Citizenship education
Encyclopedia
There are two very different kinds of citizenship education,
The first is education intended to prepare noncitizens to become legally and socially accepted as citizens. Secondly, there is Citizenship Education that is taught in schools, as an academic subject similar to politics
or sociology
.
, offered similar programs to their employees and families of their employees. In addition, various charities also provided this service.
in 2002, David Blunkett
introduced a series of proposals where immigrants would take a written "test" and participate in a ceremony before they could be granted British nationality. Before being given a passport, applicants read Life in the United Kingdom (a book providing information about the UK), prepare for and sit a 45-minute test on British society, history and culture.
Report in 1998. It is taught as part of the school curriculum to all pupils aged 11–16 years old in maintained schools in England.
The National Curriculum for citizenship in England contributes to the overall aims of the national curriculum, that children should develop as successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society. The Citizenship curriculum is based on key concepts (democracy, justice, rights and responsibilities, identities and diversity) that children need to understand and key processes and skills (critical thinking and enquiry, advocacy and representation, taking informed and responsible action) they need to develop. The National Curriculum for citizenship sets out teaching requirements that address a wide range of content including politics
, parliament and government
, the operation of the legal system, how the economy functions, the role of the media
, human rights
, Europe and international relations. Teachers use topical political and social issues to bring citizenship content to life and to help pupils develop key citizenship skills of research, discussion and debate, as well as to represent the views of others, think critically, evaluate and reflect. The Citizenship curriculum aims to develop student's ability to participate in communities and wider society as informed, critical and responsible citizens. The purpose of "active citizenship
" is to teach students to work together and take practical action, using their Citizenship knowledge and understanding to contribute to a better society. For example, after learning about human rights, diversity and inequality, students might decide to set up a project to address racism
in their school or local community. Other examples of active Citizenship projects include starting recycling
programmes, setting up student action groups to address bullying or promote fair trade
or campaigning to lower the voting age to 16.
A GCSE in "Citizenship Studies" is available for students in key stage 4. The three main awarding bodies in England (AQA, OCR and Edexcel) offer this qualification as a full and a short course. The qualification includes a controlled assessment based on an active citizenship project they have taken part in. There is also an A level in Citizenship Studies which is available through AQA. This qualification is valued by leading Universities including the University of Cambridge. More than 500,000 young people have now attained qualifications in Citizenship Studies since 2002.
A review by Sir Jim Rose of the primary national curriculum during 2009, was expected to lead the introduction of citizenship as a statutory part of the primary education during 2010. However, the Education Bill fell at its last hurdle in parliament so the subject remains non-statutory in primary schools. Most primary schools already teach citizenship through their curriculum. Materials to support the teaching of citizenship in primary and secondary schools and in post 16 settings were published by QCA (now the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency).
In October 2005, the House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee began an inquiry into Citizenship Education, which reported in March 2007. They took written and oral evidence from a wide range of individuals including a range of Headteachers and Sir Bernard Crick, and organisations including the Department for Children, Schools and Families
, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
, the Learning and Skills Network
, Ofsted
, the Association of Citizenship Teachers
(ACT), the Citizenship Foundation
and the Hansard Society
.
The Committee concluded that "It is too early to say with any degree of confidence whether citizenship education is producing the wide range of impacts originally hoped for. Initial evidence from small-scale studies and the experience of individual institutions is promising but on its own not enough...The imperative now is to ensure that patchiness [in the provision of citizenship teaching] is not allowed to remain, that high quality provision becomes the norm, and that progress is accelerated. This will require action from those on the ground, but also needs strong support from the DfES and Ministers."
Comparisons with civic and citizenship education in other countries have been subject to extensive research by the NfER and further information is available at http://www.nfer.ac.uk/research/projects/cels/ and http://www.iea.nl/icces.html
The Coalition government is currently reviewing the National Curriculum in England. For more see http://www.democraticlife.org.uk
. It is known as CSPE
(Civic, Social and Political Education) and is taught to 12-16 year olds. In 2009 it is expected that an additional subject currently under the working title 'Society and Politics' will be offered as a subject to students between 16–18 years of age in high schools in the Republic of Ireland.
citizenship education is known as ECJS (education civique, juridique et sociale) in the high school and "éducation civique" in the middle school and primary school. The French ban on face covering imposes participation in citizenship education, and/or a fine of up to €150, for those who violate the law.
a recent law introduced EpC (Educación para la Ciudadanía). See Education for Citizenship (Spain)
for more information.
Citizenship education in schools
Citizenship education in schools
European Citizenship Education
The first is education intended to prepare noncitizens to become legally and socially accepted as citizens. Secondly, there is Citizenship Education that is taught in schools, as an academic subject similar to politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
or sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
.
Citizenship education for new citizens
Education intended to prepare noncitizens to become legally and social accepted as citizens is carried out by a variety of governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGO).Netherlands
In the Netherlands the citizen education for new citizens is called "inburgeringsplicht" (see Integration law for new immigrants to the Netherlands). In many cases the foreigner is obliged to learn very basic Dutch and basic knowledge about Dutch society while still abroad and he or she must pass an exam abroad before receiving a visa for temporary residence. All this depends on certain criteria (especially what country the foreigner comes from).United States
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the [United States], government programs prepared immigrants to take citizenship exams or qualify for citizenship. Many corporations, most prominently FordFord Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, offered similar programs to their employees and families of their employees. In addition, various charities also provided this service.
United Kingdom
In the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 2002, David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
introduced a series of proposals where immigrants would take a written "test" and participate in a ceremony before they could be granted British nationality. Before being given a passport, applicants read Life in the United Kingdom (a book providing information about the UK), prepare for and sit a 45-minute test on British society, history and culture.
England
In 2002, Citizenship was introduced as a statutory subject in the English National Curriculum, following the recommendations of the CrickBernard Crick
Sir Bernard Rowland Crick was a British political theorist and democratic socialist whose views were often summarised as "politics is ethics done in public"...
Report in 1998. It is taught as part of the school curriculum to all pupils aged 11–16 years old in maintained schools in England.
The National Curriculum for citizenship in England contributes to the overall aims of the national curriculum, that children should develop as successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society. The Citizenship curriculum is based on key concepts (democracy, justice, rights and responsibilities, identities and diversity) that children need to understand and key processes and skills (critical thinking and enquiry, advocacy and representation, taking informed and responsible action) they need to develop. The National Curriculum for citizenship sets out teaching requirements that address a wide range of content including politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, parliament and government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, the operation of the legal system, how the economy functions, the role of the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, Europe and international relations. Teachers use topical political and social issues to bring citizenship content to life and to help pupils develop key citizenship skills of research, discussion and debate, as well as to represent the views of others, think critically, evaluate and reflect. The Citizenship curriculum aims to develop student's ability to participate in communities and wider society as informed, critical and responsible citizens. The purpose of "active citizenship
Active citizenship
Active citizenship refers to a philosophy espoused by organizations and educational institutions which advocates that members of companies or nation-states have certain roles and responsibilities to society and the environment, although those members may not have specific governing roles.Active...
" is to teach students to work together and take practical action, using their Citizenship knowledge and understanding to contribute to a better society. For example, after learning about human rights, diversity and inequality, students might decide to set up a project to address racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
in their school or local community. Other examples of active Citizenship projects include starting recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
programmes, setting up student action groups to address bullying or promote fair trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
or campaigning to lower the voting age to 16.
A GCSE in "Citizenship Studies" is available for students in key stage 4. The three main awarding bodies in England (AQA, OCR and Edexcel) offer this qualification as a full and a short course. The qualification includes a controlled assessment based on an active citizenship project they have taken part in. There is also an A level in Citizenship Studies which is available through AQA. This qualification is valued by leading Universities including the University of Cambridge. More than 500,000 young people have now attained qualifications in Citizenship Studies since 2002.
A review by Sir Jim Rose of the primary national curriculum during 2009, was expected to lead the introduction of citizenship as a statutory part of the primary education during 2010. However, the Education Bill fell at its last hurdle in parliament so the subject remains non-statutory in primary schools. Most primary schools already teach citizenship through their curriculum. Materials to support the teaching of citizenship in primary and secondary schools and in post 16 settings were published by QCA (now the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency).
In October 2005, the House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee began an inquiry into Citizenship Education, which reported in March 2007. They took written and oral evidence from a wide range of individuals including a range of Headteachers and Sir Bernard Crick, and organisations including the Department for Children, Schools and Families
Department for Children, Schools and Families
The Department for Children, Schools and Families was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education...
, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency is an exempt charity, and an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Children, Schools and Families...
, the Learning and Skills Network
Learning and Skills Network
LSN is an independent not-for-profit organisation in the United Kingdom. It provides consulting, outsourcing, research, technology and training services for learning and skills.-History:...
, Ofsted
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
, the Association of Citizenship Teachers
Association of Citizenship Teachers
The Association for Citizenship Teaching is a professional subject association in the United Kingdom for those involved in citizenship education. ACT came into existence in 2002 to further the aims of citizenship teaching and learning...
(ACT), the Citizenship Foundation
Citizenship Foundation
The Citizenship Foundation is an independent UK charity which aims to empower individuals to engage in the wider community through education about the law, democracy and society...
and the Hansard Society
Hansard Society
The Hansard Society was formed in 1944 to promote parliamentary democracy. Founded and chaired by Commander Stephen King-Hall, the first subscribers were Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee...
.
The Committee concluded that "It is too early to say with any degree of confidence whether citizenship education is producing the wide range of impacts originally hoped for. Initial evidence from small-scale studies and the experience of individual institutions is promising but on its own not enough...The imperative now is to ensure that patchiness [in the provision of citizenship teaching] is not allowed to remain, that high quality provision becomes the norm, and that progress is accelerated. This will require action from those on the ground, but also needs strong support from the DfES and Ministers."
Comparisons with civic and citizenship education in other countries have been subject to extensive research by the NfER and further information is available at http://www.nfer.ac.uk/research/projects/cels/ and http://www.iea.nl/icces.html
The Coalition government is currently reviewing the National Curriculum in England. For more see http://www.democraticlife.org.uk
Republic of Ireland
Citizenship studies was introduced as a compulsory subject in the 1990s in the Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. It is known as CSPE
Civic, Social and Political Education
Civic, Social and Political Education is one of the compulsory subjects in the Junior Certificate course in the Ireland.-Further Details:*CSPE is a common level subject unlike other subjects in the curriculum...
(Civic, Social and Political Education) and is taught to 12-16 year olds. In 2009 it is expected that an additional subject currently under the working title 'Society and Politics' will be offered as a subject to students between 16–18 years of age in high schools in the Republic of Ireland.
France
In FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
citizenship education is known as ECJS (education civique, juridique et sociale) in the high school and "éducation civique" in the middle school and primary school. The French ban on face covering imposes participation in citizenship education, and/or a fine of up to €150, for those who violate the law.
Spain
In SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
a recent law introduced EpC (Educación para la Ciudadanía). See Education for Citizenship (Spain)
Education for Citizenship (Spain)
Education for Citizenship and Human Rights is the name of a school subject designed for the last cycle of primary education and all secondary education in Spain, introduced by the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero...
for more information.
Criticism of citizenship education in schools
Criticism of citizenship education in schools argues that merely teaching children about the theory of citizenship education is ineffective, unless schools themselves reflect democratic practices by giving children the opportunity to have a say over decision making. It suggests that schools are fundamentally undemocratic institutions, and that such a setting cannot instil in children the commitment and belief in democratic values that is necessary for citizenship education to have a proper impact.See also
Citizenship for new citizens- Home OfficeHome OfficeThe Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
- Immigration and Nationality DirectorateImmigration and Nationality DirectorateThe Immigration and Nationality Directorate was part of the Home Office, a department of the United Kingdom government. The headquarters were in Croydon, South London where it occupied thirteen buildings...
- UK Border AgencyUK Border AgencyThe UK Border Agency is the border control body of the United Kingdom government and part of the Home Office. It was formed on 1 April 2008 by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency , UKvisas and the Detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs...
Citizenship education in schools
- Citizenship FoundationCitizenship FoundationThe Citizenship Foundation is an independent UK charity which aims to empower individuals to engage in the wider community through education about the law, democracy and society...
- Department for Children, Schools and FamiliesDepartment for Children, Schools and FamiliesThe Department for Children, Schools and Families was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education...
- Hansard Society
- National Curriculum in England
- Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency
External links
Citizenship for new citizensCitizenship education in schools
- Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse Citizenship Education Bibliography
- Time for Citizenship - a UK based Primary Education site
- Department for Children, schools and families Citizenship site
- QCDA Citizenship
- The Association for Citizenship Teaching
- What is citizenship and why teach it? (Citizenship Foundation)
- Citized
European Citizenship Education