What are the key issues in Citizenship Education today?Debates in Citizenship Education encourages student and practising teachers to engage with and reflect on some of the key topics, concepts and debates that they will have to address throughout their career. It places the specialist field of Citizenship Education in a wider context and aims to e

Debates in Citizenship Education encourages student and practising teachers to engage with and reflect on key topics, concepts and debates that they will have to address throughout their career. It places the specialist field of citizenship education in the wider context and aims to enable teachers to reach their own informed judgements and argue their point of view with deeper theoretical knowledge and understanding.

Active citizenship is an objective of schooling in an increasingly complex context, in which social cohesion of the multicultural society is a cause for growing societal concern. International co-operation between European countries and a growing heterogeneity of the (school) populations of most European countries have led to an increased interest in education for citizenship. The core question dealt with pertains to the role that schools can play in developing citizenship through formal and informal learning. Day-to-day school life is seen as a rich environment in which aspects of functioning in a democratic society and dynamic interplay with rules, leadership and peers with different backgrounds are experienced and form a source of learning. In this view the school context functions as a micro-cosmos to exercise “school citizenship” as a bridge to societal citizenship and state citizenship. The book brings together material from Cyprus, Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Romania and The Netherlands.

In light of the recommendations of the Crick report on citizenship education ('Education for citizenship and the teaching of democracy' which can be downloaded at http://www.qca.org.uk/downloads/6123_crick_report_1998.pdf) published in September 1998, the subject was introduced into the school curriculum in 2002, on a compulsory basis for secondary schools and as part of the non-statutory framework for primary schools. The Committee's report assesses the progress made during the last four years to deliver quality citizenship programmes and examines the barriers that exist to its successful implementation. It finds that, when well done, citizenship education motivates and inspires young people, but the quality and extent of these programmes are still inconsistent across the country. This patchiness needs to be tackled head-on, and progress accelerated, requiring strong support from the DfES and Ministers as well as action from those on the ground. The Committee welcomes the Government's decision to accept the recommendations of the report by Sir Keith Ajegbo which highlighted the need for citizenship curriculum to have a closer focus on issues of identity, diversity and belonging. More can be done to disseminate between settings good practice information about approaches that are working in other institutions, particularly in relation to 'whole-school' (or college) approaches that develop opportunities for active citizenship, although it is essential that programmes are locally-owned and relevant to the particular context. The development of the workforce is also important to the success of citizenship education, and although the expansion of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) citizenship certificate programme is welcome, more resources are needed to develop capacity in initial teacher training places for citizenship education.

Citizenship education has recently re-emerged as an important issue, both in policy and in practice. As the nation state undergoes rapid transformation at the end of the 20th century, both Eastern and Western states have focused attention on using the school curriculum as a medium for sustaining cohesion and unity within society. But, as we approach the 21st century, is the possibility of a common citizenship a reality?; This book is designed to provide educators with access to ideas and information that will help them to understand current citizenship- education initiatives across a number of countries. It provides a theoretical rationale in which to consider those issues; illustrates how such issues are being worked out in practice in a number of countries; and provides assistance for policy makers, teacher educators and teachers who are responsible for making decisions about the context of citizenship education programmes for schools.

This book brings together respected international academics and practitioners from citizenship and drama to debate, share their experiences and plan a way forward for academic and professional best practice in drama and citizenship education for a democratic society. Drawing on international contributions, the chapters explore fundamental ideas about theatre and drama from a global perspective with connections made to action and identity. The main section of the book showcases authors from around the world discussing their perspectives of what is happening within particular countries and exploring a range of ideas and issues that relate to vitally important matters including community, socialism, post-colonialism, diversity, inclusion and more. The final section of the book brings together teams of authors from citizenship and drama education, who discuss the essential elements of citizenship education and encourage insight and practical collaboration from drama experts. The book is unique in presenting dynamic interaction between citizenship and drama experts and encouraging academics and professionals to develop their own work in these areas. It will be of great interest to academics, researchers and students in the fields of citizenship education, drama education and all those interested in promoting social justice through education.

Citizenship is high on the agenda of education systems in many of the world's democracies. As yet, however, discussions of citizenship education have neglected issues of religious diversity and how the study of religions can contribute to our understanding of citizenship. International Perspectives on Citizenship, Education and Religious Diversity brings together an international range of contributions from religious studies scholars and educators specialising in the study of religions. Together, these illustrate and explore the key questions for educational theory and pedagogy raised by drawing issues of religious diversity into citizenship education. The chapters address and extend debates over the nature of citizenship in late modernity, highlighting local and global dimensions of citizenship in relation to issues of national, religious, ethnic and cultural identity. As well as emphasising the role religious education has to play in citizenship education, this book also covers wider issues such as state-supported faith schools and cultural diversity in relation to common citizenship. The authors argue that critical, yet reflective, approaches to religious education have a distinctive and valuable contribution to make to citizenship education. Issues addressed within the study of religions are related to new forms of global and cultural citizenship, as well as citizenship within the nation state. Ultimately, this stimulating and original collection highlights the challenges and possibilities for teaching and learning about religion, religions and religious diversity within an inclusive educational practice.

This volume offers a remarkable collection of theoretically and practically grounded conversations with internationally recognized scholars, who share their perspectives on Global Citizenship Education (GCE) in relation to university research, teaching, and learning. Conversations on Global Citizenship Education brings together the narratives of a diverse array of educators who share their unique experiences of navigating GCE in the modern university. Conversations focus on why and how educators’ theoretical and empirical perspectives on GCE are essential for achieving an all-embracing GCE curriculum which underpins global peace. Drawing on the Freirean concept of "conscientization", GCE is presented as an educational imperative to combat growing inequality, seeping nationalism, and post-truth politics. This timely volume will be of interest to educators who are seeking to develop their theoretical understanding of GCE into teaching practice, researchers and students who are new to GCE and who seek dynamic starting points for their research, and general audience who are interested in learning more about the history, philosophy, and practice of GCE.

In Moral and Political Dimensions of Critical-Democratic Citizenship Education, Wiel Veugelers analyses theory, policy and practice of moral education and citizenship education in the past few decades. He shows that there are different orientations in national and global moral education and citizenship education. He criticises the strong orientation on the individual and on adaptation, and argues for more emphasises on social justice, equity and democracy. This volume brings together articles Veugelers published in the past 25 years. Each article is introduced by a reflection on the reasons for the article, its responses, and lessons that are still relevant. The book ends with a large chapter that overviews central developments and presents a programme for future theory, research, policy and practice in moral education and citizenship education with a strong focus on democracy and empowerment: the moral should become more political and the political more moral.

This volume surveys the new global landscape for democratic civic education. Rooted in qualitative researc, the contributors explore the many ways that notions of democracy and citizenship have been implemented in recent education policy, curriculum, and classroom practice around the world. From Indonesia to the Spokane Reservation and El Salvador to Estonia, these chapters reveal a striking diversity of approaches to political socialization in varying cultural and institutional contexts. By bringing to bear the methodological, conceptual and theoretical perspectives of qualitative research, this book adds important new voices to one of educationOs most critical debates: how to form democratic citizens in a changing world.