Session Information
07 SES 06 B, Poster Session
Poster Session
Contribution
My poster demonstration intends to explore the topic of citizenship education. I will study the scenes where education for an active citizenship is realized, and also the peculiar features that characterize the member states.
My research questions are the following:
What does the EU mean by citizenship education, how does this concept appear in documents?
Citizenship education = “whole school” project?
What is democratic citizenship education like in the member states?
How can Hoskins’ active citizenship composite indicator be presented in Europe?
In my poster I point out that citizenship education has been defined as part of citizenship skills belonging to one of the eight key skills areas created to improve the competitiveness of the EU. The renewed attitude of active citizenship emphasizes that people should actively take part in the processes forming their community; moreover, that human rights can only be truly accomplished through responsibility and active participation. The concept of national citizenship becomes more flexible in order to accommodate European citizenship. I describe in detail how some supranational organizations (European Parliament, European Council, European Committee) define the concept, process, and significance of active, democratic citizenship education and intercultural education.
The role of a citizen does not only consist of knowledge that is to be conveyed in classroom lessons. It is also about attitudes, for the practice of which everyday school life and its environment need to be suitable, since respect for democratic values, democratic participation and social justice can best be acquired in practice. This is why citizenship education is considered as a “whole school” project, meaning it does not take place within the framework of a classroom lesson but through the everyday life of the school.
When studying the school as the most important scene for conveying citizenship knowledge the question arises whether it can and must be taught. When talking about citizenship education it is probably more useful to apply the concept of moral education, as the development of citizenship role is not only performed at schools. The scenes where citizenship roles are practiced are the family, school, workplaces and local areas.
Citizenship role is rooted in a domestic environment, the first experience children gain about community comes from within the family (Dynesson and Gross’ 6-step individual development theory), then the roles of the kindergarten and the school are also important in this process.
NGOs also play an important role in the promotion of the pedagogy of sustainability, however, initiatives outside and inside schools are just as significant. Citizenship and skills education offers several alternative programs, which can be grouped into three bigger categories as regards their sources. First, there are programs containing central extracurricular teaching materials. The second source of the programs comes from individual school practices, which can be spread to other schools as good practice. Third, there are programs by foundations with the aim of promoting active democratic citizenship participation.
The interpretation of citizenship role development points out that no one is born a citizen, social intercourse and the role of a citizen are rooted in the family, then this role is continuously formed by the ever widening environment (school, other peer and work groups).
It is interesting to see how these features can be measured. I deal with Hoskins’ citizenship composite indicator in detail, based on the results of which as regards citizenship activity, Europe is divided by an imaginary diagonal line. The northern and western states are more active with higher index values, while the southern and eastern states are less active. Other intriguing connections can be revealed by these indicators, in my poster I will talk about them as well.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
• Council For Cultural Co-Operation (CDCC) (2000): Education for Democratic Citizenship: A Lifelong Learning Perspective • Council of Europe (2010): Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education. • European Parliament and Council of Europe (2006): Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning • Gáti, Annamária (2010): “Alattvalók vagy polgárok lesznek?” A fiatalok aktív állampolgársági készségei Magyarországon nemzetközi összehasonlításban másodelemzés nemzetközi adatbázisok és a szakirodalom alapján [“Are they to be subjects of citizens?”: Active citizenship skills of young people in Hungary in comparison to other countries]. In: http://aktivpolgar.hu • Gáti, Annamária (2010): Aktív állampolgárság Magyarországon nemzetközi összehasonlításban. Másodelemzés nemzetközi adatbázisok és szakirodalom alapján [Active citizenship in Hungary in comparison to other countries: Follow-up analysis based on international databases and professional literature]. • Hoskins, Bryony et al. (2006): Measuring Active Citizenship In Europe. (Az aktív állampolgárság mérése Európában) CRELL, 2006, Research Paper No. 4. European Commission, CRELL. In: http://crell.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ActiveCitizenship/AC-Final%20Report-December%202006/measuring%20AC.pdf • Kerr, David: Citizenship Education in England: The Making of a New Subject - OJSSE 2/2003 In: http://www.jsse.org/index.php/jsse/article/viewFile/472/388 • Swaine, Laura (2012): In Their Own Words: The Use of Art and Narrative to Explore Community and Citizenship with Children. In: http://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8080/bitstream/handle/1828/4255/Swaine_Laura_MA_2012.pdf?sequence=1 • Széger, Katalin (2012): Oktatáspolitikai ajánlás a demokratikus állampolgárságra nevelés fejlesztésére az alap- és középfokú oktatás terén [A proposal on educational policy targeting the development of democratic citizenship education in primary and secondary schools]. • Villányi, Györgyné (2003): Állampolgári nevelés kisgyermekkorban [Citizenship education in early youth].
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