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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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper fleshes out the rather sparse empirical literature on citizenship with data collected from seven focus groups involving a wide range of New Zealanders. Results indicate that the term "citizenship" is relatively unimportant to identity and belonging compared to "family" and "community". Yet there is considerable agreement about the key elements of citizenship and what makes a "good citizen". Knowledge about citizenship, however, is not evenly distributed or experienced in the same way by different groups of New Zealanders, with Māori participants offering notably more negative perspectives on citizenship, and benefit recipients most likely to feel like "second-class citizens". Against predictions, the findings further suggest that neo-liberal reforms have not eliminated a belief in community spirit and collective solutions to social problems. although New Zealanders do believe that individuals should be responsible for themselves, they also expect government to ensure the social and economic conditions that make this possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interdisciplinary imperative for citizenship education stems from the reality that in order to understand and to act upon complex societal issues effectively, citizens must be able to integrate knowledge from a variety of subjects. Since this integration does not happen automatically, it must be taught. This article develops a rationale for the interdisciplinary imperative by examining educational limitations of the disciplinary curriculum, historic precedents in interdisciplinary efforts in which the social studies played a central role, theoretical concerns, and recent developments in interdisciplinary studies. It also explores problems associated with past interdisciplinary efforts, and offers recommendations for enacting integrative studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nation-state, in which citizens are linked together by a formal set of obligations and privileges mediated through government, is the central focus of citizenship education. This does less than it might in the way of building "community," which is based on an emotional linkage of individuals towards each other. The social malaise of the times, as well as the remoteness and alienating factors associated with government, indicate that more needs to be done in the schools to develop a sense of community. One way of doing this is through the deliberate introduction of prosociality in citizenship education. The aims of prosocial citizenship education are: (1) to encourage the development of caring citizens, (2) to promote prosocial behaviors, and (3) to develop the cognitive competence necessary for intelligent prosociality. Because it is based on the personal recognition of others and self-transcendence, prosocial education is a potentially powerful integrative source for the development of community bonds. The major purposes of this article are: (1) to highlight the nation-state/government focus of citizenship education currently, (2) to elaborate on the problems associated with this approach, and (3) to suggest some alternatives based on the concept of prosocial citizenship education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]