts in which they have arisen and how these have influenced definitions of civic and citizenship education as part of new curriculum programmes.

Values in educating for citizenship: sources, influences and assessment

This article considers social factors that have led to concerns regarding disaffection and disengagement of young people. The introduction of Citizenship Education in the United Kingdom is seeking to redress conditions of apathy and cynicism about public life. While the indirect transmission of values in relation to democracy and citizenship could previously be relied upon at an implicit level, both the growing diversity of values in society, and the way that values feature in changing concepts of citizenship, require that they be examined and articulated explicitly. The influence of values has been acknowledged in corporate culture and is considered to be a crucial factor in managing educational change. However, the external imposition of values implied by citizenship education appears paternalistic and unrealistic considering the diversity inherent in a multiracial and multicultural society. Rather, the challenge presented to schools lies in taking a framework of democratic values to expose every aspect of education to re-examination. With the values of citizenship and democracy underpinning and directing practice in institutions, citizenship education can become an agenda for democratic change.

New Labour, New Citizenship?

In this paper New Labour's commitment to developing a citizenship curriculum will be reviewed. Characterised by a determination to affect cultural change through the introduction of citizenship education in schools in England from 2002, the Government's citizenship agenda has been developed in the policy process by the Advisory Group on Citizenship (AGC). An explanation of the work of the AGC and the final report Education for Citizenship and the Teaching of Democracy in Schools will be followed by an analysis of how it dealt with the issue of defining the values to be taught in the citizenship curriculum. The ambiguous text of the report reflects the political sensitivity that the subject demands. An investigation of the main reasons and political appeal of invoking the citizenship ideal will precede a review of the inherent contradictions within the New Labour agenda. The paper seeks to describe the dichotomous position of New Labour's explicit commitment to implementing a citizenship curriculum, and the present lack of a clear ideology from which to inform the moral basis of such a venture.