Search

Universities are a formative scenario that transforms reality and their actions must go beyond commitment and citizen solidarity. The objective of this review article is to present a study on the conceptualization, definition and education in values, and an analysis of the theoretical-methodological referents of University Social Responsibility. Systematic literature review and bibliometric analyses were carried out in the programs VOSviewer version 1.6.19 and Connected Papers. The results show that strengthening the sense of identity and belonging of the competent professional committed to academic, economic, social and environmental actions, with respect to the place where he/she studies, lives and works, is fundamental to achieve transformations in order to improve the quality of citizenship education. In conclusion, it is necessary to continue stimulating the apprehension of the value of university social responsibility in higher education institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The LOMLOE curricular reform emphasizes competency-based education through learning situations that foster students’ citizenship training. This paper analyses the opportunities offered by STE(A)M projects, designed within the framework of a teaching innovation program with university-school collaborative intervention. Promoting teacher updating, a training program was planned to offer didactic guidelines for creating learning situations using contextualization and inquiry-based science as didactic strategies. The environmental problems of a nearby context were selected to involve students in decision-making and citizen actions for sustainability, trying to develop their key competencies and critical thinking skills. We analysed the intervention with validated instruments, assessing the dimensions of critical thinking, the components of the STE(A)M treatment and the inquiry-based science capacities that can be involved in the knowledge and competencies of the students, establishing strengths and weaknesses and providing improvements for future learning situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new Spanish curriculum for Compulsory Secondary Education incorporates important changes with respect to previous curricula, following a competency-based education. This paper analyses the extent to which the new curriculum incorporates the recommendations of European institutions and other international bodies regarding the development of citizenship education and a European dimension of education. To this end, a content analysis of the new curriculum is carried out. The results show that the new curriculum is clearly aligned with these international recommendations and is committed to a competence-based education in which transversal contents in citizenship education play a significant role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attitudes toward gender equality are critical to citizenship outcomes because they can promote more egalitarian living conditions. Evidence suggests that attitudes that oppose equal rights between men and women are negatively related to gender equality. Moreover, these attitudes may reproduce stereotypes among youth that limit young women's opportunities and lead to risky behaviours, especially among young men. However, knowledge about adherence to gender attitudes among adolescents is still scarce in Latin America. This study attempts to identify profiles of compliance with attitudes gender equity attitudes in five Latin American countries: Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Peru. A Simultaneous Latent Class Analysis across Groups analysis was conducted using the Students' endorsement of gender equality scale from IEA's International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS), an analytical approach that allows comparing different contexts using a structurally equivalent (homogeneous) model. We identified four different profiles based on the items included in the analysis, with varying prevalence levels in every country analysed. These profiles are fully egalitarians, normative sexists, hesitant egalitarians, and political sexists. This paper's relevance lies on the idea that active citizens need understanding concepts, principles, and skills to be responsible and thoughtful but also committed to democratic values. In this scenario, it is essential to understand the current state of adherence to gender equity to construct fairer and more inclusive societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the result of a bibliographical survey on Science Technology and Society (STS) in Science Teaching, which highlights teachers' training for the first years of elementary school. The research was based on the following issues: what has been published about STS/STSE in academic research that includes the Science teaching? At which levels of education are Brazilian researches focused on STS/STSE approach in Science teaching? And which thematic axes stand out the most in research covering the first years of Elementary School? This study was developed according to the qualitative approach, by surveying master and doctoring dissertations, whose time frame were publications from 2010 to 2019, available in the Repository of Coordination Office for Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) that included the STS or STSE terms on the title, keywords or abstracts. For data analysis, the bibliographic and documentary study was chosen as an investigative procedure as a reference to the Content Analysis technique according to Bardin's perspective (2016). The results show that the research on this theme, regarding the general characteristics of Science Teaching, has a substantial number of publications, but mainly for Chemistry teaching at high school. Taking into account the total number of published papers and the established timeframe, we obtained 18 publications in which studies referring to the STS theme prevail in the first schooling years. These findings suggest that the results for the first years of Elementary School are still incipient, therefore, they reinforce the importance on expanding research that includes investigations regarding the STS approach for this educational level, whether in discussions on pedagogical practices in classroom, whether it is about teachers' training. So that it is possible to build a movement of constant reflection and criticality, which is able of promoting a practice that is socially committed to the citizenship education of students since the beginning of their education in Basic Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the result of an ongoing research project, the objective of which is to interpret citizenship training in higher education, through a comparative analysis in the department of Antioquia between 1994-2020, to contribute to the strengthening of the democratic practices of university professors. Methodologically, it is a qualitative research in which a comparative study is carried out in the universities of Antioquia, EAFIT and San Buenaventura, by means of information collection technique such as documentary review, semistructured interviews and focus groups with professors from said universities, including those who hold management positions, and some students, with whom we inquired about citizenship training and democratic practices in the university environment. The objective of the paper is to return to the three main theoretical references of the study, the model of participatory democracy, the political dimension of the university professor and the distinction between education for citizenship and citizenship training. The study shows that, more than the perspective of education for citizenship, due to its scope it is the citizen training approach that best contributes to thinking about reinforcement of democratic relationships between professors and students, while allowing a better comprehension of the social and political dimension of university professors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to analyze the recent phenomenon of the development of a Matri Sena (literally, an 'Army of Holy Women') among the Matua sect of West Bengal, India. Historically known to have suffered caste-based untouchability and forced migration due to communal conflict, the Matua community's current political motivations surround the issue of 'refugeehood' and Indian citizenship. Given this background, the emergence of the Matri Sena as a complex identity among a religion–caste–gender–nation nexus is oriented towards bipartite objectives: one, to actualize the gender-egalitarian ethos that informs Matua religious foundations, and two, to claim legal citizenship status for its community members precisely through a new gendered ideology. We argue that the women gurus of the Matri Sena are able to realize their religious/political aims by fashioning themselves as mothers of an ideal family, community, and by extension, the nation. In deploying their specific gendered ideological constructions, they enact their new roles as influencers in both private and public Matua lives. In such renderings, the woman guru's mother-figure emerges as a political subject through crucial engagements with Matua religiosity on one hand, and dominant Hindu nationalist discourses on the other. In this article, we critically analyze ways in which the Matri Sena constructs a new maternal notion of religio-political power, and how such power furthers both collective Matua aspirations and contemporary national imaginations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the education city as a model of a city conducive to participatory democratic management. In the geopolitical and educational context, it deals with the revision of the Master Plan in the municipality of Porto Velho (Rondônia), understanding that the Master Plan can be an important instrument for Education and citizenship, in the sense of having a participatory population, aware of its role as a transformer of the city where they live. The approach is qualitative, with a bibliographic, documentary and action-research procedure, carried out through data collection and participation in audiences and community reading workshops. It was concluded that the revision process of Porto Velho’s Master Plan, in the period 2018 and 2019, in addition to the aspects related to economic, social, cultural development, dealt with the relations between population and municipal management through the communicative process foreseen in the education city model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This bibliographic paper aims to reflect on incorporating recent history in Chilean school education based on educational policies and scientific literature on the subject. The theoretical proposals formulated by Tuithof et al. (2021) and Villalón-Gálvez and Zamorano-Vargas (2018) are examined to explore the obstacles that history educators face when teaching the subject. Three characteristics of the historiographical field Stand out: contemporaneity, historical sources, and conception of history related to teaching objectives identified in the teacher’s thinking from different perspectives of history teaching. Finally, teachers face challenges linked to the teaching of recent history due to their beliefs and knowledge on this subject, as well as to their citizenship experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly incorporated into curricula worldwide, Global Citizenship Education (GCE) is a complex and evolving area of education. As the significance of GCE in the classroom grows, so does the need for insight into professional development for GCE educators. Given that many approaches to GCE have typically stemmed from 'global North' contexts, it is particularly important to research this area from 'global South' perspectives. This paper contributes by reporting on a study conducted in an initial teacher education setting in Ghana. The study aimed to investigate prospective teachers' viewpoints on GCE. It sought to explore aspects including how pre-service teachers understood the orientation, meaning and relevance of GCE teaching and their views on the debates surrounding GCE's underlying approaches and values. Participants were 16 pre-service teachers who had taken GCE courses during their degree programmes at a university in Ghana. Data were collected through three focus group discussions and analysed qualitatively. In-depth analysis of the rich data suggested that participants had generally positive perceptions about GCE, whilst observing challenges and tension in the relationships between local, national and global issues. Whereas some were of the opinion that GCE had a neocolonial orientation, focusing on Western elements over other cultures, others expressed the view that GCE content could be reoriented to address local issues as well. Although participants felt that greater practical experience could strengthen their learning, they believed they had obtained adequate skills in terms of content and theory for the teaching of GCE. The study draws attention to the need for educators to be supported from an early stage and throughout their career journeys with professional development in GCE that invites exploration, critical thinking and challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education faces the challenge of training a citizenry capable of responding to current problems. In this paper, we present a multiple case study with nine university teachers in training. The research seeks to determine the itineraries of change when including controversial issues to work on citizenship education in their classes. By means of a content analysis technique, we identify the conceptions on teaching practices, before and after the training received. The results point to a lower resistance to changing the methodological model and introducing strategies based on critical reflection than to transforming the goals and contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to include citizenship education in the school curriculum has been considered as significant for advancing democratic values, social justice, and human development. Debates on citizenship formation focus on various dimensions, such as human rights and global citizenship with limited focus on how "curriculum transposition" of citizenship education in teacher education has been undertaken. This paper argues that there is a need for citizenship education that advances democratic values, human capabilities, and social justice. It draws on 5 lecturer participants' voices in a case study on the operationalisation of National and Strategic Studies, a variant of citizenship education, in two Zimbabwean teachers' colleges. The paper investigates the form of citizenship cultivated by National and Strategic Studies, how this is achieved, and the challenges and opportunities to advancing critical citizenship among future teachers. The findings suggest that, despite aspirational moments of teaching and learning for critical thinking, curriculum and pedagogical practices represent an imperfect realisation of advancing critical citizenship. The paper proposes the need for curriculum and pedagogical practices in citizenship education to be more critical and democratic to form a robust form of citizenship that is democratic and critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based on the analysis of citizenship competencies to respond to the demand for integral human development in the humanities. This paper explores the relationship between citizenship training in education and human development necessary for the formation of democratic citizens. The text also presents different controversies that gravitate around the concept of citizenship in the light of various theoretical conceptions and assumes a position that favors its application in educational proposals in an international context. Furthermore, unveiling the sources that generate the conception of the formation of citizens throughout history presupposes analyzing the synergies that characterize the models of citizenship and the educational projection of each educational stage. The importance of reflecting on the rationality of pedagogical decisions comprises an exercise to recognize the challenge implied by the new challenges of our time, from the processes of formation for the exercise of global citizenship. The problem discussed is the confrontation of knowledge, within the framework of integral education, highlighting the limitations of representative democracy. The objective is to raise the importance of the formation of citizenship competencies with a critical look at education for global citizenship, which implies connecting the local and global scale in an integral way, in order to highlight the relevance of an education for world citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a cultural discourse, the problematic conception of citizenship is a product of social fragmentation in Malaysia. Citizenship can carry two meanings - legal and sociological. The legal simply refers to a subject's right and duties to be recognized as a legally permanent inhabitant of a state. Secondly, the development of citizenship, understood in sociological terms, would involve a transformative process in which individuals come to see themselves as part of a wider citizen body, to which they owe obligations involving duties as well as having rights. The objective of this paper is to pull together citizenship and education as central themes, not legal but the sociological aspects, with the 'nation-of-intent' as a conceptual framework. Nevertheless, the present effort of citizenship education in Malaysia is based on a particular form of 'nation-of-intent' (Bangsa Malaysia). The concept of citizenship and citizenship education in Malaysia is prompting only one form of 'nationof intent' available in the country. An implication of it is that the concept of citizenship and thus, nation building in Malaysia is still fraught with confusion. The presence of plurality of 'nation-of-intent' in contemporary Malaysia demonstrates the fact that dissenting voices are present and heard, within and without government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Theatre of the Oppressed appears as a theatrical pedagogy dedicated to "non-actors" - oppressed, vulnerable subjects - whose openly activist purpose implies the construction of a collective political subject. Its method allows an overtaking of the individual narrative in order to work towards a pooling, which is essential for critical reflection and the development of a political discourse that anyone can carry on stage on behalf of everyone. This paper aims at exploring Augusto Boal's approach and the operation of his theatrical pedagogy. The functioning of Theatre of the Oppressed's grammar will be analyzed and the stages of the political subject construction identified, while taking account of the singularity of theatrical language. In doing so, I will also question how the fact that Theatre of the Oppressed has become bound to citizenship education troubles the very definition of the political subject, highlighting the contradictions of this theatrical grammar and its uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of intercultural and citizenship learning has concerned scholars for a long time while subjects such as history, geography, civic and citizenship have been shaping young peoples' identity. Under migration pressures and the European Union's integration these subjects have been often challenged and transformed. In the case of Greece, subject's textbook topics on immigration and diversity have been promoting more ethnocentrism and eurocentrism. This paper presents those findings, and in so doing it explores the ways in which the Greek state's and the EU's intercultural education policy have impacted the specific school subject. It focuses on the Greek nation's identity formation, while discussing the country's response to the EU's calls for common policies in the area of intercultural and citizenship education. The last section of this essay provides new insights into the educators' tools to implement less ethnocentric and more inclusive curriculums and programs by exploring an extracurricular, online peer mentoring program that was initiated and implemented in Australia to foster intercultural awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to problematize understandings about the social function of the school, presented by graduates in education degree from different regions of Brazil. By using an online form, fifty-six responses were collected, analyzed and questioned, based on their analysis and categorization. The study is mobilized through an essay (LARROSA, 2003), considering the course of investigation proposed by the authors. In this perspective, five categories of analysis emerge from the study: citizenship; teaching content; labor/ training for the job market; integral human development; without social function (all with possible comprehensions of education as a human right). The categories were carefully problematized, based on authors and researchers who serve as inspiration for thinking about school education. Thus, as a result, are understood the different and diverse notions of the social function of the school in the contemporary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present the communitarian project "Environmental Education" carried out by environmental engineering professors and students together with social local action of "Viver Ações Sociais" in Chapeco, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The social action of the "Programa Viver" performs non-formal learning with 6th to 15th aged students in multiple aspects within a perspective of critical and citizenship education. The activities performed by the organizers (students and professors) were carried out with children from 6 to 10 years old, considering the four different branches in the Environmental Engineering of UFFS campus Chapeco - sanitation, water resources, renewable energy and environmental management. The appointments were realized with different practices such as pictorial representations, work team aiming at environmental awareness, knowledge amplification and critical thinking on the proposed subjects. During the period of performance of the activities we achieved a satisfactory participation and involvement of the children, and through the evaluative activities we realized that, in fact, they understood the objective of the project, fixing the main concepts worked on, and rethinking actions - individual and collective - in relation to the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims at interrogating the transformation of education in Buffalo City following integration of East London with its black townships. This paper is largely framed from a quantitative paradigm that draws from statistical data in linking population changes with educational patterns in the study area. Census data was used to trace population changes in post-apartheid South Africa, while performance in education was informed by matriculation results. Quantitative data were complemented with key informants' qualitative opinions. The results indicate that the quality of education in former "white" schools is better than that of "township" schools. There are several pull factors that attract township learners to former white schools, albeit with integration challenges. The study concludes that if these challenges are masked to education planners and policy makers, they militate against the envisioned liberalisation of the democratic education system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from the Italian results of the PISA 2015 surveys as regards the competence of young students in collaborative problem-solving, in this paper we conduct a critical analysis of the concept of competence, as seen through the lens of the Capability Approach. The Philosophy for Children curriculum is presented as a pedagogical and didactic proposal capable of re-conceptualizing the constructs of 'problem-solving' and 'collaboration'. In the light of 'Complex Thinking' theory and the 'community of inquiry' classroom methodology, the general theoretical frame of the PISA and DeSeCo approach to problem-solving has been criticized for its focus on what has been defined in terms of "internal mental structures in the sense of abilities, dispositions or resources embedded in the individual". The proposal of Philosophy for Children and its 'community of inquiry' methodology are considered and discussed. This educational curriculum provides a real opportunity to rethink citizenship education by concentrating on the value and power of collective agency and the ability to wonder about our world. The pedagogical implications are significant because this means that we should be aiming to align academic education not with what society is, but with what it could or should be. To achieve this, education policies and planning actions need to focus on values and principles, on matters such as freedom, social equity and participation. These matters are not exclusive to the realms of individual endowment and performance. They have fundamental ethical and cultural components. Philosophy for Children can be considered as an opportunity to work towards the educational and political goal of creating "flourishing communities". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through history, cities, large or small, have been the consequence of a social construction, a political development and cultural dynamics, while taking an economic and ideological meaning. Knowledge the history of our cities, and of the urban centres that characterize other cultures, is relevant to value the present and the reality where we live to contribute to an education for citizenship and, also, to prepare students for encounters with the future. Most of the high school students learn in cities and, according to all reports, will be where 80% of the world's population lives in a few years. Likewise, the laboral world, contemporary and future, is increasingly interrelated to the world of cities that are, and will be, the true economic drivers of the economy, work and life of people. The purpose of this paper is to relationship the knowledge of the past to high school students across the cities with the tasks of the present and forthcoming perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to critically reflect on two graduate international comparative education courses I taught at a mid-sized public university. Using a variety of readings and multimedia focusing on voices of international educators telling their own stories of struggle for a democratic education, these courses represent my effort to raise a ‘glocal’ consciousness among pre-service and in-service educators. In this paper, I describe how my educational and life experiences, which include living in parts of the ‘global south’ and ‘global north,’ influenced the global issues selected for discussion in these classes. Although there is clear evidence that the experiences I describe in these courses helped to develop a more "glocal" and critical consciousness among students, I conclude that there are always more questions to ask, stories to tell, and complexities to explore when comparing different educational approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are still disparities in technology-access despite economic pressures and widespread promises to overcome them. The induced digital gap defines the degree of digital citizenship for which, unified policies have yet to be drawn at various educational levels to reduce that gap. The quest for a broad participation to develop digital citizenship competencies needs further investigations into innovative educational approaches, pedagogical methods, and routine practices that foster digital literacy, and narrows the digital divide. This special issue accumulates original theoretical and empirical research contributions across contemporary digital citizenship perspectives. The final selection of the papers explores digital citizenship concepts such as ethics, digital literacy and participation, in various contexts to develop opportunities for a wider engagement in social actions. The international perspectives of contributing authors shed lights on digital citizenship prospects across unique contexts among different nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School knowledge in elementary level is presented through text books; these are part of the formal curricula, and a teacher's path to follow in several occasions. In our country many studies have been made regarding this matter, through different approaches. In this paper, our focus is to analyze the information about the notion of participation within 4th to 6th grade Citizenship text books, understanding that participation involves students as social subjects. Thus, a descriptive study was made with a content analysis method, based upon the analysis of extracts from three texts edited by the Secretariat of Public Education in Mexico. According to the previous study, the results show a predominance of a political dimension by repeatedly addressing democracy as a method of government supported by representation, which is given through indirect participation. Due to this analysis we can infer that participation is only valid under the mechanisms that said democracy establishes, and therefore we can realize the contradictions between the competencies that are expected to be learned and the information presented in the analysis sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of a European Dimension in Education is an objective linked to the construction of European identity and the exercise of active, responsible and critical citizenship. The paper analyzes the knowledge of Spanish Compulsory Secondary School pupils on topics regarding the European Union. The research involved 705 pupils from five secondary education centres in four Spanish regions. Twenty four item test was designed to examine the pupils' knowledge about: a) the European institutions, b) history of European cooperation, c) European citizenship, d) Europe in daily life, e) social and cultural identity and f) human rights and responsibilities. The results show that: a) 80.3% of the pupils only answered 14 items or less correctly; b) there were significant differences among pupils according to the year of study and the region, but a small size effect; c) pupils lack knowledge regarding “Europe in everyday life”, “European Citizenship”, “History of European cooperation” and “The European institutions”. There is a discussion of the need to define a cross-curricular approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools are required to educate students in community and citizenship. This overall aim comprises a number of specific objectives: to communicate a set of contents, to foster certain values and attitudes, and to develop a range of skills. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings from a survey dealing with issues related to Citizenship Education (CE); 1,557 third-year students in secondary education in the Zaragoza region were surveyed. The paper is structured as follows: first, the international framework within which CE is promoted is described. The issue is then discussed in relation to established Spanish legislation in this regard. Thereafter, the empirical results from a case-study survey carried out among students attending schools in Zaragoza are presented. The focus of the survey was to evaluate student responses to EC as a subject, and its objective was to analyze the views of students both before and after their participation in the subject during academic year 2008-2009, the first year the subject was taught in the Spanish school system. The results show that there is significant improvement in the theoretical knowledge block, which is consistent with student experience on a taught course at school; however, there is no appreciable improvement in the blocks relating to values and attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Citizenship, nationalism, human rights and democracy are four terms and concepts that are inextricably linked. In Kuwait, the status of citizen is based on nationality, gender and age, with women, children, naturalised citizens, expatriates and bidoon (stateless people) denied many freedoms, rights and services. Citizenship is defined by some, feeling and practice. In Kuwait, the denial or limitation of the first makes the latter two all but impossible. Purpose: In this paper, I discuss the tensions between citizenship, nationalism, human rights and democracy within the Kuwaiti context and then explore how these are mirrored in the tangling of terms within the Kuwaiti national curriculum. Particular attention is paid to the Constitution and Human Rights (CHR) module, which introduced a form of national democratic citizenship education to the secondary curriculum (grades 10, 11 and 12) for the first time in 2006 but was then rescinded to grade 12 only by the 2009-2010 academic year. Students' perceptions of the concepts and their learning will form an important part of the analysis. Methodology: The student voices come from student research workshops carried out as part of a case study of a Kuwaiti government school. These workshops were carried out in the spring terms of 2009 and 2010 with grades 10, 11 and 12 classes; a total of approximately 180 students were involved. In small groups, students were asked to reflect on posters on what they learned in school about citizenship, human rights and democracy. Their responses were translated, coded and categorised by theme. The grade 11 posters were selected for this paper, as they provide a contrast between the 2009 students, who took the CHR module, and the 2010 students, who did not. Quotes that were selected forinclusion in this paper were those that had themes echoed by several other students. Conclusions: The CHR module shifted the focus from education for national citizenship to education for democratic national citizenship, as reflected in the contrasting student responses in 2009 and 2010. However, the module also inadvertently brought to the surface the inconsistencies and tensions between several of the concepts it was meant to educate about. This caused students to develop criticality, and, alongside their learning on human rights and politics, wasa potentially strong trigger for change from below. Its swift withdrawal fromthe curriculum, however, shifted the focus of citizenship education back tonationalism and patriotism. It also rendered students less equipped to effect change - a result that the more sceptical may believe was intended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education for citizenship is firmly on the policy agenda throughout Britain, and there is an expectation that teachers will create a participative, consultative ethos in schools. This paper identifies three main vehicles for pupil consultation: elected pupil councils, democratic and participative classrooms and opportunities for pupils to engage with controversial issues within the curriculum. It focuses on a longitudinal study of pupils' experience of democratic practice in Scottish schools in relation to these vehicles. Evidence from a diverse sample of primary schools illustrates the way in which upper-stage pupils are encouraged to participate in decision-making processes and engage in the discussion of contemporary social issues of their own interest both in the classroom and during pupil council meetings. In addition, further evidence of the extent to which these same pupils' experience of the democratic process evolves following their transition to secondary school is reported. The paper raises new questions about the extent to which Scottish pupils may be exposed to a progressive model of democratic education, and suggests that children may be given more opportunities for consultation in primary school than they are in the early stages of secondary school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the ways in which Arab/Palestinian high school students in Israel negotiate their civic and national identities. The paper draws upon qualitative data that included semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 20 students in an Arab Muslim high school. It focuses on the ways in which they make sense of the notion of citizenship and negotiate their position as Arab/Palestinian Muslim citizens in a Jewish state. The paper attempts to go beyond common conceptualisations of political identities of the Arab/Palestinian minority in Israel. It suggests that Arab/Palestinian students are aware of the politics of citizenship in Israel and draw upon different discourses of citizenship and meanings of inclusion in defining their belongings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizenship education in established democracies is challenged by declining youth participation in democracy. Youth disenchantment and disengagement in democracy is primarily evident in formal political behaviour, especially through voting, declining membership of political parties, assisting at elections, contacting politicians, and the like. If citizenship education is to play a major role in addressing these concerns it will need to review the impact it is making on young people in schools. This paper reviews a major national project on youth participation in democracy in Australia set in the context of a national citizenship education programme. The Youth Electoral Study found that citizenship education in Australian schools has at best been marginally successful and substantially more is required to raise levels of democratic engagement. The paper explores many opportunities available to education systems and schools to address these issues through reconceptualising aspects of the formal and the informal curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a focus on "human environment" as a big conceptual category that may be used to develop environmental behaviours and civic competencies at different levels (in each person, the family, the school institution, the local community and the world). These behaviours and competencies should help to improve levels of civic participation and social skills, enhancing the overall quality of life and, most especially, with regards to the idea of personal improvement when seen as an expression of human liberty. In summary, this paper describes the planning, development and follow-up process that involved eleven educational workshops, all of which dealt with the field of "human environment." The workshops were designed from conceptual elements whose aim was to sensitize both teachers and students regarding the need for personal and family growth and the, inherent value of living within society, its institutions and educational communities at local and national levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Italy the expression «Cittadinanza e Costituzione», with which the citizenship education is denominated, makes reference to a plurality of leveles. In this article, at first, I sustain the thesis of the necessity of the citizenship education, underlining the constitutive connection between democracy and polite citizen and the urgency of it in this specific historicalsocial context. At second, I will be illustrated the dilemma of citizenship education: the circular paradox for which to educate active citizens it already needs to have some similar citizens. Paradox that it is connected to that of democracy, according to which it needs to have democratic citizens to have democracy. In the second part of the paper I will try to graze the dilemma, attenuating more than a premise. In the specific one, I will connect the citizenship education to the teaching of philosophy as social practice. The proposal will articulate on three levels: the philosophy for children in the primary school, the role of philosophy and human sciences in the secondary and the philosophy for community among the teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we argue that philosophical enquiry, as practised using community of enquiry pedagogy, is an appropriate implementation strategy for Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) if the principles that underlie the curriculum are to be taken seriously. Matthew Lipman's Philosophy for Children Programme and its community of enquiry pedagogy were intended as a classroom means to enhance children's critical, creative, caring and collaborative thinking and prepare them for democratic citizenship. A previous study suggested that pre-service teachers benefitted from exposure to this pedagogy. The aim of this study was to explore the extent to which pre-service teachers, after a brief experiential introduction to community of enquiry pedagogy, perceived its relevance to the CAPS curriculum. The research was positioned within an interpretivist qualitative paradigm with an emphasis on shared construction of meanings. In 2013 the final-year student group consisted of seventy-four students, of whom 30 volunteered to participate in focus group discussions at the end of the year. Themes were identified within the data and are reported within the following broad categories: perceived relevance to the general requirements of the CAPS curriculum, perceived relevance to specific curriculum areas, and constraints on implementation. Discussion focuses on the insights of participants, potential challenges, some limitations of the research and our plans to address them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizenship is a complex and important issue in education. The focus of our work is on learning citizenship rather than on citizenship education, because we believe it is necessary to start from an understanding of what citizenship is, how it is exercised and how it is learned. In this paper we address the process followed in two research projects on learning of citizenship and participation, emphasizing the qualitative and participatory methodology and some of the results: those related to the meanings of the concept «citizenship» itself, which represent such a dynamic characterization of this term that it is required to refer to it in plural; and to the experiences and scenarios in which we learn, that deal with practices, relationships and diversity of those involved in any space. The research process has led us to reconsider conceptual and methodological aspects to introduce participation as a central component in the research process. The lessons drawn from the research projects are highlighted as conclusions in the article, refer to aspects such as the enrichment of research, the development of researchers' skills or the flexibility with which we must approach the research process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When Education for Citizenship is tried to be analysed at university, glancing university programs, courses, subjects, or curricula is the first step that is usually being given. Although the most decisive step is not the explained curriculum, but the experience that has been lived by the students as citizens and members of the institution that forms them on the upper level. Through this paper, the role of Education for Citizenship in the initial training of teachers is analysed from two perspectives, these being, on the one hand, from their presence in legislation and curricula and, on the other, from the institutional arrangements in which the university is organized and where students are involved. At the end, there is also a brief reflection to increase the students' political participation in those institutions for teacher's initial education as a way to contribute to the civic education for the forthcoming teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All recommendations, reports, research, etc. of various international organizations agree on the relevance of the training of citizens through the development of social and civic competencies, which must have special place in any educational system. In different studies that analyze the impact of this training, we found that has not been addressed including citizenship education in the initial training of Secondary teachers. In order to assess the inclusion of such content in this educational stage, in this paper we analyze the offer of the Master in Secondary Teacher Education, of public and private universities throughout the Spanish territory, through the information it provides on institutional website and the educational guides of this degree. It is checked if the social and civic competencies explicitly listed among the competencies of the title, and if specific subjects or topics on citizenship education are offered. After this analysis we found that the presence of citizenship education is practically nonexistent. Although it presents between the competencies of a subject of the generic module, it is present a minority in programs of this degree. Therefore, we conclude that it is urgent to introduce the citizenship education in preservice training of Secondary teachers, since they are responsible educators to continue de training of students in social and civic competencies, essential in the society in which these students live and projected their future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, culture based on politeness and harmonious coexistence between humans is ethically and socio-professionally degenerating. This problem has to be immediately solved through higher education. This paper is intended to present the teaching strategy adopted for students of the College of Physical Culture in Santiago de Cuba, which focuses attention on historical sports culture with the aim of contributing to the professional and comprehensive education of college students. The strategy is based on the relationship between citizenship education, physical culture, and sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of the scientific content of the electoral programs. The aim of this study is to identify the cognitive demands of these documents on the citizenship. In order to do that, we have analysed the programs of the four most voted national parties in the general elections on 2011 [in Spain]. The results show that the parties deal with various topics of scientific and technological nature in their programs. Furthermore, the analysis of the cognitive demands of a particular topic -energy- seems to demand the possession of a high particular knowledge in science, technology, environment and economy. The conclusions indicate some guidance from the teaching of experimental sciences to work this kind of social-scientific content that highly affect citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a first approach to a state of the art on public space in Colombia. For this purpose, this article analyze the production of research groups from several universities and institutions, both, public and private. The reviewed studies are organized from the spatial, social, historical and educational perspectives and analyzed from their influence on the urban management. Finally, it is proposed to continue the traking of the development of research on the field in order to fill the gap between research and urban decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper will empirically investigate female education in Luxembourg from a historical perspective. A special focus will be laid on the question of how women in Luxembourgian society were constructed as female ‘citizens’, even though they were, rather, considered as a homogeneous category limited to a private sphere separated from the male citizens. Purpose:The primary purpose of this article is to reveal the narrative of a homogeneous femininity separated from a male sphere associated with citizenship, and the impact this division had on education. Secondly, through the example of Luxembourg, it will show how this narrative served to maintain traditional role allocations, while at the same time linking them to rhetorics of progress – for example, by adding a political dimension to the former ‘private sphere’. Thirdly, this article will demonstrate the heterogeneity which shaped female education, despite the rhetorical homogenization, showing how social and local/regional differences were as influential in determining female education as gender differences. Design and methods: This historical study is based on a longitudinal analysis (contained within a bigger project) of the Luxembourgian curriculum in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The source corpus of this project includes 12,000 historical documents related to curricular negotiations in Luxembourg, which were analysed in a combined quantitative–qualitative analysis. Findings: The analysis demonstrated that public and professional discussions about female education undertook a rhetorical homogenization of women and their education, and that this served to conserve existing gender differences in the school system. By strategies of rhetorical scientification and politicization of domestic tasks, traditional role allocations were ascribed a political dimension and interpreted as progressive. However, though claiming universality, the plurality of concepts proves that this homogenization did not reflect reality. The pedagogical concept of ‘the female education’ shows only a few rudimentary features, mainly based on the introduction of obligatory handcraft and domestic education. A social differentiation was already given by the structure of the school system, which – given that there were no secondary schools for girls – meant education in Catholic private schools in the first place. Conclusions: The findings reveal that, by assuming a homogeneous concept of femininity, numerous codifications of female education – unlike those often perceived in literature and public discourse – were not necessarily understood as ‘modernizing’, but rather as conserving female role allocations. The results, however, suggest that female education was far more heterogeneous than rhetorically assumed in the educational debates, and that rather than gender differences, social and regional differences prevailed in determining schooling. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper aims to reconstruct the possible relationships between peace and democracy by addressing the issue of what model of democracy better corresponds to the formation of a culture of peace. To this end, the broadly views of peace and democracy are reconstructed to criticize either minimalist or negative visions, suggesting a normative relationship between positive peace and substantive democracy. Later we will argue in favor of the deliberative democratic model as the one that best fits the requirements of citizen education and culture of peace in the internal systems. Finally, some key elements to consider in relation to the formation of democratic citizenship rooted in the values of a global culture of peace will be outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In many countries, working towards a truly inclusive national citizenship means deconstructing hegemonic structures that are deeply entrenched. Moving outside of the borders toward a global citizenship hints at giving up on what has been a long road toward multicultural citizenship. Abalance between including and empowering diverse populations within borders as a part of citizenship education is critical. Likewise, future citizens must be prepared to conceive of a borderless world and interact with cultures different from their own. Literature that empirically examines the relationship between global citizenship and multicultural citizenship is sparse. This paper explores this tension, using the case of Germany. Purpose: The overall aims of this study were to explore German teachers' valuesand beliefs about citizenship education in light of new citizenship and immigration laws, and in light of European and global influences, as well. Design/method/sample: A qualitative research design was employed to capture arange of German social studies teachers' views on citizenship, diversity and education. Interviews were conducted with 43 teachers from five different states across Germany. The constant comparative method of analysis was used to analyse these data. Findings: The analysis suggests the existence of four major themes: 'Peaceful Europe', and 'Rejection of Europeanisation', 'Christian like us' and 'Multicultural = European'. Taken as a whole, these categories show that the teachers did engage with both multicultural and global citizenship ideas, but they did so ina manner that created limits on both concepts. European citizenship emerged as a means of comfortably addressing diversity and, perhaps unintentionally, disenfranchising non-ethnic Europeans present in the classroom from accessing this concept of citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crisis of democratic political systems in Latin America is takes effect in recent decades, which has led to propose the reform of the state in its interaction with society, oriented towards human development and the deepening of democracy. This paper establish that education is a cornerstone of social development and democracy also analyze the role of mass media in this process, finally, some thoughts on the Venezuelan process. It employs a documentaryempirical methods, descriptive and concludes with the articulation between the concepts of education, media and democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the implicit problems in assessment processes related to plans and programs that promote citizenship and coexistence in multicultural societies. Once identified some characteristics about the nature of the phenomenon under study, we establish three criteria to be considered in any theoretical and methodological approach on the subject, namely: a) the procedural and democratic character that should guide the design and implementation of any strategy evaluation that is to be conducted on this topic, b) the moral nature of the object to evaluate since this is essentially about social values and behaviours, and c) the main purpose that guides the implementation and evaluation of these programs: civic empowerment by citizens of democratic rights and obligations that guide their participation in public life. According to this we adopted an operational model of participatory and democratic evaluation (MODE) and insist on the role of the evaluator as a person engaged in the construction and development of a critical citizenry that promotes the empowerment of individuals and the development of a more fair and egalitarian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to assess students' social representations of forced migration as a relevant social problem in the last year of primary education and the opportunity for its curricular inclusion. The study was carried out by means of a questionnaire, filled in by 6th-year primary education groups (11–12 years old) (n = 70), in a state-supported private school in the city of A Coruña (Galicia, Spain). The questionnaire was supported by three pictures of forced migrations from the media. In this case, the children had to interpret the pictures through a series of questions that sought to investigate their representations, the causes they identify in this social problem, their opinions, and possible solutions. Finally, the opportunity for the inclusion of social problems as curriculum content was addressed. The study shows that the students are in favor of migrants, that they use concepts from the social sciences in their arguments—albeit simple ones, and that they are in favor of the curricular inclusion of social problems, in which they develop representations through different sources of information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the discourses framing citizenship education in Ukraine and Russia from perestroika to the present and assesses the role of the Council of Europe in promoting democratic citizenship in both countries. We argue that there is a tension between the discourses of active citizenship, strongly disseminated by international agencies (the Council of Europe in our case), and national consolidation, pursued by Ukraine and Russia since the fall of the Soviet regime. While the beginning of the 1990s was marked by democratization and individualization, from the mid-1990s the emphasis on state cohesion became more prominent in both states. From the end of the 1990s, however, citizenship education aims started to diverge, despite a similar approach of the Council of Europe to the two countries. In Russia the government reinforced the state cohesion agenda, which led to the patriotic education discourse gaining strength. In Ukraine, nation-building was made secondary to bringing the education system in line with international standards in order to improve the country's competitiveness. The nature of citizenship education in the two countries therefore seems to be more a reflection of domestic political developments than the product of international policy agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper surveys the strategies adopted in England to support the development of teachers' subject knowledge and confidence in relation to teaching Citizenship, which was introduced as a new statutory subject in the National Curriculum in 2002. It reviews examples of good practice and explores how a continuing professional development (CPD) strategy developed at several levels to support teachers and curriculum managers. It outlines the challenges and obstacles in relation to implementing effective Citizenship education in schools. It also underlines the fundamental importance of Citizenship education if young people are to understand and engage with contemporary events in the early Twenty First Century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few years there has been a renewed interest in questions of citizenship and in particular its relation to young people. This has been allied to an educational discourse where the emphasis has been upon questions concerned with ‘outcome’ rather than with ‘process’– with the curriculum and methods of teaching rather than questions of understanding and learning. This paper seeks to describe and illuminate the linkages within and between these related discourses. It advocates an inclusive and relational view of citizenship-as-practice within a distinctive socio-economic and political, and cultural milieu. Drawing upon some empirical insights from our research we conclude that an appropriate educational programme would respect the claim to citizenship status of everyone in society, including children and young people. It would work together with young people rather than on young people, and recognise that the actual practices of citizenship, and the ways in which these practices transform over time are educationally significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizenship Education could play a pivotal role in creating a fairer society in which all groups participate equally in the political progress. But strong causal evidence of which educational techniques work best to create political engagement is lacking. This paper presents the results of a systematic review of controlled trials within the field based on transparent search protocols. It finds 25 studies which use controlled trials to test causal claims between Citizenship Education programs and political engagement outcomes. The studies identified largely confirm accepted ideas, such as the importance of participatory methods, whole school approaches, teacher training, and doubts over whether knowledge alone or online engagement necessarily translate into behavioral change. But the paucity of identified studies also points both to the difficulties of attracting funding for controlled trials which investigate Citizenship Education as a tool for political engagement and real epistemological tensions within the discipline itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The place of religion and how it should be employed in education for citizenship is currently an issue in Europe. The challenges of increasing diversity are the underlying factors. The conception of maximal citizenship (a critical model of citizenship) gives a significant framework for analysis and scholarly perspectives about several European contexts on this matter. However, there is hardly maximal citizenship in Finnish contexts in scholarship. Hence, this work searches for the elements of maximal citizenship in educational policy for young people by employing the policy relating to citizenship in Finnish religious education (RE). Focusing on grades 7–9 of basic education, its primary data is based on selected national policy documents. The data were analysed using critical discourse analysis. The main findings suggest that citizenship in Finnish RE is only somewhat compatible with the characteristics of maximal citizenship. This reveals some policy shortcomings that could negatively affect the potential of critical-mindedness of young people and equal opportunities in a democracy. Hence, some suggestions that could improve the situation are embedded in the paper. Nevertheless, a linguistic conception of citizenship in Finland vis-à-vis a recent development in national educational policy seems to push the conception of maximal citizenship in a relatively new direction. Furthermore, an explicit use of the "Convention on the Rights of the Child" in Finnish curriculum broadens our conception of maximal citizenship in general. Moreover, while scholars generally agree that maximal citizenship is essentially "critical", this piece suggests that every "critical" approach to citizenship education is not necessarily "maximal". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]