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At a time when there are renewed expressions of concern about how our societies are organised and the health of our democracies, this paper focuses on the role of education in a democracy. Informed by John Dewey's and Martin Buber's accounts of what it is to be educated, and Homi Bhabha's concept of third space work, the paper presents the case for a progressive education for democratic citizenship. Adopting an ethnologically-informed approach, the paper provides an in-depth look at two Catalan and two English schools, focussing on the ways in which they look to provide a democracy enabling education. The findings reveal how and why mutual cooperation, collaboration and dialogue in relationships are key elements in the modelling of an education for democratic citizenship.

Dewey's vision for schooling can perhaps be described as an early positive education, a term now attributed to programmes derived from positive psychology. Positive psychology's goals for education share many of Dewey's ideas about community-mindedness and the role of education in nurturing citizenship. Having emerged from positive psychology, however, current programmes under the umbrella of positive education differ in that they are grounded in science rather than philosophy and are sometimes criticised for being morally neutral and individualistic. In this paper, we argue that the work of Dewey may address these challenges by contributing an understanding of the pragmatic connection between philosophy and psychology, as well as a more social view of education through occupations.

This paper scrutinises citizenship education in Turkey from the foundation of the Turkish Republic (1923) to the present and explores the extent to which it encourages inclusive or exclusive concepts of national identity and citizenship. In Turkey, where there are citizens belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, civic education plays a prominent role for promoting tolerance among citizens. Using framing questions from phase one of the International Association for the Educational Achievement's (IEA) research of Civic Education Across Countries, the civic education textbooks of Turkey are examined to determine the extent to which they promote democracy and human rights, make positive references to ethnic and religious minorities, and promote social cohesion. As Turkey was not included in phase one of the IEA study, the paper provides original information for comparative studies, reconsideration of citizenship education in multicultural societies and promoting an active national citizenry in Turkey. (Contains 8 notes and 3 figures.)

This paper assesses the historical meaning and contemporary significance of Aristotle's educational ideas. It begins with a broad characterisation of the project of Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics" and "Politics", which he calls "political science" ("he politike episteme"), and the central place of education in his vision of statesmanship. It proceeds through a series of topics fundamental to his educational ideas, culminating in the account of education in "Politics" VIII. A concluding section appraises the uses to which Aristotelian ideas are currently put in philosophy of education, identifying some confusions in the influential literature of "practices". (Contains 13 notes.)

This paper considers Thomas Hobbes's educational thought both in its historical context and in the context of his political philosophy as a whole. It begins with Hobbes's diagnosis of the English Civil War as the product of the miseducation of the commonwealth and shows that education was a central and consistent concern of his political theory from an early stage. For Hobbes, the consensus on civil matters required for peace could be secured only through rigorous and universal civic education overseen by the sovereign in the universities, the pulpit, and the family alike. While some scholars have condemned Hobbesian education as unacceptably authoritarian, others have cited it approvingly as evidence for a more liberal Hobbes. This essay argues that neither reading adequately grasps the subtle relationship between persuasion and authority that characterises Hobbes's conception of education and, indeed, his political philosophy more generally. (Contains 21 notes.)

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. (Contains 2 figures.)

Education in Israel is often described as caught between two ends: state-formation and nation-building. In the last decade civic education in Israel has been undergoing some changes. The civic compulsory curriculum for state high schools was unified across all educational sectors in Israel with the aim of creating a more inclusive, universal civic curriculum that would be used as a platform for creating a common civic culture. The tension between state-formation and nation-building, between universalism and particularism, thus, has become even more prominent where civic education is concerned. To a significant extent, civic education in Israel is one place where contesting messages about the meaning of membership in the Israeli collective are negotiated and debated. This paper explores the tensions between inclusion and exclusion and between universalism and particularism as they emerge from the official civic education curriculum in Israel. It does so by examining the representations and positions of the Palestinian citizens in the official discourse of civic education. The analysis suggests that civic education in Israel at best represents an ambivalent stance that is caught in the tension between inclusion and exclusion. But more often than not, it still reproduces the marginal position of the Palestinian minority in Israeli society. In light of this, this paper concludes by discussing the possible implications these dual messages might have for Palestinian students. (Contains 1 table and 15 notes.)

This paper reports an investigation into how secondary student participants in Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement related this particular political experience to their learning of Liberal Studies. Questionnaire-based surveys and interviews were conducted to probe their interpretations of Liberal Studies' impact on their political involvement and their perceptions of national versus local identity. The results indicate that students perceived the subject to have offered them background knowledge necessary for comprehending the movement rather than functioning as the cause of their participation against the backdrop of wider socio-economic conflicts in the community at large. Moreover, the current Liberal Studies curriculum seems to have reinforced students' sense of a dichotomy between their local and national identities. Further examination of that dichotomy sheds light on both the review of Liberal Studies and another recently proposed, but swiftly shelved, curriculum: Moral and National Education. The study's broad implications for citizenship education worldwide are also discussed.

Interest in post-crisis education and concomitantly in education for democracy and citizenship, manifest in a large number of recent initiatives and publications, provides an opportunity to revisit the period of occupation in Germany after the Second World War, when there was concern--at least in the Western Zones--to create an awareness of the citizen's duty to participate in the democratic processes on which a future state could be built and to oversee educational development in such a way as to encourage those processes. That interest has been reinforced through consideration of the consequences of military intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq. The necessity to plan for what needed to be done--in education as well as in other fields--in the post-conflict conditions in those countries was clearly not given the attention it deserved by the eventual victors, and any lessons of history, it seems, were barely considered. Occupied Germany provides an instructive example. This paper examines aspects of education for democracy in occupied Germany, 1945-1949, with a focus on efforts made in the British Zone of Occupation to encourage active participation in democratic processes in schools and universities.

This paper considers the nature of citizenship found in recent republican cosmopolitan work within political theory. It argues that republican cosmopolitanism, which seeks to recognise the importance of both cosmopolitan and active citizenry within global political communities, offers important insights through which the nature of global citizenship education may be understood. After identifying the central substantive tenets of republican cosmopolitanism, key issues raised by these for citizenship education are discussed. It is suggested that citizenship education can benefit conceptually from understanding and interrogating global issues from a republican cosmopolitan perspective, and that in turn recourse to republican cosmopolitan ideas raises important questions concerning the nature and focus of global aspects of the citizenship curriculum.

In this article I synthesise and apply elements of political and reading theory to demonstrate how central themes in learners' lives (such as freedom, faith, autonomy, equality, rationality and rights) can be read and interpreted differently. I suggest that policy and pedagogy for citizenship and democratic education informed by research into reader response can shift the locus of control not simply from state to citizen but towards an understanding of the transaction between the two. To promote ethical participation I propose changes to the "text" of the curriculum and the "reading" stance of learners so that learners are liberated to bring legitimate moral and religious conviction to their readings of state-sponsored values. I conclude that young citizens are respected and freedom is protected when educational readings become more nuanced and move beyond the polarities of freedom and restraint, autonomy and heteronomy, public and private, aesthetic and efferent, faith and reason, secular and religious or even democratic and faith-based.

In this article, I argue that it is now particularly pertinent to examine the implications for diversity of different conceptions of citizenship, given the current socio-political climate globally, as well as the current national context in the United Kingdom. I have categorised conceptions of citizenship into four main categories--"moral", "legal", "participatory", and "identity-based" conceptions. This categorisation is based on original empirical research which examined conceptions of citizenship in the policy and curriculum development process of citizenship education in England, held by the "key players" involved, and supported by analysis of key policy and curriculum documentation (QCA, 1998, 2000, 2001). I examine the implications for ethnic and religious diversity of each of the conceptions. I argue that citizenship education's dominant "participative" model will not be able to achieve an inclusive citizenship unless it is coupled with a modified "identity-based" model. I propose the concept of "institutional multiculturalism", constituted as process. This focus on a consideration of the process by which shared values can then be achieved has typically been neglected by those calling for shared values in multicultural societies. In conclusion, I outline some implications for policy, curriculum and pedagogy. (Contains 7 notes.)

This study situates Green's educational philosophy and practice in the context of his overall approach to philosophy. In Green's view, education should aim at the realisation of the common good, but what Green means by this term is closely connected to his views on human nature, ethical endeavour and indeed the evolution of human history. These ideas are central to his main philosophical works. For Green the common good is to be found in the achievement of qualities of mind or character which involve the individual making the best of himself/herself. The content of education and particularly the development of reason assist centrally in this process. Access to resources and education are important conditions for achieving the common good, but since they involve scarce resources and competition for them, they are not part of the common good as such. The paper goes on to link these ideas with Green's account of citizenship and his involvement with school and university education in Oxford.

Current conceptions of citizenship favour public involvement in dialogue on controversial issues such as GM food. 'Students with higher levels of civic knowledge are more likely to expect to participate in political and civic activities as adults' (Kerr et al., 2003, p. 4). Young people need to be aware of the nature of controversy and be able to see how arguments are constructed to sway our opinions if they are to be fully scientifically literate. A survey of the literature suggests that the principles and methods relating to the teaching of controversial issues are themselves controversial . This irony is more relevant to teachers now than ever before. In England, the teaching of 'Citizenship' has been compulsory for students aged 11-16 in the state sector since September 2002. As it is currently framed, 'Citizenship' includes education for sustainable development and the teaching of the nature of controversy. This paper explores the issue of teachers' readiness to use controversial issues in the classroom, and reports on research involving focus groups and questionnaires. We suggest that many teachers are under-prepared and feel constrained in their ability to handle this aspect of their work. We conclude by offering a set of foci for developing support materials to help teachers be more effective at teaching controversial issues.

Challenges the assertion that education is necessarily political. Suggests that discussion of education often focuses on its trappings, rather than the overall subject. Argues that education neither produces good workers and enterprising citizens nor autonomous, free thinking students who love learning. Concludes that such goals are best achieved by distinguishing them sharply. (SG)

This paper scrutinises citizenship education in Turkey from the foundation of the Turkish Republic (1923) to the present and explores the extent to which it encourages inclusive or exclusive concepts of national identity and citizenship. In Turkey, where there are citizens belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, civic education plays a prominent role for promoting tolerance among citizens. Using framing questions from phase one of the International Association for the Educational Achievement’s (IEA) research of Civic Education Across Countries, the civic education textbooks of Turkey are examined to determine the extent to which they promote democracy and human rights, make positive references to ethnic and religious minorities, and promote social cohesion. As Turkey was not included in phase one of the IEA study, the paper provides original information for comparative studies, reconsideration of citizenship education in multicultural societies and promoting an active national citizenry in Turkey. [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 reports an investigation into how secondary student participants in Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement related this particular political experience to their learning of Liberal Studies. Questionnaire-based surveys and interviews were conducted to probe their interpretations of Liberal Studies’ impact on their political involvement and their perceptions of national versus local identity. The results indicate that students perceived the subject to have offered them background knowledge necessary for comprehending the movement rather than functioning as the cause of their participation against the backdrop of wider socio-economic conflicts in the community at large. Moreover, the current Liberal Studies curriculum seems to have reinforced students’ sense of a dichotomy between their local and national identities. Further examination of that dichotomy sheds light on both the review of Liberal Studies and another recently proposed, but swiftly shelved, curriculum: Moral and National Education. The study’s broad implications for citizenship education worldwide are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper considers the nature of citizenship found in recent republican cosmopolitan work within political theory. It argues that republican cosmopolitanism, which seeks to recognise the importance of both cosmopolitan and active citizenry within global political communities, offers important insights through which the nature of global citizenship education may be understood. After identifying the central substantive tenets of republican cosmopolitanism, key issues raised by these for citizenship education are discussed. It is suggested that citizenship education can benefit conceptually from understanding and interrogating global issues from a republican cosmopolitan perspective, and that in turn recourse to republican cosmopolitan ideas raises important questions concerning the nature and focus of global aspects of the citizenship curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government advice in relation to 'countering violent extremism' (CVE) in English schools requires teachers to identify students 'at risk' of radicalisation whilst also encouraging them to facilitate open classroom discussions of controversial issues. Data collected in seven schools illustrate how teachers are responding to this advice and illuminate three tensions within 'controversial issues' pedagogy. First, we discuss the tension between depth and coverage in case studies, which risks treating history as parable. Second, we identify a problem with finding a genuinely open ethical dilemma to discuss, which entails the risk of adopting a hypocritical stance in the classroom. Third, we identify a tendency to perceive school as the antidote to undesirable social attitudes. The teachers' responses highlight the usefulness of framing certain issues as 'controversial' but also illustrate how difficult this can be in practice, especially in the context of CVE, which is perceived by many as a controversial policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This narrative documentary study depicts two approaches of citizenship education (CE) in Beijing over the past decade—change through curriculum development, versus change through the international exchange of ideals and practices. It reveals the varied interests of CE designers and the tensions arising from competing approaches to CE. Analysis unfolds three dimensions of CE in Beijing, i.e. CE as a civic mission advocated by Chinese scholars, as a diplomatic platform for local government to showcase the city’s image building, and as an authoritarian agent serving to resist notions and terminologies associated with the state’s political enemies. Reframing the citizenship discourses into these three dimensions allows us to order, conceptually, how we approach the function of CE in Beijing. The case of Beijing illuminates the methods, tensions, and likely future directions of CE in other Chinese polities, such as Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Singapore is an example of a country where there is centralised control of the school curriculum and where political leaders wield direct influence over citizenship education. Co-ordinated and sustained effort is made to transmit the salient knowledge and values, develop the ‘right’ instincts and attitudes, to help students become believers in the particular ‘truths’ deemed necessary for the survival of Singapore. This article examines how a citizenship-related curriculum, social studies, develops students for their role as citizens by addressing the nature of the curriculum, the conception of citizenship promoted and the nature of thinking. Does the state have the right to impose its values on students, and to teach them to think in a particular way, or to believe certain ‘truths’? Are students respected as citizens or are they treated as subjects by the curriculum? The study found that social studies promotes a citizenship that is fraught with assumptions and contradictions, particularly by framing the notion of the common good in terms of national interests. This constrains the exercise of citizenship, trivialises participation and de-contextualises thinking. As a result, the students are more often treated like subjects than citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Teachers understand and apply citizenship education differentially in traditional western democracies. But what of Asian countries where democracy is more recent and treated differently and where countries have traditions of highly controlled education systems? Do teachers have and demonstrate independence of thought in civic matters? This article reports on a study of social studies teachers' understandings of citizenship education, and how these understandings influence their teaching. We found that teacher understandings and practice of citizenship education were located in three distinct groupings, characterised as nationalistic, socially concerned and person oriented. This reflected a citizenship education landscape in Singapore that, despite tight controls, was not as rigid, prescriptive or homogenous as literature on the Asian region suggests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I argue that it is now particularly pertinent to examine the implications for diversity of different conceptions of citizenship, given the current socio-political climate globally, as well as the current national context in the United Kingdom. I have categorised conceptions of citizenship into four main categories - 'moral', 'legal', 'participatory', and 'identity-based' conceptions. This categorisation is based on original empirical research which examined conceptions of citizenship in the policy and curriculum development process of citizenship education in England, held by the 'key players' involved, and supported by analysis of key policy and curriculum documentation (QCA, 1998, 2000, 2001). I examine the implications for ethnic and religious diversity of each of the conceptions. I argue that citizenship education's dominant 'participative' model will not be able to achieve an inclusive citizenship unless it is coupled with a modified 'identity-based' model. I propose the concept of 'institutional multiculturalism', constituted as process. This focus on a consideration of the process by which shared values can then be achieved has typically been neglected by those calling for shared values in multicultural societies. In conclusion, I outline some implications for policy, curriculum and pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on a comparative study of civic education in six countries-Britain, the USA, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia. Differing policies and practices with respect to citizenship education among the six Western democracies were found to be associated with different patterns of adolescent student political attitudes and perceptions. In those contexts in which civic education includes political content and opportunities for students to explore and express opinions on public policy issues, and to engage in decision-making, young people (ages 15-19) appear to be more interested in the political arena than in those contexts in which they do not have such experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on a study by the European Commission on the features of projects within its transnational education, training and youth programs which contribute to political education. Findings of the study; Best practice in education for active citizenship; Framework proposed which might be applied to any program of political education.

Citizenship education needs to start from the values and associated institutional practices and civic virtues of liberal democracy. Citizens need political knowledge and skills but they also need to be certain sorts of people, to exercise civic virtues. The view that civic virtues are unnecessary in a democracy is considered and rejected, as is the view that civic education should not begin in the first school. It is argued that the fostering of civic virtues can and should begin in the first school, primarily through its organisation and ethos. For it to do so, however, attention needs to be devoted to it in teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]