Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
77–90 Alternative policy measures for 113–115 Social studies today: Research
improving citizenship education in and practice, Walter Parker
Hong Kong (ed.) (2009)
GREGORY P. FAIRBROTHER
EDITORIAL
Citizenship Teaching and Learning is, with the publication of this issue, entering
a new and highly significant phase. This is the first edition of the journal that
is published by Intellect, a respected academic publisher with a high profile
position across several fields. From its first edition in 2005, CTL has enjoyed an
excellent reputation for high quality academic articles and book reviews that
have had a clear and strong impact. Our research shows that the journal has
already reached and been welcomed by very impressive numbers of readers.
The established position of Intellect will allow CTL to become even more firmly
established, with a corresponding increase in subscriptions and readership.
Publication with Intellect has been made possible by the hard work of
many individuals and through institutional collaboration which brings together
CiCea (Children’s Identity and Citizenship in European Association) and cit-
izED (an international higher education network for citizenship education).
Both CiCea and citizED are already securely established with excellent interna-
tional conferences, a wide range of publications and very positive professional
and personal relationships. This formal collaboration is, in itself, an indication
of the sort of collegial activity that is appropriate to citizenship and is sufficiently
dynamic to allow for and encourage other collaborations.
In this issue there are articles and book reviews that indicate the scale of our
ambitions concerning citizenship education. Carole Hahn provides an interna-
tional review of civic education research emphasizing the significance of culture
for the characterization of key issues and identifies an agenda for work in the
future. This overview is followed by articles that explore citizenship educa-
tion in particular contexts in a way that illuminates ideas and practice across
national boundaries. Suzanne Mellor writes about formal testing of civics and
citizenship learning in Australia. She identifies levels of achievement and pro-
vides explanations for them. Alistair Ross and Melinda Dooly discuss findings
from a survey of 2,400 young people in Poland, Spain, Turkey and England; in
the context of concerns about a democratic deficit, these authors discuss the
intention of young people to act in similar ways to adults. Carla Peck, Laura
Thompson, Ottilia Chareka, Reva Joshee and Alan Sears argue that although
policy and practice in Canada has moved away from attempts to assimilate
minority groups, and towards fostering respect and appreciation for diversity,
attention to diversity education remains superficial and limited. Gregory Fair-
brother discusses developments in Hong Kong and, through an analysis of
data, argues that citizenship education (as currently practised in Hong Kong)
shows considerable continuity with the pre-1997 period and is not achieving
intended results in areas such as the development of national identity and
active citizenship among students. In light of this he discusses the potential,
and emphasizes the limitations, of developing citizenship education as a dis-
crete subject. Penny Enslin and Nicki Hedge explore the idea of the global
neighbour: they identify it as a form of qualified moral partiality, appropriate
to the shifting understandings of geographical borders occasioned by global-
ization. Their reflections are placed within the context of relationships between
Scotland and Malawi, particularly in connection with higher education policy.
The book reviews, edited by Mitsuharu Mizuyama, explore a wide range of
issues about forms of citizenship education within and across countries.
This issue of Citizenship Teaching and Learning is not comprehensive in
its coverage of citizenship education but it demonstrates a commitment to
academic excellence, an international approach (that recognizes the value of in-
country developments as well as connections across borders) and an inclusive
collegiality. Essential to the better understanding and practice of citizenship
is a commitment to equality, justice, diversity, respect for others and demo-
cratic participation. Through the excellent work that has been included in this
first edition (created through new and continuing partnerships with Intellect,
citizED, CiCea and others) an ambitious statement of intent is being made.
Ian Davies
CAROLE L. HAHN
Emory University, Atlanta, USA
ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
This article reviews research conducted in different regions of the world and interna- civic/citizenship
tional and comparative studies. It raises issues for consideration by researchers, such education
as the importance of culture in understanding civic meanings. It concludes with a political socialization
proposed agenda for needed future research. civic education/social
studies research
citizenship
INTRODUCTION comparative/
Scholarship on education for citizenship and democracy has greatly expanded international studies
over the past decade as researchers from all parts of the globe are conducting
empirical studies that use a wide variety of methods. Clearly, the field of com-
parative and international civic education has gone global. But what have we
learned from this increased research activity? What do we yet need to know?
In this article I will first review studies conducted within countries in different
regions of the world; then I identify several international and comparative stud-
ies conducted cross-nationally. Finally, I will propose an agenda for research
needed in the future.
BACKGROUND
The field that I call ‘Comparative Civic Education’ has its roots in citizenship
education, political socialization, and comparative and international education.
Although for centuries scholars wrote about the importance of education for
citizenship, it was not until the 1960s that political socialization researchers
(primarily in the United States and Western Europe) began to systematically
study how young people acquired their political knowledge, skills, and attitudes
(See reviews in Ehman 1980; Hahn 1998). Those early researchers focused on
how agents of socialization, such as the family, school, and media, transmitted
messages about the political world to youth. Since then the term ‘civic educa-
tion’ has expanded to include the many ways young people construct meanings
of civil society, as well as the political world. Importantly, today the dominant
constructivist paradigm posits that youth are active constructors of meaning,
rather than passive recipients of adult messages (Torney-Purta, Schwille, and
Amadeo 1999; Torney-Purta, Lehmann, Oswald and Schulz 2001). The con-
structivist view of civic learning underlies much of current research. Before
looking at that research, a few explanations are needed.
It would be impossible to include all of the studies from across the world.
I have selected particular empirical studies to illustrate research that is being
done in different regions and from different perspectives. The included stud-
ies are limited to ones published in journals that use English. Further, it is
important to realize that although civic education scholars from a wide range
of countries conducted the studies I include, most of the researchers came from
or were influenced by societies that grew out of the European Enlightenment
and place a high value on individualism and democratic participation. Even
the scholars who conducted studies in Africa, Asia and the Middle East that I
discuss here were at least partially educated in Australia, Canada, the United
Kingdom, or the United States. Thus, it is not surprising that they use con-
cepts and examine variables that are prevalent in the West. Other world views
may shift research foci. Importantly, scholars and policymakers need to keep in
mind that findings from one national or cultural context are not generalisable
to other contexts; the findings may, however, serve as hypotheses to be tested
elsewhere. Finally, due to space limitations, I point to highlights of varied stud-
ies to convey an overall picture of the cumulative research rather than analysing
particular studies in depth.
With these caveats in mind I now review some of what we know
from the cumulative research. I begin by undertaking a round-the-world
tour of geographic regions, describing studies conducted within single
countries.
have been conducted in particular countries. I will now focus on some of the
specific studies that used samples from a single country.
THE AMERICAS
The diversity of cultures, economies, and political systems within the west-
ern hemisphere is reflected in the differing traditions of civic education and
research on the topic. In this section I discuss research from the United States
at length because there is much cumulative scholarship and it is the tradition I
know best. I will then mention a few studies from other countries in the region.
sense of civic duty, and expectations of voting as adults than peers without
such experiences (Ehman 1980; Hahn 1998; Niemi and Junn 1998; Torney-
Purta et al. 2001). Evaluators of issues-centred curriculum projects also found
that students who explored and discussed issues reported increased political
interest and efficacy; they also followed the news, discussed politics with fam-
ily and friends, and reported increased desire to participate in civic life (see
Hahn 2008). Recently, Hess (2009) conducted a longitudinal study of students
in classes where teachers regularly lead discussions about controversial politi-
cal issues (CPI), revealing both the benefits and challenges to leading effective
CPI discussions. Other researchers found that students who experienced inter-
active discussion-based civic education had the highest scores on a measure
of twenty-first century competencies, including economic knowledge, skill in
interpreting media, and positive attitudes toward diverse groups (Torney-Purta
and Wilkenfeld 2009).
In the United States other researchers focused on the importance of
students’ participation in extra-curricular activities and ‘service learning’
programmes, whereby students provide service in the local community.
Researchers found that extra-curricular activities and service learning were
associated with civic knowledge, voting, and volunteering into adulthood
(Baldi et al. 2001; Hart et al. 2007). In a recent longitudinal study, researchers
found that when students experienced a combination of ‘civic opportunities’
(classroom instruction, service learning, and extra-curricular activities), they
increased in civic commitments, concern for local issues, and expectations of
future involvement (Kahne and Sporte 2008).
Unfortunately, however, researchers find that such opportunities are not
equally available to all students. Students from low-income, minority, and
immigrant families tend to have fewer civic opportunities than students from
middle class, majority culture families (Conover and Searing 2000; Kahne
and Middaugh 2008; Rubin 2007). Following a related line of inquiry, some
scholars have been exploring specific meanings of citizenship in particular cul-
turally embedded locations. For example, in one case study the researcher
explored how young people from a Native American background negotiated
their cultural, national, and global identities as citizens (Whitman 2007).
Taken together, studies conducted in the United States that used large
nationally representative samples identified factors associated with student
knowledge and attitudes. In recent years, researchers are complementing such
work with case studies that reveal the importance of particular socio-cultural
contexts in understanding civic education and political socialization.
Canada
In writing about civic education in Canada, authors note differing experi-
ences of First Nations, anglophone, and francophone groups, as well as of
recent immigrants to a multicultural society. Rather than trying to general-
ize across cultural groups and provinces, Canadian researchers have focused
on the thinking of individual learners. Researchers have explored children and
youth’s understandings of concepts such as rights and freedoms, ethnic diver-
sity, civic participation, and historical significance (Chareka and Sears 2005;
Hughes and Sears 1996; Peck 2009; Peck and Sears 2005). Using a phenomeno-
logical approach, with small samples of students, these researchers gained
insights into the process of student meaning-making. Using that approach,
Peck (2009) found that students’ ethnic identity served as the lens through
which they interpreted and constructed a sense of the nation’s past. (In this
journal Sears also discusses other research from Canada.)
Latin America
The Organization of American States (OAS) commissioned a secondary anal-
ysis of the IEA Civic Education Study using data for students from Colombia
and Chile, as well as the United States and Portugal (Torney-Purta and Amadeo
2004). School factors including perceptions of an open classroom climate, con-
fidence in school participation, and the opportunity to learn in school to solve
problems in the community, correlated with expectations of adult engagement.
Other scholars conducted ethnographic studies of civic education. In Mex-
ico, Levinson (2007) interviewed experts, examined policy documents, and
analysed textbooks. He also interviewed school administrators and teachers
and observed civic education classes in two states to ascertain how educators
were implementing a new course, ‘civic and ethical formation’ (Levinson 2007).
Levinson identified a series of challenges to reform: insufficient teacher train-
ing; undemocratic school governance; an emphasis on testing; a shortage of
resources in many rural schools; and an entrenched bureaucratic structure that
provided few incentives for teachers to change.
Suarez (2008) conducted a content analysis of curricula in Costa Rica and
Argentina at two time-periods to determine the extent to which the curric-
ula reflected a human rights discourse. He found that ‘human rights’ was a
central concept in both countries (similar to Levinson’s finding in Mexico) but
it was presented differently in light of the countries’ particular histories. The
online journal Inter-American Journal of Education for Democracy, published in
both Spanish and English, reports on other studies from the region.
In Canada and Latin America the numbers of scholars doing research on
civic education has increased in recent years. It will be interesting to see if in
the future they continue to develop a particular focus on phenomenological
studies in Canada and on curriculum for democracy and human rights in Latin
American countries.
EUROPE
Although civic education is planned and implemented at the national level,
the European Union and the Council of Europe have been active in bring-
ing together scholars and practitioners around topics of civic education at
a regional level. The Council of Europe, consisting of 47 member states as
of 2008, launched the curriculum development project ‘Education for Demo-
cratic Citizenship’ in 1997. In its third phase (2006–2009), the project aimed to
promote education for democracy (EDC) and human rights education (HRE),
with an emphasis on social cohesion, social inclusion, and respect for human
rights (Starkey and Osler 2009). The European Union’s ‘Children’s Identity
and Citizenship in Europe’ SOCRATES academic network (CiCe) published
edited volumes containing descriptions of projects in varied countries (e.g.
Roland-Levy and Ross 2003). Eurydice, the information network on educa-
tion in Europe, published a set of reports on citizenship education at school in
Europe. These regional networks provide a bridge across countries with distinct
traditions of civic education and differing approaches to research. The diver-
sity of these traditions is evident when comparing empirical studies that used
samples from within single countries.
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Chinese societies
Fairbrother (2008) is one of the few researchers who used cross-sectional data
over time to test theory. Using theories of the state and political socialization he
focused on the concepts ‘hegemony’ and ‘resistance’. He surveyed and inter-
viewed purposefully selected samples of university youth in Hong Kong and
Mainland China to assess the effects of the states’ messages about nationalism.
He found that in both societies student attitudes reflected dominant messages,
although some students showed signs of resistance through their scepticism
and curiosity.
Other researchers have conducted small-scale case studies in Chinese soci-
eties. For example, in Hong Kong, Leung and Yuen (2009) described one
school’s efforts to promote participatory citizenship and student empower-
ment. In Taiwan, researchers used a quasi-experimental approach to study the
effects of an issues-centred approach on students’ civic attitudes (Liao, Liu and
Doong 1998). The Taiwanese students, like their counterparts in other simi-
lar studies in other regions, exhibited enhanced civic participation attitudes,
concern about social/political issues, reasoned thinking, and perspective-taking
abilities. In Singapore, researchers Ho and Alviar-Martin (2009) explored how
teachers think about diversity in a multicultural society. They found that their
sample of teachers used essentialized racial categories that reflected soci-
etal discourse and state policies, rather than multidimensional and pluralist
conceptions of multiculturalism promoted by scholars and teacher educators.
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Australia
Civic educators in Australia have been active in regional, as well as interna-
tional, discussions of education for citizenship and democracy, as reflected in
their many contributions to edited volumes containing national case studies.
Up until the 1990s, however, Australia did not have a strong tradition of civic
education. As a consequence, researchers in two states found that on average
students exhibited low levels of political knowledge, political interest, efficacy,
trust, and civic tolerance (Mellor 1998; Print 1995). Further, in a national study
of Australian youth’s attitudes toward voting and other forms of civic-political
engagement, researchers found that many young people were alienated from
traditional forms of politics (Print, Saha and Edwards 2005). Nevertheless,
many young people expressed interest in social-political issues, having par-
ticipated in protests related to issues such as the environment, the Iraq War,
and refugees. The researchers concluded that many youth are civically engaged,
despite their lack of faith in politicians and the electoral system.
To address what is perceived to be a general lack of political engagement
among young people, a succession of Australian governments initiated civics
programmes. As in the United States, student civic knowledge is now assessed
regularly in a national assessment project, which will yield data for researchers
to analyse for years to come. (In this journal Mellor further elaborates on some
of the research from Australia.)
Africa
In Africa, researchers have studied the effects of new civic education projects.
They have also explored teachers’ and students’ perspectives of concepts like
‘democracy’ and ‘citizenship’.
In South Africa, Finkel and Ernst (2005) conducted an evaluation of a civic
education project developed by ‘Street Law South Africa’. The study is simi-
lar to evaluations of new curricula in other regions where international NGOs,
partnered with local NGOs, develop curriculum materials and train teachers
in student-centred, issues-centred pedagogy. University students were trained
to teach a new curriculum, ‘Democracy for All’ (DFA), to students in grades
11 and 12 across the country. The researchers compared interview data from
students who had the programme, students who had standard civic education
from regular teachers, and students who had no exposure to a civic education
course. The researchers found that exposure to civic education, either through
DFA or a traditional course, had strong effects on student civic/political knowl-
edge. Importantly, moving from no exposure, to monthly exposure, to weekly
civics instruction, and finally to daily instruction led to progressively increased
levels of knowledge (Finkel and Ernst 2005).
In another study Kubow (2007) studied selected South African and Kenyan
teachers’ beliefs about democracy. The teachers defined democracy in terms of
equality, particularly gender equality, and freedom of thought and speech as
experienced in homes, schools, and communities. Kubow concluded that the
teachers’ beliefs were informed by both global/western rights-based discourses
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14
active, participatory learning activities and there is an open climate for dis-
cussion, then students may develop democratic attitudes. Third, students’ and
teachers’ understandings of concepts, such as democracy, citizenship, partici-
pation, and rights, vary according to the particular culture in which individuals
are socialized. Fourth, notions of identity are multilayered, flexible, and com-
plex. Fifth, implanting civic education in divided and post-conflict societies
poses particular challenges.
15
civic-political issues. More students across countries said that obeying the law
and voting were important to good citizenship than said discussing politi-
cal issues or joining a political party were important. Young people in most
countries tended to agree that social-movement activities, such as helping the
community and promoting human rights, were important. Most students also
reported positive attitudes toward their country and held positive attitudes
toward immigrants’ and women’s rights (Torney-Purta et al. 2001).
Following the publication of the international CivEd report, several of
the participating countries published reports in their national languages and
individual researchers conducted secondary analyses of the data. A team
of researchers at the University of Maryland, in particular, have conducted
secondary analyses of the CivEd data set, using sophisticated and varied quan-
titative methods. Although their reports are too numerous to list here, they are
available on the project’s website (http://www.wam.umd.edu/∼iea).
Comparative studies
Several smaller studies in civic education have been explicitly comparative,
in that researchers compared similarities and differences across countries and
then sought explanations in the historical, philosophical, and cultural context
of the particular countries. In one study, a team of scholars, as insiders, exam-
ined civic education policies and observed classroom practice in their respective
countries of Australia, Hong Kong, and the United States (Cogan et al. 2002). In
another study, researchers conducted a secondary analysis of IEA data, seeking
explanations for student perceptions in Australia, Hong Kong, and the United
States in light of the particular civic cultures in each society and of global factors
(Kennedy, Hahn, and Lee 2008).
In a study of civic education in two international schools in the United
States and Hong Kong, Alviar-Martin (2009) examined how secondary students
developed global perspectives and a sense of cosmopolitan citizenship. She was
particularly interested in how local cultures and global discourse were evident
in the two settings. Two studies of school practices in European countries that
I described earlier were also explicitly comparative and sought explanations in
light of differing civic cultures (Hahn 1998; Shiffauer et al. 2004).
Other scholars focused on teachers’ perspectives cross-nationally in light of
both local and global influences. In one edited volume, researchers (who were
insiders) in Australia, Hong Kong, Russia, and the United States described the
context of civic education, used the same questions to survey and interview
teachers, and explained their findings in terms of what they knew about the his-
tory and culture of each specific country (Lee and Fouts 2005). Finally, as noted
earlier, Kubow (2007) compared teachers’ perspectives in Kenya and South
Africa, seeking explanations in both local cultures and global forces. I hope that
in the future more scholars will undertake comparative studies that illuminate
differing conceptions across cultures.
FUTURE RESEARCH
In light of what we know from research in comparative civic education to date,
I would like to propose an agenda for needed research in the future. As I
read studies conducted in one or two countries, I wondered if similar findings
would be obtained from replications in other countries. As I reflected upon
the conclusions that researchers drew from their findings, I began generating
16
new questions. Below are my nominations for needed studies and questions for
consideration in the future.
17
Clearly, civic education research has come a long way since the early days
of political socialization researchers. It is an exciting time to be working in the
field as scholars spanning the globe share experiences and viewpoints, and
increasingly form teams to examine questions using varied methods and both
insider and outsider viewpoints to illuminate findings. This journal is playing
an important role in fostering a dialogue about the past, present, and future of
comparative citizenship teaching and learning.
REFERENCES
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study of two international schools’, paper presented at the annual meet-
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Arnot, M. (2009), Educating the Gendered citizen: sociological engagements with
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for Citizenship and Democracy, London: SAGE.
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SUGGESTED CITATION
Hahn, C.L. (2010), ‘Comparative civic education research: What we know and
what we need to know’ Citizenship Teaching and Learning 6: 1, pp. 5–23, doi:
10.1386/ctl.6.1.5_1
CONTRIBUTOR DETAILS
Carole L. Hahn is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of educational stud-
ies at Emory University in Atlanta, USA. She was the US national research
coordinator for the ‘Civic Education Study’ of the International Association
for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and she is an Advisory
Professor at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. She is a past president of
the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and recipient of the Jean
Dresden Grambs Distinguished Career Research Award from NCSS. She has
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23
SUZANNE MELLOR
Australian Council for Educational Research
ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
The national assessment programme in civics and citizenship (NAP-CC), conducted civics and citizenship
in Australia in 2004 and 2007, collected achievement data on the knowledge and education (CCE)
understandings – of both cognition and dispositional orientation – of year 6 and year Australia
10 students. The test instruments for both cycles broke new ground, especially in knowledge and
relation to the testing of student disposition to civics and citizenship participation and understandings
engagement, and enabled students to give creative and focussed responses to a range dispositions
of citizenship concepts. participation
The ‘civics and citizenship literacy achievement scales’ for both cycles indicate active engagement
student achievement is variable, and generally low level. The ‘student background sur- national assessment
vey’ in the second cycle sought data and information about variables with explanatory effects in achievement
power as to the demonstrated levels of achievement. Analyses of student background curriculum
and school programme data identified factors that appear to have a significant effect implementation
on achievement.
The article describes contextual developments which influenced the assess-
ments, provides an analysis of the achievement and background data and reflects
on what the reported findings, especially from the second cycle, have revealed
about students and their civics and citizenship learning experiences in Australian
schools.
25
INTRODUCTION
The first cycle of the NAP-CC in Australia, involving over 20,000 students in
year 6 and year 10 (aged approximately 11 and 15 years), was conducted with a
nationally representative sample of 567 schools in 2004. The second cycle was
conducted in 2007, with over 12,000 students from 618 schools. These assess-
ments collected achievement and background data from students on their civic
knowledge and understandings, and of their dispositional orientation to citi-
zenship. The background data has also provided some insights into underlying
explanations for those achievements.
POLICY BACKGROUND
There were several distinct stages in the development of the policy framework
for the conduct of the NAP-CC. In April 1999, all the Australian state, terri-
tory and commonwealth ministers for education (meeting as the Ministerial
Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA))
agreed to the Adelaide Declaration on National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-
first Century. This document (MCEETYA 1999) provides the framework for the
assessment and reporting on student achievement in CCE, as part of the Annual
National Report on Schooling in Australia (MCEECDYA 2000–2006).
Goal 1.4 of the document stated that, when students leave school, they
should: ‘. . . be active and informed citizens with an understanding and appre-
ciation of Australia’s system of government and civic life’ (MCEETYA 1999).
In 1999 MCEETYA also agreed to develop key measures to monitor and
report on national progress towards achieving these goals. Sample assessments
were to join the already established annual, full-cohort testing in literacy and
numeracy. The additional areas for assessment were science, civics and citizen-
ship education (CCE), and information and communication technology (ICT).
Through its performance measurement and reporting taskforce (PMRT), in
July 2001 MCEETYA commissioned the construction of two ‘key performance
measures’ (KPMs) for civics and citizenship education: KPM1, which focused
on civics knowledge and understanding; and KPM2, which addressed citizen-
ship dispositions and skills for participation. The PMRT also commissioned a
triennial NAP-CC. In October 2002, the PMRT commissioned a trial for this
assessment and, in October 2004, the first cycle of the triennial NAP-CC of
student performance in civics and citizenship was conducted. That report was
published in December 2006 (MCEETYA 2006a). A team of researchers from
the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) won the contract for
the inaugural cycle, and the subsequent two, in 2007 and 2010. The author
of this article, who had been the project manager for Australia’s participa-
tion in the phase 2 (testing) of the International Association for the Evaluation
of Educational Achievement (IEA) ‘CivEd Study’ (conducted over the period
1995–2001 (Mellor et al. 2002)), led the ACER team.
CURRICULUM CONTEXT
For the first cycle of the NAP-CC, the educational context was strikingly dif-
ferent from such as prevailed for other national assessments, since it was not
a key learning area in any Australian education jurisdiction, and teaching and
learning in the area was fragmented and marked by uncertainty (Erebus 2003).
This was the situation despite the Discovering Democracy Program, an Australian
Government resource and professional development initiative (DEEWR 2004;
Holdsworth and Mellor 2004), funded from 1997–2004 at a cost of $32 million.
26
27
28
including dual choice, multiple choice, closed and constructed response items.
The test instruments for both cycles, 2004 and 2007, broke new ground, chal-
lenging common assumptions about assessment and about the kind of content
that could be assessed. The decision to test student disposition to civics and
citizenship participation and engagement was a particular challenge to test
developers’ skills. The constructed response items’ format and the marking
rubrics required to consistently assess the tests were innovative design ele-
ments. The analyses conducted indicated that the test instruments resulted in
a validated process of questioning. This process enabled students to give cre-
ative and focussed responses to citizenship concepts, and could be scaled. For
each cycle the number and range of item types, and the rotated cluster design
of the test booklets, enabled coverage of the domain. The first cycle confirmed
that the two sub-dimensions were linked and a single scale was developed to
describe student achievement. Examples of all item types, for both KPMs, with
the score guides for the coding of them, from both cycles of the NAP-CC, are
available in the school-release assessment materials files (MCEECDYA 2009b).
THE SAMPLE
In both cycles, at both year levels, a sample of schools was selected with a
probability proportional to size. Then, in the first cycle, a random sample of
two classrooms, and in the second cycle a random sample of one classroom,
was selected from those schools. The sample design and procedures, the high
student response rates (in the second cycle, 92 per cent for year 6 and 86 per
cent for year 10) and the low levels of exclusions ensured that there was very
little bias in the sample. Additionally, few schools have been involved in both
cycles.
29
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
The C&C literacy scale for both cycles indicates student achievement leaves
much to be desired. The 2007 cumulative percentage of year 6 students achiev-
ing at or above their proficient standard was 52 per cent. For year 10 it was only
41 per cent. These figures represent low achievement levels and only marginal
improvement from 2004. Figure 3 shows the 2007 achievement of both cohorts,
distributed across all six proficiency levels.
Given the educational context of the provision of CCE in Australian schools,
it can be no surprise that learning in C&C, as indicated by the achievement
described by the 2007 CCE literacy scale, was not high, and that it had only
marginally improved from the 2004 assessment. However, from the point of
view of the jurisdictions there were some embarrassments: since the provision
30
% CI % CI % CI % CI % CI % CI
Year 6 11.3 0.7 35.2 1.2 43.5 1.3 9.7 0.6 0.3 0.1 – –
Year 10 3.8 0.7 15.8 1.1 38.9 1.4 34.4 1.1 6.9 0.7 0.2 0.1
NB: There were no significant differences from 2004 to 2007 in the proficiency levels.
Figure 3: Distribution of year 6 and year 10 students by proficiency level, 2007 cycle.
PARENTAL BACKGROUND
Data was sought from students on both parental occupation and education,
but collection of the year 6 data was systemically flawed and many year 10 stu-
dents could not provide data on parental education. For this reason, year 10
data on parental occupation was used as an indicator of social-economic status
(SES). Five categories were classified using the MCEETYA endorsed classifi-
cation. Where occupations were available for both parents, the higher-coded
occupation was used in the analyses (Wernert et al. 2009: Chapter 4).
31
Figure 4: Year 10 students’ mean scores on the C&C literacy scale, by parental
occupation.
32
33
year 10 students had voted for class representatives. Approximately one third
of year 6 and one fifth of year 10 students had served on a student repre-
sentative council (SRC), and of those, approximately three quarters believed
they had ‘contributed to school decision-making’. Less than a third of stu-
dents reported that they had contributed to school decision-making in non-SRC
ways. Variable numbers said they had participated in peer-support programmes,
helped create a school newspaper, represented the school, or participated in
such activities outside school. These responses indicate that only a minor-
ity of students were actively engaged in such activities (other than voting for
class reps), but when they were engaged they felt they ‘had made a useful
contribution’.
Students were asked to identify whether they had learnt the following at
school:
34
ask more about schools that do not actively encourage engagement in their
students.
Figure 7 shows that for both year levels, as the level of opportunity pro-
vided by schools for student participation in the two kinds of activity increases,
so too do the mean achievement scores. Low achievement (that is less CCE
learning) correlates with fewer opportunities to participate: higher achievement
(that is more C&C learning) correlates with more opportunities. The associa-
tion is much stronger for the year 10 students than it is for the year 6 students,
and this may be a further explanatory possibility for the year level differences
previously mentioned.
35
week’ and ‘More than 3 times a week’. The trends in student responses were
very similar for both year groups.
• Of the four options for gaining news of current events, 80% of students
nominated the TV news, frequently watched, as the preferred source, with
the Internet a distant fourth (40%). Radio and newspapers were rated by
about 70% of students as a preferred source, and the frequency of them
being used was correspondingly lower than TV.
• About 60% of students talked with their family about political and social
issues, whilst only 40% talked with their friends about such matters.
• The out-of-school activity that had the largest participation (at over 80%)
was sport, with participating in environmental, community or volun-
teer work being at much lower levels (around 20% for each activity
for year 10 students, and 40% for year 6 students for environmental
activities).
36
37
about politics and social issues is a strategy that schools could so readily adopt,
and these findings indicate it may have a powerful effect on learning. It was
also found that having voted for class representatives added about eighteen
points to the achievement score, and feeling that one had contributed to school
decision-making added about fifteen points to the achievement score on the
C&C scale.
Finally, a general comment about the pattern of the influence can be made.
The effect of all these variables, whether large or small, is that they are com-
pounding in their influence (the joint effect of such activities is greater than the
sum of the individual effects of each of them). The ramifications of this finding,
for students and schools, are considerable.
38
which offered their students opportunities to participate, and that such activi-
ties provide an additional effect on achievement. So schools can choose how to
deliver C&C learning outcomes – there are more options than just curriculum
(though to do both would seem to be the best option).
As the 2007 report stated:
The fourth discussion point relates to social justice, and the rights of citizens
to know their rights and obligations so that they can become more active and
engaged in their world. These findings crystallize the ways in which schools
can give voice to their constituents, to empower them to seek to clarify their
identities and to learn how to make a difference for themselves and for others,
especially if the world does not seem to be their oyster. Schools are not able to
have an impact on parental occupation, though there is an argument that they
have a social justice obligation to compensate for the demonstrated low levels
of interest in/ knowledge of C&C – much as they do for improving general
literacy levels of students from homes where such literacy levels are not high. If
it is agreed, by policymakers and the general public, that creating ‘good citizens’
is a key purpose of schools, these findings indicate that the way forward is not
obscure. Wyn asks the relevant questions and develops this argument about the
purpose of schooling in such a way as it can be discussed by all practitioners and
be implemented by any education jurisdiction (Wyn 2009). All it needs is will.
The fifth discussion point relates to the ways in which national assessment
can provide much more than raw achievement data. If the right questions
are asked, through instruments additional to the testing, they can provide a
wealth of information on much more than simply the achievement data which
ostensibly was the primary purpose of the assessment exercise. With skilled
analysis, researchers can provide insights into educational context and social
background and information on how schools are managed, the values they
aspire to, and the roles they allow all their constituents. They enable informed
hypotheses to be developed about how some schools are able to activate partic-
ipative values in the life of their community, whilst others seem not to be able
to do so. All such data can be used to good effect by those seeking productive
change in student learning.
Sixthly, programmes such as this one also enable a critique to be developed
by schools and jurisdictions, on the basis of the school reports they receive as
part of the assessment feedback they receive. There is (or there can be) a lot
more to national assessment than initially meets the eye (especially the eye
of detractors of such programmes). One beneficial element of the NAP-CC,
mentioned only in passing in this article, which feeds directly into the pedagogy
of CCE, are the School Release Materials (MCEECDYA 2009b). These papers and
documents relate to the AD, the test items and their marking score guides, and
professional development programmes, and were prepared for school leaders
and practitioners. These NAP-CC web links relate expressly to the testing as
experienced by all schools.
39
REFERENCES
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
(2004), Whole School Approach Professional Development Activity
(ACER), Canberra: DEEWR, http://www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/cce/
professional_learning,9013.html. Accessed 15 October 2009.
Erebus Consulting Partners (2003), Evaluation of the Discovering Democracy
Program 2000–2003, Canberra: Quality Schooling Branch, Department of
Education, Science and Training, http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_
education/publications_resources/profiles/archives/evaluation_discovering_
democracy.htm. Accessed 15 October 2009.
Holdsworth, R. and Mellor, S. (2004), Discovering Democracy in Action: Imple-
menting the Program, Victoria: Department of Education and Training,
http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/teachlearn/student/
discoveringdemocracy.pdf. Accessed 25 January 2010.
Mellor, S., Kennedy, K. and Greenwood, L. (2002), Citizenship and democ-
racy: Australian students’ knowledge and beliefs – The IEA Civic Education
Study of Australian Fourteen Year Olds, Melbourne: Australian Council for
Educational Research.
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs
(MCEETYA) (1999), The Adelaide Declaration on National Goals for Schooling
in the Twenty-first century, Melbourne: MCEETYA, http://www.mceecdya.
edu.au/mceecdya/adelaide_declaration_1999_text,28298.html. Accessed 25
January 2010.
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs
(MCEETYA) (2000–2006), National Reports on Schooling, Melbourne:
MCEETYA, http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/mceecdya/anr/. Accessed 25 Jan-
uary 2010.
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs
(MCEETYA) (2006a), National Assessment Program – Civics and Citizenship
Years 6 & 10 Report 2004, Melbourne: MCEETYA, http://www.mceecdya.
edu.au/mceecdya/nap_cc_2004_years_6_and_10_report,17149.html.
Accessed 25 January 2010.
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs
(MCEETYA) (2006b), National Statements of Learning – Civics and Citizenship,
Melbourne: MCEETYA, http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/verve/_resources/
SOL_Civics_Copyright_update2008.pdf. Accessed 25 January 2010.
40
SUGGESTED CITATION
Mellor, S. (2010), ‘Insights from formal testing of civics and citizenship
learning in Australia’ Citizenship Teaching and Learning 6: 1, pp. 25–42, doi:
10.1386/ctl.6.1.25_1
CONTRIBUTOR DETAILS
Suzanne Mellor, a senior research fellow at the Australian Council for Educa-
tional Research since 1990, has worked on many policy and survey research
projects, some of them evaluative of education policy and programme imple-
mentation. She has a practitioner background, having taught in secondary and
tertiary institutions for over twenty years, coordinated curriculum writing for
accrediting bodies, devised a wide range of professional development activities
for teachers, and written text books for many levels and in a range of method-
ologies. In 2002 she was joint-researcher for the World Bank project ‘Promoting
Social Tolerance and Cohesion Through Education’ in the South Pacific. She
project-managed the national Australian component of the IEA ‘Civics Edu-
cation Study’ 1995–2002, and prepared the national report. In 2000–3 she
conducted the evaluation of the Victorian ‘Discovering Democracy Professional
Development Programme’, resulting in Discovering Democracy in Action: Imple-
menting the Programme (Department of Education and Training 2004). From
2003–2009 she project-managed the national sample assessment in CCE of
year 6 and 10 students in Australian schools, for MCEETYA. She is Series
Editor for ACER’s major research journal: Australian Education Review and
co-authored AER 47: The Case for Change: A review of contemporary research
41
42
ALISTAIR ROSS
London Metropolitan University
MELINDA DOOLY
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
We discuss some implications for citizenship education, based on a survey of young youth
people in four European countries in which they were asked how they think they will political activity
act politically when they are adult. The empirical sections of the article are based on a political intentions
survey of 2,400 students aged between 11–17 in 2008–2009 in Poland, Spain, Turkey active citizenship
and England. This study is discussed within the broader context of a widespread con- apathy
cern about a so-called ‘democratic deficit’, and in particular about the political apathy participation
of youth. We suggest that young people appear to intend to act in very similar ways as
adults do. We raise questions about expectations of political activity, especially con-
cerning particular kinds of political behaviour, about young people’s own intentions,
and about what might be an appropriate educational response to these intentions.
INTRODUCTION
This article presents some of the results from a two-year, four-country study1 of 1 The project was a
young people’s current political engagement as well as their outlook on their European Science
Foundation ECRP
political behaviour in the future (Krzywosz-Rynkiewicz, Zalewska and Ross programme (06 ECRP
2010). From our analysis, we suggest that children and young people do impli- FP007) that linked
grants from the Polish
cate themselves in political behaviour – an argument that stands in contrast Ministry of Science
to frequent narratives suggesting that indifference to political issues is com- and Higher Education
monplace among youth. We interrogate these depictions of young people and (Grant ESF/84/2006),
43
the Spanish propose that their particular kinds of political behaviour should serve as a point
Inter-ministerial
Committee on Science of departure for appropriate educational response to citizenship education.
and Technology (CICYT) We begin by reviewing some current discussions about the meaning of
(Grant SEJ2007-
29191-E), the Turkish
political participation and action, and suggestions that young people are
Scientific and increasingly cynical about, and alienated from, ‘the political’. We argue that
Technological Research there is a need to review the traditional view of what constitutes the political,
Council of Turkey
(TUBITAK) (Grant and new social movements may better help us explain different kinds of civic
107KT66) and the British engagement. Many of the young people in our sample indicate that they have
Academy (Small Grants a lively and intelligent engagement with contemporary politics, and that they
Award SG 49353). The
project teams consisted intend to connect with a range of political processes in the future. We conclude
of (Poland) University of that predictions of a coming ‘death of politics’ are premature: political action,
Warmia and Mazury,
Olsztyn (Dr Beata
construed as a broad spectrum, will most likely form part of these young peo-
Krzywosz-Rynkiewicz, ple’s adult lives, and citizenship-education programmes need to address the
PI, and Wojciech agenda being set out by young people.
Siegien) and Warsaw
School of Social Sciences
and Humanities (PI,
Professor Anna
Zalewska and Agnieszka THE CONTEXT: DIFFERENT READINGS AND CONCEPTIONS OF
Bojanowska); (Spain)
Autonomous University ‘POLITICAL ACTIVITY’
of Barcelona (PI, Melinda
Dooly, Maria Villanueva,
There is no shortage of concerns about the decline in political participation.
Claudia Vallejo, Esther A considerable literature has developed on ‘the democratic deficit’ across the
Collados and Montserrat globe (for example Moravsci 2004; Hirschhorn 2006). There are particular con-
Oller) and University of
Cordoba (PI, Dr Carmen cerns in the European Union, where the European vote is often lower than the
Tabernero and Dr Elena national election vote (Avbelj 2005; Mitchell 2005). It is claimed that the per-
Briones Pérez) and centage of young people voting in national elections is in decline (IDEA 2006),
University Pompeu
Fabra (Dr Antoni Luna); and – even more so – in elections for the European Parliament (López Pintow
(Turkey) Istanbul and Gratschew 2004; EurActive 2009).
University (PI, Dr Nilüfer
Pembecioglu, Nadi Güler
Examining youth apathy across Europe, Forbrig points out that ‘[. . .] many
Ilkay Kanik, Burcu lament a dramatic decline in the political involvement of younger generations,
Akkay, Ece Kayrak, and decreasing levels of youth participation in elections, political parties and
Cemal Uzunoglu and
Gökçen Ardiç) and traditional social organisations are seen to provide ample evidence of this’
Eskisehir Anadolu (Forbrig 2005: 7).
University (PI, Dr Erol Responses of this nature have been reported from the four countries that
Nezih Orhon) and (UK)
London Metropolitan are the focus of this study. In Poland, Horowitz identifies ‘general concerns that
University, Institute for young people in these post-communist nations may grow up to be unsupport-
Policy Studies in
Education (PI, Professor
ive of democratic institutions or to be citizens who do not participate in politics’
Alistair Ross, Dr Kim (Horowitz 2005: 83). Oriza’s study of Spanish voting interest noted that in 1981
Allen, Sarah Minty and 33% of young people aged 15–24 professed to have a substantial interest in
Sumi Hollingworth) and
University of Exeter, politics, but by 1994 this proportion had declined to just 20% (Oriza 1996: 262):
School of Education (PI, this decline was also noted by Serrano et al. (1997).
Professor Cathie Holden Likewise, in Turkey, youth’s interest in politics is compared unfavourably
and Harriet Jones). The
project is largely reported to that shown by earlier generations. ‘Post-1980 Turkish youth are commonly
in Krzywosz-Rynkiewicz, seen as apolitical consumers of a global market [. . .] All the young people inter-
Zalewska and Ross 2010.
viewed stated that they are not really interested in politics and they do not
trust political parties and political leaders’ (Lüküslü 2005: 33, 34). These con-
cerns are paralleled in the United Kingdom. Griffin identifies the ‘widespread
concern amongst academic researchers, policymakers, youth workers, educa-
tors and elected politicians over the levels of apparent political disaffection and
apathy amongst young people [. . .] (Griffin 2005: 145).
This perceived decline in political and social participation noted above
has become of substantial concern and the subject of extensive media and
political comment (Norris 2002; Lister and Pia 2008). It is also of interest to
44
45
They do add that these activities remain minority pursuits, and that taking part
in elections remains more popular. Nevertheless, voting participation has grad-
ually declined over the past thirty years, and informal political activism has
risen sharply over the same period. European youth appear to be progressively
disenchanted with politics while exercising their political participation in ways
that differ from traditional electoral participation.
Why might this be so? The three major competing theories (the socio-
economic resources model, the rational choice theory and the social capital
theory) as to why individuals do (or do not) participate in the social arena all
appear to have limitations.
The socio-economic resources model (Verba and Nie 1972) argues that indi-
viduals with better material resources, education and time are more likely to
participate – it is the better educated and better off who vote (and stand for
election, and participate in informal political activities). But diachronic stud-
ies point out that in European societies overall educational levels and levels
of material wealth have greatly increased, while voter participation rates have
fallen (Pattie et al. 2003; 2004).
Rational choice theory suggests that participation occurs when benefits out-
weigh costs. It has been suggested that the citizen is better off not voting,
because the chance that an individual vote will have any impact on the out-
come is virtually zero (Downs 1957). The rational decision is not to participate
in any collective activities, but to freeride (Olson 1971). Yet this is not the case:
many people (still) behave ‘irrationally’ and vote; among many political sci-
entists, this has been termed the paradox of participation (Green and Shapiro
1994; Mansbridge 1990).
Social capital theory proposes that if individuals participate in social
groups – (e.g. associations) – then social capital in the form of cooperation, trust
and reciprocal behaviours develops (Putnam 1993; 2000). Higher levels of social
capital lead to higher levels of participation, which in turn lead to higher levels
of social capital. But how (and why) should this be so? One critic argued ‘Can
we imagine rates of voter participation and organized public activity sharply
improving if people heed the call to hold more picnics and songfests?’ (Skocpol
2003: 57).
Some analysts have identified what are termed ‘new social movements’
emerging from the mid-1960s onwards. Such movements – which focus on
environmental issues, feminism and human rights – have resisted incorpora-
tion into traditional political parties based on social class or trade unionism
(Pichardo 1997).
On the other hand, many in the citizenship education movement, and oth-
ers, would also aspire to educational processes that empower active citizens –
individuals who will critically engage with, and seek to affect the course of,
social events. The distinction between active and passive citizenship has been
particularly debated over the past five to six years (Ireland et al. 2006; Nelson
and Kerr 2006).
Torney-Purta et al. (2004) begin to distinguish types of participation when
they suggest that the type of engagement with political and social issues
may be related to the different agents of influence, distinguishing between
‘conventional political participation’ and ‘community participation’ such as
volunteer work, charity work and so forth. Others have noted these trends
more vigorously. In Spain, for example, Blanch (2005) describes young people’s
participation in the Galician Nunca Mais (Never Again) activism against eco-
logically disastrous oil spillages on the coastline. ‘The Nunca Mais movement
46
Similarly, Siurala (2000) tries to distinguish old and new forms of political
participation, using the terms ‘modern’ and ‘postmodern’. Thus the modern
is ‘representative participation and direct participation with all their variants,
such as NGO-based structures, co-management, youth parliaments, school
councils, youth hearings, demonstrations’, while postmodern participation is
‘various types of expressive, emotional, aesthetic, casual, virtual and digital
participation’ (Siurala 2000: 1).
In the UK, young people interviewed by Eden and Roker (2002) were in
favour of citizenship education in British schools on condition that it could
demonstrate relevance to their lives and local communities. The respondents
were not committed to political parties, and, while distrusting politicians, gen-
erally intended to vote. What they wanted discussed in schools were national
politics and voting, racism, sex education and local issues (Griffin 2005: 151).
Other studies found young people wanting discussion on domestic violence,
racism, animal rights and other environmental issues (O’Toole et al. 2003; Henn
et al. 2002).
Active citizenship is, very broadly, about doing things, while passive cit-
izenship is generally seen as related simply to status, to the act of being.
The delineation between the two is under debate (Ireland et al 2006; Nelson
and Kerr 2006), and though there is no international consensus, the model
suggested by Kennedy (2006) may be helpful. He distinguishes four forms
or levels of activity in citizenship. The first level – the level at which those
concerned with the democratic deficit would have us act – is engaging in
voting, belonging to a political party, and standing for office. The second
form of activity lies in social movements, in being involved with voluntary
activities; it is essentially conformist and ameliorative in nature, intending to
repair rather than to address causes. The third form consists of action for
social change: the individual is involved in activities that aim to change polit-
ical and social policies (ranging from letter writing and signing petitions to
working with pressure groups or participating in demonstrations and pressure
groups). Kennedy’s fourth active form is of enterprise citizenship, in which
the individual engages in such self-regulating activities as achieving financial
independence, becoming a self-directed learner, being a problem solver and
developing entrepreneurial ideas.
These distinctions are not necessarily clear-cut, and Nelson and Kerr’s anal-
ysis (2006) demonstrates strong cultural variations in what might be considered
as appropriate ‘active’ citizenship. In some countries many of the attributes
characterized as passive and concerned with accepting status are elements of
active citizenship that are to be encouraged and developed. This may depend
47
METHODS
The work we report here was part of a large study of about 2,800 young people:
700 each in Poland, Spain, Turkey and the UK, and divided between one large
urban context, and one small town or rural locality. In each, we selected four
classes (between 100 to 120 pupils) aged 11–12, 13–14 and 17–18. The field-
work was carried out in 2008–2009. Parental and pupil agreement was obtained
for those under 16 (pupil agreement alone for the older pupils). All data was
made anonymous, including the identities of the participating schools. Pupils
were asked to respond to a multi-part questionnaire that asked about a range
of related topics: their hopes and fears for the future (personal, local, and glob-
ally), with particular reference to socio-political topics (violence and conflict,
economic futures, health, tolerance and diversity); how likely it was that they
would act in particular ways in the future – by voting, for example, or by taking
part in pressure group or NGO activities.
We asked about what kinds of political activities they might engage in
when they were adult. They were offered five different kinds of activity.
Three of these related to easily understandable traditional political activities,
voting, standing for office, and joining a political party. One was specifi-
cally about non-traditional political activity, campaigning or working with a
non-governmental organization. Our fifth activity potentially covered both
traditional and non-traditional activity: ‘talking about politics with friends’.
For each of these they could indicate ‘definite’, ‘possible’, ‘not sure’ or ‘no’.
Responses were entered into an SPSS database and analysed. A chi-squared
test was used to determine levels of confidence, and all data reported here
is significant at the 95 per cent level or greater (p<0.05). The total numbers
responding varied slightly from question to question, but were between 2,302
and 2,344. Following the questionnaires, smaller groups of students were asked
to participate in focus groups to discuss their answers in more detail.
48
others do not. As has been pointed out, it should not be assumed that children
and youth are apathetic. Their lack of participation in traditional political pro-
cesses may be a way of expressing that dissatisfaction and frustration, or they
may be turning to non-traditional means of political and social engagement.
Table 1 shows that over the entire sample 82% of students were ‘definite’
or ‘possible’ future voters, 44.4% thought that they would talk about politics
with friends, 34.2% thought they might join some form of campaigning orga-
nization, 17.5% thought that they might stand for election, and 16.5% thought
they might join a political party.
Only 2.6% of all respondents said that they did not expect to do any of
these, so the great majority of these pupils at least considered that they might
participate in at least one way; and only 7.3% responded ‘unsure’ or ‘no’ to all
five options. Conversely, only 1.6% said that they expected to participate in all
of the five suggested ways.
These overall figures suggest that the great majority of these students con-
sider it possible that they will be ‘politically active’ in some way. However,
within these overall figures there is a considerable degree of variation as to who
intends to participate, depending on how participation is defined. In terms of
overall intention, it should be noted that Turkish young people showed a sig-
nificantly greater propensity to see themselves as politically active in the future.
This is seen more clearly as we analyse each political activity in turn.
Voting in elections
Looking first at the most popular intended political action, participating in elec-
tions, there is a very clear overall difference between Turkey and the UK. Turkish
students are more likely to project themselves as future voters and UK students
least likely, both by statistically significant margins.
This apparent level of political activity in the UK sample is, however, better
understood when looking at the variations in response by age. The 11-year-olds
%
Definite
and
Definite Possible Unsure No N possible
Voting in
elections 55.8 26.2 10.2 7.6 2,344 82.0
Talking about
politics with
friends 16.9 27.5 27.8 27.2 2,320 44.4
Joining a
campaign or an
NGO 11.5 22.7 34.2 31.2 2,320 34.2
Trying to be
elected 7.6 9.9 24.1 58.2 2,313 17.5
Joining a political
party 6.5 10.0 25.1 57.9 2,302 16.5
Table 1: Responses to ‘When you are an adult, which of the following things do you
think you might do?’
49
Country
Table 2: Responses to the question ‘When you’re an adult how likely is it that you
will be voting in elections?’
are much less likely to vote than those of the same age in the other countries,
and at age 17 the intention to definitely or possibly vote is between 89–91% in
all four countries. Figure 1 shows these changes in detail. Why are UK 11-year-
olds so much less likely to think that they will vote than their peers in the other
countries? And what happens between the ages of 11 and 14 that so increases
their propensity to vote?
These results showed very little variation by gender, and there were no
consistent gendered patterns by country or by age.
Trying to be elected
The second potential activity (generally far less popular) was to stand for elec-
tion. Again, the proportion of Turkish students who are either definitely or
possibly considering standing is significantly higher than in the other countries.
While voting intentions appear to increase with age, the intention to possi-
bly stand for election generally seems to decrease with students’ age. This may
reflect a possible increase in political realism linked to age, as older students
100
90
Percentage
80
Poland
70 Turkey
Spain
UK
60
Average
50
11 14 17
Age
50
Country
Table 3: Responses to the question ‘When you’re an adult how likely is it that you
will stand for election?’
Country
recognize alternative (or more obvious) ways of taking part in the political pro-
cess. Table 4 shows the data in full, and Figure 2 shows the declining numbers
who are definitely or possibly intending to stand, and the rising numbers of
those who say they do not intend to stand for election.
Males were more likely than females to consider running for office, in each
country, and in each age group (only Polish 17-year-old females were slightly
more likely to seek election than boys).
51
-60
60 -40
40 -20
20 0 20 40 60 80
11
Poland 14
17
11
14
Turkey
17
11
14
Spain
17
11
14
UK 17
11
14
Average 17
Country
Table 5: Responses to the question ‘When you’re an adult how likely is it that you
will talk with friends about politics?’
52
70
-70 60
-60 50
-50 40
-40 30
-30 20
-20 10
-10 0
11
Poland
14
17
11
Turkey 14
17
11
Spain 14
17
11
UK 14
17
11
14
Average
17
Possible Definite
Figure 3: Changes in likelihood of talking with friends about politics when adult, by
age and country.
Country
Table 6: Responses to the question ‘When you’re an adult how likely is it that you
will join a campaigning group or NGO?’
53
70
60
50
Percentage
40
30 Poland
Turkey
Spain
20
UK
Average
10
0
11 14 17
Age
Country
Table 7: Responses to the question ‘When you’re an adult how likely is it that you
will join a political party?’
54
-40
40 -20
20 0 20 40 60 80
11
Poland 14
17
11
Turkey 14
17
11
14
Spain
17
11
14
UK
17
11
14
Average 17
Country
with our SMS messages in the 11-M’ (Spanish focus group of 14 year olds).
The respondent is referring to an ‘underground’ movement, begun with the
diffusion of texts messages sent by cellphones, in which Spanish youth were
urged to demonstrate on the streets of all the major cities leading up to the
2004 elections.
DISCUSSION
These responses show a number of interesting patterns. Intention to take part
in voting seems fairly consistent, and most popular, in all countries, and the
intention to do so rises as these young people approach voting age.
Far fewer young people consider standing for election, or joining a political
party: as students get older any intentions to do so generally decline. This may
be a growing sense of realism in the case of standing for election, but in terms
of joining a political party, this may also reflect growing cynicism about these
political institutions (perhaps coupled with an increasing intention to vote).
It may also indicate a growing awareness of the potential to make social and
55
• They show a propensity to vote (at similar levels that have been common
in elections in recent years).
• Most do not intend to run for office – though a small number seem intent
on considering this, and a somewhat higher proportion in Turkey.
• A small number think that they will join a political party – about 6.5%
(4.1%, if one excludes the generally more enthusiastic Turks). But this level
matches adult levels of political party membership in Europe, which has
fallen from 15% of adults in the 1960s (Mair and van Biezen 2001) to an
average of 3.7% (Lister and Pia 2008).
CONCLUSIONS
These findings both support and challenge other studies that suggest that there
is considerable political interest amongst young people in these four countries –
though not necessarily political interest in the conventional sense of traditional
party political activity.
These young people suggest that they will behave politically in very similar
ways to current generations of adults. The majority will participate in elec-
toral activity, but party membership and standing for office will be activities
for small minorities (as they are for most adults). Taking action through cam-
paigns and campaigning organizations will be important for about a third of
these young people, and a possible activity for a further third. Approaching
half of them – 44% – will probably be involved in political discussions with
their peers; suggesting that political apathy amongst youth is chimerical.
56
Young people are being politically socialized to act in ways very similar to
adults. The various distinctions between different types of active citizenship,
described earlier, are useful in distinguishing different kinds of activity, and in
identifying the propensity or otherwise of different groups to act in one way or
another: for example, in our survey males seemed somewhat more inclined that
females to participate in ‘conventional activities’, and females to be involved in
less conventional activities. Young people have always been more involved in
direct, issue-focused political action than their elders, who are more engaged
in traditional forms of activity.
These findings support Blanch’s previously cited observations on the Mun-
cia Mais (2005). In Turkey, Lüküslü reports that, despite the affectations of
consumerism, young people still ‘emphasized that they are concerned about
the problems of the country and its future, and that they are interested in what
is going on locally and globally’ (Lüküslü 2005: 34), but see the discourses of
the political realm as old fashioned ‘ossified structures that prevent youth from
expressing itself freely’ (Lüküslü 2005: 34), thus preferring to discuss matters
in spheres they see as non-political. This is challenged by our data, which
suggests Turkish youth have a relatively high propensity to become involved.
Griffin (2005) argues that in the UK, ‘once young people in Britain are invited
to discuss politics in their own terms (thereby widening the definition of poli-
tics and political participation), then there is evidence of much higher levels of
political interest and activity’ (Griffin 2005: 148).
Our findings concur with those of Forbrig (2005), who observes, despite
the negative views of many traditional observers across Europe, there are also
‘[. . .] more optimistic voices [that] stress the changing forms of youth political
participation, away from involvement in conventional democratic institutions
and towards novel patterns of youth engagement’ (Forbrig 2005: 7).
REFERENCES
Almond, G. and Verba, S. (1965), The civic culture: political attitudes and
democracy in five nations, Boston MA: Little, Brown and Co.
Avbelj, M. (2005), ‘Can the new European Constitution remedy the EU ‘Demo-
cratic Deficit’?’ EUMAP Online journal, 3 October, http://hdl.handle.net/
1814/4166. Accessed 15 November 2009.
Blanch, D. (2005), ‘Between the traditional and the postmodern: political dis-
affection and youth participation in Galicia’, in J. Forbrig, J. (ed.), Revisiting
Youth Political participation: Challenges for Research and democratic processes in
Europe, Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing, pp. 61–70.
Downs, A. (1957), An economic theory of democracy, New York NY: Harper and
Row.
Eden, K. and Roker, D. (2002), ‘ . . . Doing something’: Young people as social
actors, Leicester: National Youth Agency.
EurActive (2009), Results of the 2009 European election, http://www.europarl.
europa.eu/ parliament/archive/elections2009/en/turnout_en.html. Accessed
28 September 2009.
Forbrig, J. (2005), ‘Democratic politics, legitimacy and youth participation’, in
J. Forbrig (ed.), Revisiting youth political participation: Challenges for research
and democratic processes in Europe, Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing,
pp. 7–18.
Green, D. P. and Shapiro, I. (1994), Pathologies of rational choice theory, New
Haven CO: Yale University Press.
57
58
SUGGESTED CITATION
Ross, A. and Dooly M. (2010), ‘Young people’s intentions about their
political activity’ Citizenship Teaching and Learning 6: 1, pp. 43–60, doi:
10.1386/ctl.6.1.43_1
CONTRIBUTOR DETAILS
Alistair Ross is currently Jean Monnet ad personam Professor of Citizen-
ship Education and Emeritus Professor at London Metropolitan University. He
directed the EU Academic Network Children’s Identity and Citizenship in Edu-
cation from 1998 to 2008, and was Director of the Institute for Policy Studies in
Education from 2000 to 2009. He has particular academic interests in children’s
social and political learning, in diversity and social equity in education. His
most recent book, A European Education: Citizenship, identities and young peo-
ple (2009) is published by Trentham. He is currently making a study of young
people’s identities in the ‘borders’ of Europe.
Melinda Dooly is currently Head of Graduate Studies for the language and
literature teaching methods department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
She is the author of various journal articles and books dealing with language
59
teacher training and citizenship education. She has been a guest teacher at uni-
versities in Europe and the USA and has participated in several international
educational projects. She is the national coordinator (Spain) of the Academic
Network Children’s Identity and Citizenship in Europe (linking over 100 uni-
versity departments in 30 countries (1998–2009). She has recently edited a book
entitled Their hopes, fears and reality: Working with children and youth for the
future (Peter Lang, 2010), based on the study discussed here.
Contact:
Alistair Ross (a.ross@londonmet.ac.uk), Institute for Policy Studies in Educa-
tion, London Metropolitan University, 166–220 Holloway Road, London N7
8DB, UK
Melinda Dooly (MelindaAnn.Dooly@uab.cat), Universitat Autónoma de
Barcelona, Facultat de Ciencies de l’Educacio, Edifici G5-108, Bellaterra
(Barcelona), E-08193, Spain
60
CARLA L. PECK
University of Alberta
LAURA A. THOMPSON
Acadia University
OTTILIA CHAREKA
St. Francis Xavier University
REVA JOSHEE
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto
ALAN SEARS
University of New Brunswick
ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
For much of Canada’s history, diversity has been a defining characteristic of the coun- citizenship education
try and has preoccupied and bedevilled policymakers. Policy and practice in Canada Canada
has moved from attempts to assimilate minority groups to fostering respect and appre- multiculturalism
ciation for diversity. We argue, however, that attention to diversity education remains diversity
superficial and limited. In this article we provide an overview of policy and practice in educational policy
61
education about and for diversity in Canada, make connections between that and pol-
icy and practice in citizenship education. We also review findings from research in the
area, and lay out possible directions for moving the field forward. Like other democ-
racies Canada has struggled to balance recognition and respect for diversity with
concerns about social cohesion and we believe Canada’s unique experience in this area
can provide valuable insights to researchers and practitioners in other jurisdictions.
INTRODUCTION
In 1837 the British colonies of Upper and Lower Canada were both torn apart
by rebellions. The following year Lord Durham (1839) was dispatched by the
new Queen Victoria to help sort out the mess and reported:
Until the mid-twentieth century, policy and practice generally followed Lord
Durham’s sentiments in seeking, as much as possible, to stamp out diversity
in favour of a single, shared (English-)‘Canadian’ identity. Since World War
II, official policy has shifted first toward openness and then toward celebra-
tion of Canada’s diversity, including recognition of minority ‘nations’ within
the Canadian state (Sears 2010).
Kymlicka posits that, over the past several decades, this trend toward
greater recognition and accommodation of diversity has been common across
virtually all the western democracies. He argues that this is true in several
respects: increased autonomy for national minorities; a move away from polices
of assimilation of immigrants toward integration; and greater recognition of
the rights of indigenous peoples. Canadian policies have largely followed these
trends and have not been particularly unique. However, ‘Canada is distinctive
in having to deal with all three forms of diversity at the same time’ and ‘in the
extent to which it has not only legislated but also constitutionalized, practices of
accommodation’ (Kymlicka 2003: 374, original emphasis).
In this article we provide an overview of policy and practice in education
about and for diversity in Canada, make connections between that and policy
and practice in citizenship education, review findings from research in the area,
and lay out possible directions for moving the field forward. Like other democ-
racies Canada has struggled to balance recognition and respect for diversity
with concerns about social cohesion and we believe Canada’s unique experi-
ence in this area can provide valuable insights to researchers and practitioners
in other jurisdictions.
62
for this aspect of pluralism in public policy’ (Johnson and Joshee 2007: 3). For
Canada this is not a particularly new phenomenon. As Kymlicka notes, ‘issues
of accommodating diversity have been central to Canada’s history’ (Kymlicka
2007: 39). Jaenen, for example, argues that certain conditions of Canada’s his-
torical development make it uniquely suited to pluralism. He posits four factors:
the English-French dualism, which has been ‘a fundamental characteristic of
Canadian society’ (Jaenen 1981: 81) since the Loyalist migration at the end
of the eighteenth century; the more diverse British, rather than exclusively
English, nature of early Anglophone Canada; the separation of church and
state (and relative religious liberty that has always existed in Canada); and the
fact that control over education was made a provincial, rather than a federal,
responsibility.
Joshee and Winton (2007) contend this diversity was recognized early on
in legal and constitutional structures. They note that ‘The Royal Proclamation
of 1763’ recognized aboriginal right to self-government and the ‘Québec Act
of 1774’ ensured that French language and culture would be maintained, even
though the territory of Québec had come under British control. The same ethos
is reflected in the constitutional arrangements that established the Canadian
state in 1867. ‘The founding compact of Canada’, they write, ‘implicitly recog-
nized the value of retaining a connection with one’s ancestral culture’ (Joshee
and Winton 2007: 22). These constitutional arrangements included a division
of powers between the federal and provincial governments largely established
to protect ‘la nation canadienne française’ (Morton 1993: 51) and prevent the
kind of assimilation advocated by Lord Durham.
Since 1867 constitutional reform has broadened the range of national
minorities accorded constitutional recognition and protection, and has also
embedded multiculturalism as an interpretive frame for the constitution (Kym-
licka and Norman 2000; Kymlicka 2003). For example, aboriginal rights, includ-
ing treaty rights, are affirmed in the ‘Constitution Act of 1982’. This act also
establishes English and French as the official languages of the province of New
Brunswick, largely to protect the place of the Acadian People who have a defi-
nite understanding of themselves as a national group within Canada. Central to
the act is The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms with a clause that states,
‘This Charter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation
and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians’ (Department of
Justice 1982).
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms also has a clause that recog-
nizes and protects Canada’s official language minorities and their educational
rights to French first-language schooling (outside Québec) and to English first-
language schooling (in Québec). While section 23 of the charter provides for
a constitutional guarantee of educational rights at the federal level, Alberta
and Ontario have also introduced provincial policy documents that outline the
role and aims of francophone education in particular. In 2001, the Alberta gov-
ernment introduced a framework for French first-language education in the
province: this specifies the importance of francophone education focusing on
community belonging and pride (Alberta Learning 2001). In 2005, the Ontario
government also implemented a policy for the province’s French-language
schools and francophone community. The Ontario policy specifically mentions
that new admission policies, to take effect in January 2010, were developed
in response to the changing composition of the province’s francophone com-
munity and the need to make French-language schools ‘more welcoming’ to
French-speaking newcomers and to newcomers who speak neither French nor
63
64
4). As Sears and his colleagues (Sears, Carke and Hughes 1999: 113) note,
this commitment to ‘the pluralist ideal’ is endemic in Canadian social studies
curricula.
An examination of curricula and standards in social studies education in
Canada reveals a clear assumed progression from knowledge of diversity,
through acceptance and respect, to justice. For most scholars and educators
in the field however, knowledge of difference is not enough: ‘justice demands
the public recognition and accommodation of diversity (Kymlicka and Opal-
ski 2001: 1). The desired end then is not only an understanding of difference,
but also willingness to adapt, to accommodate and to advocate for accommo-
dation (Joshee 2004; Varma-Joshi 2004). Kymlicka contends that diversity and
accommodation of difference is a question on the agenda of a growing number
of countries around the world. He argues, there is ‘a striking worldwide trend
regarding the diffusion and adoption of the principles and policies of multicul-
tural citizenship’ which has reached way beyond the West, to ‘even the most
remote regions of Peru, the highlands of Nepal, and the peripheries of Com-
munist China’ (Kymlicka 2004: xiii). However, Banks notes that ‘the attainment
of the balance that is needed between diversity and unity is an ongoing process
and ideal that is never fully attained’ (Kymlicka 2004: xii). A central concern
wherever cultural policy is discussed is, ‘how can we ensure that the recogni-
tion of diversity does not undermine efforts to construct or sustain common
political values, mutual trust and understanding, and solidarity across group
lines? (Kymlicka 2004: xiii).
65
English speaking children were raised with the historical myths of British
nationalism, as conveyed by adapted editions of the Irish National Reader
and authors as diverse as MacCauly and G.A. Hently. What mere Cana-
dian citizenship could compete with the claims of an empire that spanned
the known universe?
(Morton 1993: 55)
66
the curriculum: teaching moral and patriotic values was the primary focus of
‘history’ and ‘geography’. As Lévesque writes:
It is important to note that what citizens are being included in, then, is not
citizenship in the ethnic or sociological sense of belonging to a community but,
rather, they are being included in the community of those who participate, who
join in a process.
In this approach the deeper more potentially difficult aspects of difference
are largely avoided, in part because they are complex, difficult to deal with and
have the potential to generate conflict. In studies of policy and practice in sev-
eral Canadian provinces Bickmore found that schools and teachers generally
avoided difficult issues with high potential for conflict including those involving
ethnicity and identity. Instead, they focused on what she calls ‘harmony build-
ing’ and ‘individual skill building’ (Bickmore 2005a: 165), approaches rooted in
67
68
69
CONCLUSION
While western liberal-democratic forms of citizenship and civic engagement
are often traced to their presumed origins in ancient Greece, close examina-
tion shows they are very different. As Samons argues, ‘To put it simply, neither
Athenian thought nor Athenian society ever became fundamentally demo-
cratic in the modern sense with its emphasis on political rights rather than
social duties’ (Samons 2004: 11). That is not to say that there is no connection
between the two but it is to argue that democracy is a fluid concept shifting
in meaning and form across both time and contexts. One could hardly expect
the representative democracy of a modern nation state to mirror exactly that
of an ancient city state. Similarly, we should expect that the democracy of a
postmodern globalized world would look different again. A key challenge for
citizenship education in Canada (and elsewhere) is to look beyond modernist
forms to try to anticipate and shape the democracy that is yet to come.
REFERENCES
Alberta Education (2005), ‘Social Studies K–12’, http://www.education.gov.
ab.ca/k_12/curriculum/bySubject/social/sockto3.pdf. Accessed 29 August
2005.
Alberta Learning (French Language Services Branch) (2001), Affirming Fran-
cophone education – foundations and directions: A framework for French first
language education in Alberta, Edmonton, AB: Author.
Atlantic Provinces Education Foundation (1999), Foundation for the Atlantic
Canada Social Studies Curriculum, Halifax: Atlantic Provinces Education
Foundation.
Banks, J. A (2009), Foreword, in D. E. Lund and P. R. Carr (eds), Doing democ-
racy: Striving for Political literacy and social justice, New York: Peter Lang
Publishing, Inc., pp. xi–xiv.
70
Barker, C. (1999), The construction and representation of race and nation Television,
Globalization and Cultural Identities, UK: Open University Press, pp. 60–85.
Barton, K. C. and Levstik, L. S. (2004), Teaching history for the common good,
Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Battiste, M. and Semaganis, H. (2002), ‘First Thoughts on First Nations Citizen-
ship Issues in Education’, in Y. Hébert (ed.), Citizenship in Transformation in
Canada, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 93–111.
Bickmore, K. (2005a), ‘Foundations for Peacebuilding and Discursive Peace-
keeping: Infusion and Exclusion of Conflict in Canadian Public School
Curricula’, Journal of Peace Education, 2:2, pp. 161–181.
Bickmore, K. (2005b), ‘Teacher Development for Conflict Participation: Facili-
tating Learning for “Difficult Citizenship” Education’, Citizenship Teaching
and Learning, 1:2, pp. 2–16.
Bruno-Jofré, R. and Aponiuk, N. (eds), (2001), Educating Citizens for a Pluralistic
Society, Calgary: Canadian Ethnic Studies.
Bruno-Jofré, R. (2002), ‘Citizenship and Schooling in Manitoba Between the
End of the First World War and the End of the Second World War’, in Y.
Hébert (ed.), Citizenship in Transformation in Canada,Toronto: University of
Toronto Press, pp. 112–133.
Curtis, B. (1988), Building the Educational State: Canada West, 1836–1871,
London, Ontario: The Althouse Press.
Department of Justice (1982), Constitution Acts 1867–1982, http://laws.justice.
gc.ca/en/const/annex_e.html#I. Accessed 10 March 2009.
Durham, Lord (1839), Lord Durham’s Report on the Affairs of British North Amer-
ica, http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/docs/durham/
1.htm. Accessed 10 March 2009.
Granatstein, J. L. (1993), ‘The “Hard” Obligations of Citizenship: The Second
World War in Canada’, in W. Kaplan (ed.), Belonging: The Meaning and Future
of Canadian Citizenship, Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queens University
Press.
Hall, S. (2003), ‘New ethnicities’, in L. Martín Alcoff and E. Mendieta (eds),
Identities: Race, Class, Gender, and Nationality, London: Blackwell Publishing,
pp. 90–95.
Hébert, Y. (ed.) (2002), Citizenship in Transformation in Canada, Toronto: Uni-
versity of Toronto Press.
Jaenen, Cornelius J (1981), ‘Mutilated multiculturalism’, in J.D Wilson (ed.),
Canadian Education in the 1980s, Calgary: Destelig, pp. 79–96.
Jedwab, J. (2002), Immigration and the vitality of Canada’s official language com-
munities: policy, demography and identity, Ottawa, Ontario: Office of the
Commissioner of Official Languages.
Jedwab, J. (2008), Our ‘Cense’ of self: The 2006 Census saw 1.6 million ‘Cana-
dian’ Canadians return to British and French origins, Montreal: Association
for Canadian Studies, p. 12.
Johnson, L. and Joshee, R. (2007), ‘Introduction: Cross-border dialogue and
multicultural policy webs’, in R. Joshee and L. Johnson (eds), Multicultural
Education Policies in Canada and the United States, Vancouver: UBC Press,
pp. 3–13.
Joshee, R. (2004), ‘Citizenship and multicultural education in Canada: From
assimilation to social cohesion’, in J. A. Banks (ed.), Diversity and Citizen-
ship Education: Global Perspectives (first edition), San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
pp. 127–156.
71
72
73
SUGGESTED CITATION
Peck, C.L., Thompson, L.A., Chareka, O., Joshee, R., and Sears A. (2010), ‘From
getting along to democratic engagement: Moving toward deep diversity in
citizenship education’ Citizenship Teaching and Learning 6: 1, pp. 61–75, doi:
10.1386/ctl.6.1.61_1
CONTRIBUTOR DETAILS
Carla L. Peck is assistant professor of social studies education in the depart-
ment of elementary education at the University of Alberta. Her research
interests include students’ understandings of democratic concepts, diversity,
identity, citizenship and the relationship between students’ ethnic identities
and their understandings of history. She is currently principal investigator on
an SSHRC-funded research project designed to map students’ and teachers’
understandings of ethnic diversity.
Laura A. Thompson is an assistant professor of social studies and curriculum
studies at Acadia University’s School of Education. Her research interests focus
on exploring how Canadian francophone communities outside Québec inter-
sect with identity formation and notions of belonging within various public
spaces, including educational and cultural heritage institutions.
Ottilia Chareka is an assistant professor in the faculty of education at St.
Francis Xavier University. She obtained her DAUS, M.Ed. and Ph.D. from
the University of New Brunswick. Her areas of specialization are citizenship
education, multicultural education, global education, and human rights educa-
tion. She teaches quantitative and qualitative research methods in education,
programme evaluation and school data management, critical research liter-
acy in education, educational research methods and global education in the
M.Ed. program. She also teaches social studies, inclusive practices and diverse
cultures in the B.Ed. programme.
Reva Joshee is an associate professor and chair of the department of theory and
policy studies of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University
of Toronto where she teaches courses on social diversity and policy studies. Her
research examines issues of citizenship, diversity, and policy in India, Canada,
and the United States. She is co-editor (with Lauri Johnson) of Multicultural
Education Policies in Canada and the United States (2007, University of British
Columbia Press).
Alan Sears is a professor in the faculty of education at the University of New
Brunswick. His research interests include citizenship education, social stud-
ies education, history education and educational policy. He has directed a
number of national studies on the policy and practice of citizenship educa-
tion in Canada. He is currently principal investigator on an SSHRC-funded
74
75
GREGORY P. FAIRBROTHER
The Hong Kong Institute of Education
ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Despite adjustments to Hong Kong’s citizenship education since the 1990s transition citizenship education
period to Chinese sovereignty, survey research and public opinion suggest that citizen- Hong Kong
ship education, as currently practised in Hong Kong, shows considerable continuity policy instrument
with the pre-1997 period and is not achieving intended results in areas such as the curriculum
development of national identity and active citizenship among students. This article active citizenship
aims to contribute to explanations for such ineffectiveness and to determine whether national identity
there are more effective government policy measures which could improve the provi-
sion of citizenship education. Specifically, the article explores the question of whether
the Hong Kong government should mandate a compulsory, independent subject of cit-
izenship education at the secondary school level. Based on interviews with sixteen
education leaders from government bodies, education concern and advocacy groups,
teachers’ unions, citizenship education-related teachers’ associations, student asso-
ciations, political parties, and academia, it addresses more specific questions about
the intended outcomes of citizenship education, the role of government in attempt-
ing to achieve those outcomes, the strengths and weaknesses of current citizenship
education practice, suggested methods for improving upon ineffective practices, and
the possibility of (and obstacles to) mandating an independent citizenship education
subject. The article concludes that while making citizenship education compulsory
would address many concerns about its current ineffectiveness, the independent sub-
ject approach would not necessarily help to achieve improved outcomes and would
raise other substantial concerns from the education community and society at large.
77
INTRODUCTION
The goal of this article is to explore the question of whether the Hong Kong
government should mandate a compulsory, independent subject of citizenship
education for secondary schools. It does so by reporting the views of educa-
tion leaders on specific questions about the role of government in attempting
to achieve citizenship outcomes, the strengths and weaknesses of current citi-
zenship education delivery, suggested methods for improving upon ineffective
practices, and the possibility of (and obstacles to) mandating an independent
citizenship education subject. The article bases its discussion of citizenship
education upon Janoski’s definition of citizenship as ‘passive and active mem-
bership of individuals in a nation-state with certain universalistic rights and
obligations at a specified level of equality’ (Janoski 1998: 9). Along these lines,
citizenship education first covers teaching and learning about membership
in the nation state, including national identity, national history and culture,
national values and morals, and other knowledge and attitudes shared by
members. Second, citizenship education functions to arm learners with knowl-
edge of and attitudes toward citizens’ shared rights and duties, including those
of political participation.
Since 1985 the Hong Kong government has recommended that schools
convey citizenship education through one of three approaches: permeation,
whereby relevant content is incorporated into the teaching of multiple subjects
throughout the school curriculum; as an integrated subject, such as integrated
humanities or social studies; or, as an independent school subject (Morris and
Morris 2001). In support of implementation of any of these modes, the govern-
ment issued civic education guidelines in 1985 and 1996 and renewed direction
on moral and civic education in the 2002 Basic Education Curriculum Guide
(Fairbrother 2006a). The merely advisory nature of these guidelines, however,
has resulted in considerable diversity in the interpretation of the aims of citizen-
ship education, disparity among schools in attention to implementation, and
community and scholarly concern about the appropriate balance among civic,
moral, democratic, and patriotic emphases (Cheng 2004; Fairbrother 2006a;
Law and Ho 2004; Lee and Sweeting 2001; Leung and Ng 2004; Leung 2008;
Morris and Morris 2001; Tse 2007; Yuen and Byram 2007).
These concerns about the nature and implementation of citizenship educa-
tion have been compounded by research findings and community perceptions
of numerous inadequacies with regard to the citizenship knowledge and atti-
tudes of Hong Kong youth. Comparative research has found that youth are
relatively weak in knowledge of and positive attitudes toward the nation (Fair-
brother 2008), relatively politically passive and disengaged (Kennedy, Hahn
and Lee 2008), and below international means with regard to economic and
social responsibilities, positive attitudes toward the nation, and support for
women’s political rights, even as they are above international means in civic
knowledge and trust in government and the media (Lee 2003). Popular per-
ceptions of youth within the Hong Kong community have focused on the
weakness of their social morality, civic consciousness, political understanding
and interest, national pride, and numerous other social and political attitudes
(Fairbrother 2005).
Accompanying these concerns have been numerous calls in Hong Kong
society and political circles for citizenship education to be instituted as a com-
pulsory, independent subject in the secondary school curriculum (Fairbrother
2006a). In essence, these calls are for the government to shift from the policy
instruments of capacity building measures and decentralization to a mandate,
78
METHODS
The following sections report the views of sixteen education leaders on the
following questions:
79
80
schools encouraged to make use of and adapt it to the needs of their teachers
and students. It provides the direction, approach, and strategies for moral and
civic education, emphasizing both moral and civic education through a holistic,
values-based approach. This framework was revised, updated, and expanded
in 2008.
Some interviewees commended the government for providing additional
resources for citizenship education since Hong Kong’s return to Chinese
sovereignty in 1997. First, it has sponsored and organized professional develop-
ment programmes for teachers, including short-term programmes, seminars,
and workshops. Second, it has developed additional teaching and learning
resources with a regular updating of online resources for schools’ use. Third,
the Education Bureau itself has organized various citizenship-related activi-
ties for students. Particularly prominent has been the provision of resources
for national education, with study tours to Mainland China organized and
subsidized by the government.
Despite these measures, several interviewees felt that resourcing was insuf-
ficient and that the government needed to increase the level of support to
schools and teachers. As an example, there has been no teaching load reduction
for citizenship education coordinators in schools, who are left with little time to
design coherent programmes. Financial resources provided by the government
are also limited, and comprehensive training for teachers is lacking.
For other interviewees, the government’s resourcing of specific citizenship
education activities was problematic. For some, government involvement in
the provision of citizenship education was viewed as interference, because of
its conservative nature. Specific mention was made of the inadvisability of
the government’s organization and sponsorship of study tours to Mainland
China for teachers and students. Such resources should instead, according
to some interviewees, be provided directly to schools to be used at their
own discretion. A related issue was that of content, with concerns that these
tours would only highlight China’s positive achievements without touching
upon the sensitive issues of censorship, freedom of expression, and one-
party rule. Therefore, the government was advised by some to continue and
expand the current practice of funding non-governmental organizations to
develop citizenship-education teaching materials and programmes. On the
other hand, this approach was alternatively viewed by some as evidence of gov-
ernment neglect and an abdication of its leading role in citizenship education
provision.
A related policy instrument at the government’s disposal for promoting
the implementation of citizenship education is the devolution of authority
for implementation to organizations and schools. Along these lines, inter-
viewees explained that with only a few schools actually operated by the
government, most Hong Kong schools are government-subsidized but actually
operated by a variety of school sponsoring bodies, which each enjoy a relatively
high degree of autonomy in implementing certain education policies. Under
these circumstances, while the government provides the planned curriculum,
decisions on its actual implementation are devolved to schools, mediated
by their sponsoring bodies (see also Morris and Morris 2001). The result is
considerable diversity in citizenship education practice, ranging from conser-
vative to anti-establishment, with schools permitted to adapt the curriculum
framework according to the mission, vision, and tradition of their sponsoring
bodies as well as the views of school leaders and the needs of teachers and
students.
81
82
83
84
content concerned with democracy, law, and rights could be assuaged by more
content on national education and responsibility, and vice versa. Alternatively,
a good balance among different concepts and elements could be sought and
related teaching resources more evenly distributed. While some felt that citi-
zenship education should be made more relevant to students’ daily lives, others
suggested the enhanced use of patriotic rituals. Others saw improvement com-
ing more from a stronger emphasis on critical thinking, even encouraging
students to be more critical of China, with discussions of both positive and neg-
ative events in Chinese history fostering a more comprehensive understanding
of their nation among students. One interviewee concluded that citizenship
education should transcend the political divisions in society to strive to be
unbiased, balanced, critical, and factual.
Interviewees suggested several ways the government could increase its
support for citizenship education. The provision of enhanced teacher training
and the production of additional teaching resources (and funding to non-
governmental organizations to produce an even wider variety) would help to
demonstrate that the government acknowledged the importance of citizen-
ship education. Another government measure would be to issue new clear
guidelines to schools and develop a curriculum with clear targets for each
grade level to meet students’ needs and avoid repetition and overlap of cur-
ricular content. Even more broadly, it was suggested that the government
establish a task force to comprehensively review citizenship education pol-
icy, conduct consultation, and develop a revised overall plan for citizenship
education.
For some interviewees, such a plan should maintain the spirit of autonomy
granted to schools to implement citizenship education according to their needs
and strengths, a strategy again perceived as less subject to government con-
trol. Citizenship education would continue to be school-based, but would be
clearly distinguished from teaching to prepare students for public examination.
Rather than mandating an independent compulsory subject, some compulsory
components of citizenship education could be formally integrated into subjects
throughout the existing curriculum, ensuring that all students would learn basic
citizenship concepts. Such an enhanced permeation approach would help to
foster students’ interdisciplinary understanding and thinking skills, in addition
to fostering their civic consciousness.
85
also through games, field trips, project learning, dialogue, enquiry, discussion,
debate, drama, and exchange programmes. One alternative would be to at
least formalize Chinese history as an independent compulsory subject rather
than the current approach of infusing its content into the subject of integrated
humanities.
Supporters of a compulsory, independent subject expected that with the
government taking the lead in this way, other supporting features would follow.
For example, textbook publishers would publish citizenship education text-
books and teaching materials; the subject would be taught by teachers with
specialist training; and students’ achievement would be assessed, providing
extrinsic motivation for students to focus attention on learning. It was also
suggested that assessment measure not only knowledge but also take into
consideration students’ moral attitudes and behaviour.
To make such a move, and to enhance the effectiveness of citizenship edu-
cation, a number of obstacles would need to be overcome. First, if assessed,
an independent subject would need to manage Hong Kong’s examination
culture and emphasis on knowledge acquisition, memorization, and the recita-
tion of facts. Related to this would be concerns of citizenship education
amounting to ideological indoctrination, one-sided national education, value
standardization, and government intervention. Suggestions for overcoming
these obstacles included emphasizing the development of students’ critical
thinking skills and the use of a variety of pedagogies and activities. This, in
turn, would require overcoming the obstacle of a lack of qualified teachers
with specialist knowledge and able to make use of non-traditional pedagogies,
through government planning and support for citizenship-education teacher
training.
An additional obstacle would be the perennial concern about a lack of cur-
riculum space for an additional independent subject, with the time allocated
to other subjects needing to be reduced or other subjects eliminated. Related
to this would be the question of the slippery slope, with other integrated and
permeated subjects also potentially clamouring for compulsory, independent
status. This in turn raised the fundamental question of the very rationale for
mandating an independent subject, with interviewees asking what the objec-
tive criteria were for such a move and whether teachers and students would
understand the purpose of the subject. Interviewees also noted that an addi-
tional shift in education policy could be viewed with resentment and resistance
among schools, parents, and students.
Interviewees also noted that experience had shown that only a few schools
had voluntarily chosen the independent subject approach to citizenship edu-
cation, raising the issue of school autonomy in choosing citizenship education
curricular approaches. With a mandated independent subject, schools would
lose this autonomy, would have less flexibility in implementation, and would
potentially have different understandings of the subject based on their back-
grounds and sponsoring bodies. There was also a related concern about a
compulsory, independent subject going against what was seen as a worldwide
trend towards curriculum integration.
A final obstacle to mandating an independent subject would be the lack
of societal consensus over its value and content. Interviewees predicted that
under Hong Kong’s current political and social circumstances, planning for
the citizenship education curriculum would involve heated public debate and
substantial difficulties in reconciling diverse opinions. These difficulties would,
potentially, not end with the mandate: different school sponsoring bodies
86
would still understand the concept of citizenship differently and there would
be continuing societal contention over its delivery.
Overcoming these last obstacles would require concerted effort on the
part of the government. Extended consultation over the content would be
required, and the government, schools, and teachers would need to work
closely together to decide how to deliver the subject. The government would
also need to demonstrate its determination, publicly recognize and empha-
size the importance of citizenship education, and strongly encourage its
implementation.
Supporters of an independent subject were optimistic about its potential,
noting that the government had been successful in mandating the subject of
liberal studies in the recently reformed senior secondary school curriculum.
Others, however, were less hopeful, stating that the larger political environ-
ment would not permit such a move until Hong Kong had made further
progress toward democratization and rid itself of traditional values and colonial
ideology through generational change.
CONCLUSION
This article set out to answer the question of what Hong Kong’s education
policymakers and relevant interest groups view as the most appropriate and
effective form of citizenship education for Hong Kong in terms of its aims,
content, and delivery. It has specifically focused on whether the Hong Kong
government should mandate a compulsory, independent subject of citizenship
education for secondary schools. The article concludes by taking each section
above as an angle from which to view this question.
From the first angle of policy instruments at the disposal of the govern-
ment, it is clear that Hong Kong relies on capacity building and devolution
of authority to schools for implementation, rather than a mandate. The inter-
view data presented in this article first suggest that a potential shift in policy
instrument would first require the government to place citizenship education
more firmly on its policy agenda than is currently the case. With regard to the
advantages of specific instruments, McDonnell and Elmore (1987) suggest that
mandates are the instrument most likely to produce compliance with and uni-
formity of efforts toward intended goals. With regard to current policy, however,
while there appeared to be concern among some interviewees that capacity-
building measures and resources provided by the government were insufficient,
the level of resourcing was not such that implementation was significantly hin-
dered. Similarly, while devolution of implementation to schools appeared to
result in diversity in the nature and level of delivery, because of the Hong Kong
education system’s well-established tradition of autonomy, such diversity with
regard to citizenship education was, to some extent, actually valued more than
condemned.
Viewing the question from the second angle of the strengths of current citi-
zenship education practice, we can ask the question of whether a mandate of a
compulsory, independent subject would significantly enhance those strengths.
Many of the strengths identified in interviews existed regardless of the cur-
ricular approach, and school autonomy and the permeation and integrated
subject approaches were explicitly identified by some interviewees as strengths
in themselves. While some viewed a compulsory, independent approach as
a strength, it was again unclear whether, on balance, this approach would
outweigh the benefits of other approaches.
87
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The research upon which this article is based was funded by a Public Pol-
icy Research Funding Scheme project (HKIEd8001-PPR-3) of the Hong Kong
Research Grants Council. Kerry Kennedy and Leung Yan Wing provided
valuable feedback and Ng Hoi Yu provided invaluable research assistance.
88
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SUGGESTED CITATION
Fairbrother, G.P. (2010), ‘Alternative policy measures for improving citizenship
education in Hong Kong’ Citizenship Teaching and Learning 6: 1, pp. 77–90, doi:
10.1386/ctl.6.1.77_1
CONTRIBUTOR DETAILS
Gregory P. Fairbrother is associate professor in the department of social sci-
ences and associate dean (research and postgraduate studies) of the faculty of
arts and sciences at The Hong Kong Institute of Education. His primary areas
of research include citizenship education, political socialization, education pol-
icy, and student political attitudes in Hong Kong and Mainland China. His
most recent research has dealt with the politics of citizenship education pol-
icymaking and implementation in Hong Kong; the influence of schooling and
critical thinking on Hong Kong and Chinese students’ national attitudes; and
provincial-level citizenship education policy implementation in China. He is
the author of Toward Critical Patriotism: Student Resistance to Political Education
in Hong Kong and China (2003, Hong Kong University Press).
Contact:
Gregory P. Fairbrother
The Hong Kong Institute of Education
10 Lo Ping Road
Tai Po, New Territories
Hong Kong
E-mail: gfairbro@ied.edu.hk
90
ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Used to express the international aspirations of Universities Scotland, the idea of global citizenship
the good global neighbour is reflected in the 2005 ‘Cooperation Agreement’ between good neighbour
Scotland and Malawi and represents a challenging metaphor for global citizenship. partiality
We develop a critical but sympathetic account of the idea of the good global neigh- globalism
bour and its uptake in Scotland. The notion of the global neighbour is identified as fences
a form of qualified moral partiality, appropriate to the shifting understandings of borders
geographical borders occasioned by globalization. In this article, we highlight that Scotland-Malawi
this qualified partiality is reflected in Scottish policy, and its historical basis is also partnership
described. Finally, in considering a potential postcolonial criticism of this deployment
of the idea of the good global neighbour, we reflect on implications for higher education
policy in Scotland and its implicit assumptions about global citizenship.
91
1 The signing of the 2005 (Scottish Government 2005a) to work together in a civic coalition for their
Cooperation mutual benefit. Jack McConnell, then First Minister of Scotland, declared that
Agreement followed
the launch, in 2004, of the agreement ‘intertwines our small countries to a shared future together’.
the Scotland Malawi In doing so McConnell pointed to the duty of elected politicians as ‘citizens
Partnership (see
http://www.scotland-
of the world’ to be ‘good neighbours’, playing their part in addressing global
malawipartnership.org/) challenges (Scottish Government 2005b: 8).
which coordinates The notion of the global neighbour indicates a shift from long entrenched
and provides services
to a number of assumptions about relations between citizens – from fellow citizens within the
organizations and domestic confines of a sovereign nation state to a much wider, global frame.
individuals involved in A global perspective is now widely regarded as a necessary feature of citi-
initiatives with
Malawians, in close zenship education (Dower 2003; Osler and Starkey 2005). Under globalized
collaboration with the conditions, expansive conceptions of citizenship of the kind espoused in the
Scottish government.
We take the terms of
Scotland-Malawi agreement are now commonly depicted in national policies
the 2005 agreement as on education and on international development, in which assumptions about
a civic vision for closer associations between national citizens and those of other sovereign
Scotland’s partnership
with Malawi. states are explicitly or implicitly present. Yet, having acknowledged this shift in
our conception of citizenship, the idea of the global neighbour demands closer
scrutiny, given the common use of the term ‘neighbour’ to refer to someone
living close by, and of the term ‘neighbourhood’ as the area in which we live.
And what is it to be a good neighbour to those not physically proximate, espe-
cially as the term ‘neighbour’ usually connotes physical proximity but can also
suggest moral distance?
The metaphor of the good global neighbour is a complex if not puzzling
one. In the critical conceptual exploration that follows we will largely support
the broad assumptions underpinning the idea of the good global neighbour as
expressed in Scottish government policy, while raising and addressing some
potential issues that need to be addressed in developing a defensible under-
standing of the concept. In this discussion we begin with an account of the
Scotland-Malawi agreement and the aims and assumptions declared to under-
pin that partnership. We then explore the idea of the global neighbour, noting
how its emergence indicates a shift in international ethics from those of the
bounded Westphalian state to the more nuanced forms of partiality created by
globalization. In concluding with an assessment of how Scottish universities
appear to be pursuing the objective of being good global neighbours, we will
consider the potential objection that the good global neighbour is merely the
expression of either an ethically suspect politics of benevolence or competi-
tive self-interest. Although this discussion takes Scotland as its example, as the
professional context in which the authors are positioned, our intention is to
raise and address challenges of global citizenship likely to be relevant to similar
contexts and transnational initiatives.
92
not those in close spatial proximity (Edinburgh and Lilongwe are some 8482 2 In 2008, the Malawi
kilometres from each other), but are linked instead by a shared history that ‘Millennium
Development Goals
began with the missionary work of David Livingstone; thus we are told that for Report’ is rather more
‘150 years Scots have worked with the people of Malawi, helping them develop optimistic, suggesting
some of the MDG
basic education and health systems’ (Scottish Government: Scotland’s Links targets – eradicating
with Malawi, n.d.). extreme poverty and
Notwithstanding these commonalities, there are striking inequalities hunger, achieving
universal primary
between these two countries. The Scottish Government’s ‘Malawi Economic education, reducing
Brief’ notes that ‘Malawi is one of the ten poorest countries in the world with child mortality,
an income per person of around $160 per year: 170 times less than the aver- combating HIV/AIDS,
malaria and other
age Scot’s income’ (2005c: 8). Scotland and Malawi are comparatively small diseases, ensuring
countries, but with a population more than double that of Scotland, Malawi’s environmental
sustainability and
economy is only a little over 1% of the size of Scotland’s. Further compar- developing a global
isons point to significant differences with, for instance, the number of Malawian partnership for
HIV/AIDS orphans approximating the population of Edinburgh, life expectancy development – are on
track and all goals are
half of that of the average Scot, children under five 27 times more likely to die likely to be met with
than those in Scotland, one qualified teacher for every 95 pupils compared to the exception of
one for every 14.9 pupils in Scotland, and some 60% of the population living universal primary
education, which is
below the poverty line in Malawi. Currently Malawi ranks 160 out of 182 coun- projected to be only
tries on the United Nation’s (2009) human development index with the United ‘potentially feasible’.
Kingdom ranking at 21. In 2005, when the Scotland-Malawi agreement was
signed, the World Bank suggested that Malawi was unlikely to reach any of the
MDGs by 2015 apart from primary school enrolment.2
Malawi’s aspiration to fulfil such development goals indicates challenges
for the exercise of citizenship, whether understood in terms of the role that
education plays as both a citizen right and in promoting opportunities for its
exercise, or in relation to achieving those levels of health and material prosper-
ity that enable the full exercise of citizen rights. That Scotland’s citizens, while
facing their own collective problems as an unequal post-industrial society, do
not have to aspire to a similar set of development goals, sums up both the
inequalities between these two countries and the conditions of global injustice
in which their friendship is enacted. Alexander McCall Smith, author and donor
to the Malawi appeal, starkly acknowledges this: ‘Scotland and Malawi are old
friends. We are rich; they are not’ (McCall Smith 2005: 1). Such inequalities
between the partners could make for an unequal if not patronising relationship,
a risk to which we return later.
Against this backdrop, in the Scotland-Malawi agreement there is much
emphasis on principles of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit. The agree-
ment refers to the relationship between the two countries as a reciprocal
partnership based upon increased collaboration, sharing experiences and skills,
recognition of the needs of the two countries, and their long-standing friend-
ship. The emphasis on mutuality is notable, expressed in references to a
reciprocal partnership in which mutual needs are recognized as the cooper-
ating partners’ collaboration enables them to learn from each other, helping,
supporting, exchanging, sharing, linking and twinning. The Scottish govern-
ment described its friendship and partnership with Malawi as not only ‘unique
and historic’; the agreement between the two countries was ‘for the long
term . . . signed in a spirit of tolerance, solidarity and respect’. For McConnell
the partnership would not only benefit Malawi, for the relationship would
‘make Scotland a better place too’ (Scottish Government 2005b: 8).
Following the transition to SNP leadership in 2007 the agreement remains
intact, with the government committed ‘to developing the special relationship
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96
(Scottish Government 2005a). Having made sense of the idea of Scotland as a 3 McKenzie points to ‘the
greatest paradox of
global neighbour to Malawi, we now turn our attention to a consideration of all’, that the British
the basis for such neighbourly partiality. Empire, far from being
a means of creating a
common British
national identity,
made it possible for
SCOTLAND AND MALAWI AS GLOBAL NEIGHBOURS nations like Scotland
to foster their own
The ‘long history of collaboration’ referred to in their 2005 Cooperation Agree- ethnic identity:
ment alludes to a complex association between Scotland and Malawi that defies ‘Perhaps the Empire
was more notable in
simplistic analysis and is imbricated in both Scotland’s colonial past and its con- preserving a plurality
temporary aspirations to a social democratic identity as a ‘responsible nation’ of British identities
(Scottish Government 2009: 26). While the agreement traces Scotland’s asso- than in welding
together a common
ciation with Malawi to David Livingstone, it is important to note that there is imperial tradition’
more to their history than friendship and collaboration and it also defies sim- (McKenzie 1998: 230).
plistic treatment as merely a history of colonialism, exploitation and oppression.
Scotland’s relationship with Malawi began with ‘David Livingstone’s appropri-
ation of East and Central Africa for Scotland’ in a role that cast him as a hero of
the British Empire (McKenzie 1998: 222). Scottish missionaries played a central
part in drawing the indigenous population of what was to become Malawi into
the British Empire and the colonial economy.
Yet the Scots missionaries who followed Livingstone played an ambigu-
ous role, in bringing the native population into the empire, in generating local
leadership for the independence struggle, and in their relationship with the
Malawian state after independence. Between the 1891 declaration of a British
protectorate over Malawi and the eventual emergence (in the 1990s) of critical
opposition from churches in Malawi to Hastings Banda’s authoritarian rule, ‘the
churches have often provided the most effective civil opposition to the extremes
of government. In the early colonial period this opposition came most actively
from the Scottish missionaries. . .’ (Thompson 2005: 575).
Although Scottish missionaries played a part in the British colonization of
Malawi, subsequently, from the early days of the Protectorate, the missionar-
ies came to be seen as siding with the natives against the administration and
voicing concerns about relations between European settlers and the indigenous
population (for example, opposing the imposition of a hut tax and the system
of forced labour, encouraging Africans in ideas above their station (Thompson
2005)). This was a history of opposition from missionary and local Christians
to unjust policies. Relationships with the authorities and white settlers were
sometimes tense, with missionaries perceived as siding with the Africans and
against European interests. Scottish mission schools were the pre-eminent
providers of education for the emerging African elite, some of them as ministers
of the local Presbyterian Church.
At the same time Scotland’s historical relationship with Malawi played its
part in the development of Scottish identity. These two small countries did
become associated through Scotland’s role in the creation of the British Empire
and so the partition of Africa by the major European powers. Scots were indeed
influential in all the colonies (McKenzie 1998), as explorers, soldiers, ministers,
traders, administrators, teachers, doctors and scientists. Glasgow and Dundee
were imperial cities, building the empire and profiting from it. Yet Scotland’s
role in this empire must be read too, in the context of the historical background
to her reciprocal partnership with Malawi, as a facet of her continuing quest
for a political identity,3 and in the geo-political context of devolution in which
sovereign borders are more fluid, defined by an expanded set of neighbourly
97
4 Jefferess is strongly relationships that do not depend on referencing England as the significant,
critical of the proximate other.
examples of ‘global
citizenship’ he cites, But, in the twenty-first century, postcolonial and post-devolution context,
defending instead a there are now further questions to ask about the ‘good’ element in the idea
form of cosmopolitan of the good global neighbour. Having made some sense of the idea of moral
citizenship. We
acknowledge this partiality to a non-proximate but known neighbour associated with Scotland
issue, but do not through a history that has complex significance for both parties, what does it
engage with the
distinction in this
take, to be good? Can a history of imperialism and colonialism be transcended?
article. For our We attempt to address this big question by turning our attention in conclusion
purposes here, we towards the example of higher education, in relation to implicit conceptions of
treat global and
cosmopolitan as citizenship in public policy.
interchangeable.
98
99
100
higher-education sector helps ‘to further countries’ ability to build and increase 5 Whilst our own university
capacity by transferring skills, knowledge and expertise as tools for academics makes much of its
improving position in
and students alike’(Universities Scotland 2008a) in its work with over half of national and
the world’s nations. Additionally, universities delivered a third of all projects international league
from the Scottish government’s International Development Fund in 2007. Such tables, its 2006–2010
Learning and Teaching
activity may well go some way to establishing a more neighbourly, less one- strategy (University of
sided economic relationship between Scotland and its global neighbours, but Glasgow 2009) is focused
as much on providing an
the rhetoric of revenue generation is predominant. Even when diversity is internationally relevant
alluded to, it tends to be expressed with a competitive edge. A Universities learning experience to
Scotland report on ‘Wellbeing Scotland’ highlighted the contribution of ‘the our students by providing
them with learning
diversity of nationalities within Scotland’s student population’ with its 15.6 per opportunities abroad, by
cent of Scotland’s students of non-UK domicile giving Scotland ‘a greater pro- ensuring diversity of the
portion of international students than anywhere else in the UK’ (Universities student and staff
populations, by
Scotland 2007a: 7).5 developing an
We have discussed elsewhere (Enslin and Hedge 2008) the implications for internationally relevant
curriculum, and through
global justice of the neo-liberal imperatives that drive the ‘internationaliza- engagement and mutual
tion’ of UK universities and we recognize the fiscal pressures that impel their development with
internationalization strategies to set so much store by the contribution of inter- strategic partners around
the world as it is on
national fees to their prosperity. On the evidence considered here imperatives inward recruitment.
to compete threaten to undermine Scottish universities’ aspiration to be good Noteworthy, here, is the
global neighbours. We question the extent to which HEIs in Scotland collec- university’s aspiration to
‘provide graduates
tively adopt an interpretation of the ‘good global neighbour’ that accords with equipped for global
the Scotland-Malawi agreement’s sensitivity to Jefferess’ cautionary criteria. In citizenship’. So, too, that
strategy seeks to
sum, we find an emphasis on national interests that sits uncomfortably with the ‘increase the university’s
post-Westphalian ethic considered earlier as a feature of global neighbourli- reach and standing in
ness. Furthermore, we fear an interpretation of the value of diversity tied too learning and teaching
internationally, and
narrowly to this preoccupation with national and institutional economic com- develop the university as
petitiveness. These factors prompt doubt about the consequent extent to which a culturally diverse
our HEIs can be genuinely open to new ideas of the kind likely to result from learning community’.
The fiscal continues to
pursuing the meaning of ‘good global neighbour’ (beyond its most immedi- drive but is explicitly
ate neo-liberal appeal). Having said this, we hasten to note that many of the supplemented, at
institutional level, by
Scotland-Malawi partnership’s projects are based in Scottish universities, as concerns for global
well as other sectors in Scottish civil society. Nor do we doubt that diversity citizenship and attention
policies and innovative curriculum development in individual HEIs promote to ways in which the
diversity occasioned by
elements of good global neighbourliness of the types raised here. internationalization
It is in regard to Jefferess’ most challenging criterion – self-awareness – that might benefit home
our gravest concerns occur. For a more reflective understanding of attunement students.
to the demands of being a good global neighbour, and indeed of educating 6 The authors
acknowledge the
citizens about its meaning, would surely temper Universities Scotland’s cele- comments received
bration of the sector’s global competitiveness; given how much this rests on when an earlier
income from international students, many from countries facing development version of this article
was presented at the
challenges similar to Malawi’s, in an unjust global system whose rules have 16th International
been fixed by rich nations to ensure their own continuing competitiveness. Of Conference on Learning,
all institutions we would look to universities for deep and difficult reflection on Barcelona, 1–4 July
2009.
the very idea of what it is to be a good global neighbour, to recognize the oppor-
tunities to ‘learn more about ourselves. . .looking at ourselves in the lenses of
the other’ (Nussbaum 1996: 11). As well as seeking the views of Malawians
on their partnership with Scotland, this could start with Paul Standish’s sug-
gestion that the otherness of the neighbour might usefully be conceptualized
by acknowledging our own strangeness (Standish 2007). In this way the idea
of the good global neighbour is ultimately an educational issue that prompts
radical reflection on what it means to be a global citizen.6
101
There is much scope for taking up the idea of the good global neigh-
bour in citizenship education. Scotland’s vision of itself as a responsible nation
implies an approach to citizenship education that loosens, but need by no
means eliminate, national domestic commitments to include others beyond
traditional territorial boundaries. Yet its partiality to Malawi as a chosen partner
addresses potential objections to education for global citizenship by interpret-
ing it in terms of modified partiality instead of an impractical globalism that
demands that young people take on a potentially daunting responsibility for all
of humanity.
Apart from suggesting an obvious place for such approaches to citizen-
ship education as twinning schools and exchanges, there are wider curricular
implications, pointing to the importance of political, economic and cultural
geography as well as the history of colonialism to foster understanding of the
context of such reciprocal relationships. This approach to citizenship education
would, however, not sit easily with an ethos of education for the global com-
petitiveness of the domestic economy. Given the inequalities between Scotland
and Malawi noted at the outset, Jefferess’ criteria have radical implications
for ensuring citizenship education in Scotland that avoids the pitfalls of a
neo-colonialist politics of benevolence. Besides the crucial demands of a com-
mitment to diversity, self-awareness and openness to new ideas, if reciprocity
is genuinely pursued it would require equalization of opportunities for youth in
both countries to access citizenship education. Reciprocity that extends beyond
new citizen identities and ethics prompts us to ask if equality of provision is not
also essential.
REFERENCES
Dower, N. (2003), An Introduction to Global Citizenship, Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press.
Enslin, P. and Hedge, N. (2008), ‘International students, export earnings and
the demands of global justice’, Ethics and Education, 3: 2, pp. 107–119.
Forrest, R. (2009), ‘Who cares about neighbourhoods?’ International Social
Science Journal, 59: 191, pp. 129–141.
Fraser, N. (2008), Scales of Justice: Re-imagining Political Space in a Globalizing
World, New York: Columbia University Press.
Friedman, M. (1993), What Are Friends For? New York: Cornell University Press.
Jefferess, D. (2008), ‘Global citizenship and the cultural politics of benevolence’,
Critical Literacy: Theories and Practices, 2: 1, pp. 27–36.
Malawi Government (2008), Malawi Millennium Development Goals Report,
Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, http://www.undp.org.
mw/images/publications_and_reports/mdgs/Millennium_Development_
Goals_2008.pdf. Accessed 7 December 2009.
McCall Smith, A. (2005), ‘Scotland and Malawi – Building Hope for the Future’,
Scottish Government News Archive, 1 November, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/
News/News-Extras/malawi. Accessed December 7 2009.
McKenzie, J. M. (1998), ‘Empire and National Identities the Case of
Scotland’, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Sixth Series: 8,
pp. 215–231.
McLuhan, M. [and Fiore, Q.] (1967), The Medium is the Massage, New York:
Bantam.
Moellendorf, D. (2002), Cosmopolitan Justice, Boulder: Westview Press.
102
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SUGGESTED CITATION
Enslin, P. and Hedge, N. (2010), ‘A good global neighbour: Scotland, Malawi
and global citizenship’ Citizenship Teaching and Learning 6: 1, pp. 91–105, doi:
10.1386/ctl.6.1.91_1
CONTRIBUTOR DETAILS
Penny Enslin is Chair of Education at the University of Glasgow and Emer-
itus Professor at the School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg. Her research interests are; education for democratic citizenship;
gender and education; liberalism; higher education; deliberative democracy;
cosmopolitanism; peace education; social justice.
Nicki Hedge is the Director of Learning Innovation in the Faculty of Educa-
tion, University of Glasgow. She is responsible for courses in advanced research
methods at doctoral level and teaches mainly on the Doctorate in Education
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BOOK REVIEWS
Books relevant to the scope of the journal are welcome for review at any time.
Please send one copy of the book you would like to be reviewed to the reviews
editor Professor Mitsuharu Mizuyama at the following address:
If you are interested in becoming a reviewer for Citizenship Teaching and Learn-
ing, please contact Mitsuharu Mizuyama by e-mail: mizuyama@kyokyo-u.ac.jp
107
Contact: Liz.West@cumbria.ac.uk
108
This is an important book for many reasons. First, the book represents the prod-
uct of a long period of collaborative research undertaken by authors, Judith
Gill and her late colleague Dr Sue Howard, and provides a lasting testament
to their view that educational researchers must rigorously listen to and take
into account the voices and experiences of children. Together they examine the
ways in which children think and speak about their world, and provide rich
insights into questions of citizenship through their data analysis (and their dis-
cussions in relation to existing related theories). They also add considerably to
our theoretical understanding of how children come to a sense of belonging in
their community of nation, family, classroom and school. Second, as Professor
Cedric Cullingford writes in the foreword to the book, the research ‘pays due
regard to the ideas of children and the influences on them’ (2009: vii) and pro-
vides powerful insights into how ‘children understand the concept “otherness”,
of the clashes between people and the assertiveness of the self against what is
defined as different in other people’ (2009: ix). Third, issues of power, iden-
tity and citizenship in Australia have been under-researched from Australian
young people’s perspectives, yet the ideas and questions explored also have
universal relevance, particularly in a time when values and education for active
and informed citizenship are receiving increased attention across the world, as
core elements of school education.
The authors agree that while the fundamental aim of the book is to identify
and describe aspects of children’s thinking as they grapple with their develop-
ing sense of being in the world, and how they feel about their own country,
the findings from their research provide implications for citizenship education.
It is made clear that children learn about society through the structures of the
school, they learn about power through observations of teachers and principals
in hierarchical positions, and they learn about rules, rights and responsibilities.
They also learn through their peers. Cullingford notes that in giving children a
voice, the authors ‘provide a liberating experience that bolsters their resilience
but, importantly, it also uncovers the fact that children already have a strong
sense of reality’ (2009: x).
Knowing our place also provides interesting analyses of the open and the
hidden experiences, and the unofficial and personal experiences of schooling
for children, where real notions of citizenship are developed. In the chapters,
selected experiences from data drawn from over 400 young people in South
Australia present the children as ‘knowers’. The authors see the children ‘not
[as] empty vessels waiting to be filled with the relevant facts, but as young
people actively engage in constructing their understanding of how their society
works’ (2009: 3). The insights are a joy to read, and the reader is easily engaged
in the children’s views and the authors’ analyses. For example, in Chapter 1
they describe how children’s constructions of power, politics and democratic
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citizenship are like the impact of a pebble thrown into a pond, which creates
ever increasing concentric circles as the children develop their perceptions and
understanding. It is fascinating to see (in the early chapters) how much can be
learned from two 5 year-olds, and throughout the book, through so many other
voices.
Other chapters raise questions about the importance of schools providing
opportunities for young people to explore what it means to be Australian, and
their own identity, but also to look beyond the nation from an early age, and to
be given opportunities to ‘think globally’ as citizens of the world.
This book should be widely read in the educational community by teach-
ers, teacher educators and policymakers, and also by parents. The findings in
Chapter 4 show that schools can function as a bridge between what is learned
in the home and the wider community. In Chapter 5, an interesting discus-
sion is provided about the critical importance of place and space in children’s
constructions of the world. For educators, one finding is that there should be
further development of school curriculum related to knowledge of society and
culture. This will enable children to develop their own views on social issues,
and to empower them to develop better understanding of Australia as a socio-
political entity with a past and a future, in an increasingly globalizing world.
Chapter 9 notes that children relish the opportunity to engage in discussion
of real ideas. In the final chapter, the authors make the case for continuing
research in the adolescent years in issues of power, identity, community and
citizenship. This book provides powerful insights that add to our knowledge
about how children learn, what they know, and how much children can tell us
about their learning as young citizens.
Contact: Libby.Tudball@Education.monash.edu.au
110
REFERENCE
Rancière, J. (2004), ‘Who Is the Subject of the Rights of Man?’ The South Atlantic
Quarterly, 103: 2/3.
Contact: skodama.p.u-tokyo.ac.jp
This is an extremely good book that will be of interest and value to all those
who have a professional and/or academic interest in citizenship education. It
is well organized, fluently written, based on cogent incisive arguments with
supporting evidence and sensible, practical recommendations that aim at the
achievement of a better democracy. The authors are well-respected figures. It is
the best book I have read for quite some time: it is essential reading.
What is the central argument? ‘The premise of this book is that democ-
racy is in trouble and that the Internet possesses vulnerable potential to
improve public communication’ (2009: 166). The authors suggest that the
seeming disenchantment of citizens with the processes and institutions of the
democratic state need to be recognized and action should be taken. In a context
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in which relationships between politicians and citizens are in flux and polit-
ical communication is currently weak, digital media, the authors argue, have
the potential to improve public communications and enrich democracy. The
Internet is seen as ‘an empty space of power which is both vulnerable to state-
centric (and, for that matter corporate) strategies and open to occupation by
citizens who have few other spaces available for them to express themselves in
constructive democratic ways’ (2009: 9).
Coleman and Blumler are not unaware of the challenges that any attempt
to promote deliberation will face. There are potential problems, both funda-
mentally, with deliberation as a form of political engagement, and in relation to
the process of facilitating deliberation through the use of new technologies. In
relation to deliberation itself, Coleman and Blumler are not starry-eyed ideal-
ists. They recognize the arguments that highlight the difficulties of democratic
engagement: the numbers of citizens in any modern polity are large and hard
to reach; individuals may not always be able to deal with complex problems;
outcomes will not satisfy all, and so on. In this situation it seems risky to take
political involvement and engagement seriously (as opposed to continuing to
use the rhetoric of democracy in order to merely continue with the exercise of
power by elites in representative democracy). In the face of these and other
arguments, the authors declare that ‘we are sceptical about the claims and
demands of deliberative democracy. We are happy to settle for a more deliber-
ative democracy’ (2009: 38). This is an attractively realistic position, from which
they explain that they wish to encourage and take seriously forms of public talk.
They feel that governments should operate on the basis that there is room for
discussion to feed into policy formation, legislation, policy scrutiny and post-
legislative review.
They also recognize that new technologies do not offer a panacea. They
know that potentially new political processes that might be associated with
engagement through new technologies could simply be absorbed into exist-
ing hierarchical environments. Perhaps there is little that is, in itself, new in
supposedly ‘new’ technologies (although the scale of involvement and the pro-
cesses that allow it may, if things go well, not have been seen before). It is
possible that new technologies are still more available to those who occupy
privileged positions in society and even if computers were more evenly dis-
tributed than they are now it would still be those who already have political
skills who would make most use of them. It might become an initiative that is
more libertarian rather than liberal. But all of this is directly or indirectly rec-
ognized and the argument for the ‘vulnerable potential’ of the Internet to be
recognized by innovative policy action is very attractive.
In order to achieve their goals the authors suggest that ‘a key aim of this
book is to argue for an institutional innovation that could nurture critical citi-
zenship and radical energy, while at the same time opening up representative
governance to a new respect for public discourse and deliberation’ (2009: 3).
This initiative turns out to be an online civic commons that they have argued
for in previous publications. The proposal is here outlined and developed, in
part, by reference to recently gathered empirical data and also by responses to
those who have commented upon their earlier positions. Such an online civic
commons would allow for several key shifts. They want virtual co-presence
(between politicians and citizens and between citizens), networking across dif-
ferent contexts, and improved dialogue in which people explain their own
positions. This is to be a finely balanced initiative: an online community that
is publicly funded but politically independent, radically transformative but not
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Contact: id5@york.ac.uk
Walter Parker’s edited book offers a series of essays on some of the most press-
ing current issues in social studies. His stated purpose for the book is to assist
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The book’s 23 chapters are organized within five thematic sections. Section one
includes five chapters that focus on the purpose of social studies. First, William
Stanley explores the issue of whether social studies educators should transmit
(preserve) the social order or transform it through criticism. Second, Ronald
Evans provides a useful historical overview of the American ‘social studies wars’
from the 1916 Report of the Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Edu-
cation to the ‘revival’ of history in the curriculum during the 1980s. Next, Keith
Barton and Linda Levstik wrestle with the ongoing question of why some
teachers engage in historical interpretation with their students, while others
expect their students to reproduce historical information. In the fourth chapter,
S. G. Grant describes how American teachers are responding to high-stakes
testing mandates. Finally, Bruce King, Fred Newmann, and Dana Carmichael
explore the implications of authentic intellectual work for knowledge construc-
tion as well as for the research and policy arenas, and they provide examples of
what AIW might look like in students’ academic work.
Section two, ‘Perspective Matters,’ comprises four chapters: essential prin-
ciples of education for diversity by James Banks and seven co-authors (who
are all members of the Multicultural Education Consensus Panel); culturally
responsive instruction by Kathryn Au; the status of gays and lesbians in the
social studies curriculum by Stephen Thornton; and the relationships between
social identity (e.g. race, gender) and learning national history by Terrie Epstein
and Jessica Schiller.
The chapters in Section three delve into current issues within specific social
disciplines. Sam Wineburg and his co-authors discuss their research on the
influence of popular culture – specifically, the influence of the film Forrest
Gump – on students’ historical understanding, especially with regard to both
collective memory and collective occlusion. Bruce Vansledright addresses the
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questions of what it means to think historically and how one teaches histori-
cal thinking. Within the field of geography education, Sarah Bednarz, Gillian
Acheson, and Robert Bednarz examine ‘best practices’ that teachers can use
to help develop students’ map skills and spatial- thinking abilities – in other
words, their ‘carto-literacy’. Jere Brophy and Janet Alleman’s chapter on the
teaching of cultural universals – e.g. shelter, clothing, food etc.– in the early
grades argues that children can systematically build their knowledge of how our
social system works and enhance their decision-making abilities. Joseph Kahne
and Ellen Middaugh offer a model of a high quality civic education curricu-
lum and discuss how it can be made accessible to all students. Finally, Simone
Schweber tackles the difficult topic of ‘Holocaust fatigue’ in today’s schools
and offers suggestions for teaching the Holocaust in a way that generates deep
understandings of the subject matter.
In ‘Global Matters,’ the fourth section, Merry Merryfield and Masataka
Kasai explore how teachers are responding to globalization; Margaret Smith
Crocco uses the case of the novel Shabanu to show how literature can be used
to teach about Muslim women; Ross Dunn describes competing and conflict-
ing models of teaching world history; and Carole Hahn reports on her research
on teaching civic engagement in Denmark, Germany, the US, the Netherlands,
and England.
The final section, appropriately named ‘Puzzles’, explores such questions
as whether discussion in social studies is worth the trouble (Diana Hess), what
constrains meaningful social studies teaching (Catherine Cornbleth), what con-
nection exists between curriculum and instruction (Avner Segall), and whether
tolerance can be taught (Patricia Avery).
Parker concludes by weaving together the myriad strands of the book into
a compelling model for ‘a proper curriculum for democracy’ that ‘requires the
study and practice of democracy’ (2010: 258). He identifies the key resources
social studies educators need and indeed already have, as well as the three
actions that he considers key to achieving this goal. In precise, elegant lan-
guage, he makes the case for orienting the social studies curriculum toward the
cultivation of ‘enlightened political engagement’. Social studies today: Research
and practice is a landmark contribution to the field as well as essential reading
for policymakers, scholars, and practitioners alike.
Contact: yeager.proteachprof@gmail.com
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