WORKSHOP 1
Citizenship education: learning at school and in society

 

WORKSHOP 1 DISCUSSION PAPER


Introduction

The concept and implications of citizenship are dependent on culture and context. The term itself is connected to the tradition of a Western democratical concept. However, the substance is based on common global values about ways of living together, as expressed in the Declaration of Human Rights.

Different dimensions and levels of citizenship

Citizenship is carried out in different contexts and holds different interrelated dimensions: politically, socially, culturally. Political citizenship is fundamentally identified as a set of constitutional rights and obligations, but also implies active engagement in and a sense of responsibility towards society and the common good. The social dimension is based on a common socio-cultural context and refers to the mutual relations between the members of the community and the way they live together. The cultural dimension refers to the awareness of a common cultural heritage that defines the community in relation to the surrounding society.

Citizenship, as well, is found and intended at different levels: locally, nationally, regionally and globally.

This fact feeds potential conflict for the individual due to a clash between the interests within the different communities. This could for example be the case, if a cultural community is in opposition to the general political community in connection with the creation of a nation state or a political region. The challenge of multicultural coexistence is more evident than ever.

The common problems of our earth - the environment, war, inequality - require a sense of global citizenship, but the obstacles are numerous and can only be met by the furthering of learning to live together.

Responsibility for development of citizenship as an individual and a collective concern

The motivation for developing democracy and constituting citizenship has often been linked to an expectation of development of economical welfare. In established democracies active citizenship is seen as a central concept and ideal in a societal development aiming at “a better life for all” and active citizens form a part of the social, cultural and economical capital of the communities. Learning to live together or civic education is a corner stone in development of citizenship. It is both an individual concern and a collective concern. Individual because it presupposes competencies that enables the individual to relate expediently to his or her surroundings. Collective both because it is a goal of the society to develop citizenship and because citizenship is implemented through collective actions.

It is of great importance to emphasize that citizenship implies both rights and obligations. The citizen has civil, political and social rights. However, citizenship cannot be understood as a private life style but rather as a way of living together in which you share the responsibility for the society. You cannot, as a citizen, focus on what is better for yourself. You must estimate the interests of the community: the common good. Citizenship is via involvement, participation and the ability of dealing with disagreement the best tool to create understanding of the dilemmas encompassed in the ideal: the common good.

The learning of citizenship through formal, non-formal and informal contexts

Citizenship is being developed through the acquisition of knowledge, skills and values. Learning takes place in different learning environments. According to the type of society, economical structure and culture there is a large diversity in the way the citizens are being qualified. To learn how to maintain a work function is in some societies a concern for the educational system, in other societies it is mainly learned within the context of the family or the local community. The acquisition of basic skills (reading, writing and arithmetic) is being considered a responsibility for the school, even in areas where there is little or no possibility to implement the ideals.

The knowledge that form the basis for values and attitudes is being learned more diffusely in a complex pattern encompassing the three forms of learning: formal, non-formal and informal, that supplement and reflect each other.

Formal education takes place within the educational institutions, it is structured, aimed at well defined age groups and leads to recognised certification of skills and qualifications.

Non-formal education/ learning is taking place outside formal educational institutions, it is structured and supplementing a formal educational system. It does not lead to formalised certification, but possibly to factual recognition of skills and qualifications for example in workplace or in trade unions. But it also takes place in leisure time activities e.g. sports and music, in nursery schools, in evening schools and in voluntary associations etc.

Informal learning is incidental, it takes place alongside formal and non-formal learning as an unintended or ‘hidden’ curriculum. It is possibly not even recognised by the learner - it forms tacit knowledge and the learning goes on all the time in the family, in the media, in religious life, in the street or at the market.

The individual’s learning opportunities are directly dependent upon the settings and curricula that school and community make available. Education for citizenship should not be seen isolated within the formal education systems. When it comes to the ability of living together learning is deeply anchored in the social practice within the family, on the job, associations etc. where non-formal and informal learning environments are being found. They contain elements that furthers citizenship due to their connection to practice of everyday life - be it organised, intended learning or unconscious learning. The social practice unites the cultural, social and political aspects of citizenship. The concept of ‘lifewide learning’ reflects a wideness in the learning uniting the experiences and recognitions of everyday life with the learning taking place in the more intended form.

The concept of ‘lifewide learning’ stresses that learning can be of any form and take place any time throughout life and therefore also includes the concept of lifelong learning. By that formal, non- formal and informal learning are put into an organic connection with each other, thus complementing one another. Within the formal educational systems citizenship is therefore developed both through formal and informal curricula as well as through democratic participation in the learning environment.

The practice of citizenship: increasing critical participation

To learn citizenship and democracy in practice implies active participation, critical judgement as well as an actual possibility to influence on or to be affected by the situation. The learning environment inviting the learners to express themselves and their views and an open and friendly school and classroom climate has proven essential in the formal educational system.

It is crucial that practices of living together is supported by knowledge of human and social sciences in order to understand different cultures, traditions and societies and learn from the history. This implies understanding of one self in the light of one's history and culture, and in the light of that of others. Knowledge of this kind makes an important difference to our attitudes and actions.

Skills and competencies for practising citizenship is a matter for generally speaking all subjects, as learning to live together must be seen from all aspects of life. We learn aspects of differences of cultures and different images of the world in both mathematics, physics, in the field of languages etc. Civic education deals with moral issues that take place in all parts of life. Thus civic education can be seen as a cross-curricular matter related to all subjects and to no one in particular.

It is vital for the learning and participation that the curriculum is relevant to the learner and builds upon the learners actual knowledge and experiences. The content of subjects like civics, history, geography, biology etc. must deal with issues of relevance, and some times taboos, to put the learners in a position to meet the challenges of the changing demands of society. We are entitled to know our own historical and cultural background - even though it contains dark sides - in order to understand our selves as a part of it and at the same time to be able to act towards the future Learning based on debate and discussion, critical thinking, familiarity with problems and ability of solving problems will enable learners to involve their own creativity in bridging the gap between education and everyday life. Thus the role of the educator must be reconsidered. It is a challenge for the educator to keep the authority intact and at the same time ensure an open class climate and provide access to different sources of knowledge.

Assessment of learning to live together should include qualitative dimensions

Civic education is about practices and attitudes to common human values like moral responsibility, avoiding marginalisation and exclusion, furthering participation and sustainability. It could be considered essential to be able to assess practices of and attitudes towards citizenship, civic education and learning to live together. How is it possible to measure such dimensions and qualities in education?

We need some supplementary indicators - of a more quantitative substance - to be able to see the development in educational methods, in learning strategies, in contents etc. The following questions pinpoint a number of issues to be included in the supplementary indicators for analyzing citizenship education in the different school systems and societies.

It is of vital significance to emphasize these and other relevant issues for assessing practices and attitudes towards citizenship and civic education. It is not evident, though, how to measure practices and attitudes. When trying to compare different educational systems in order to discuss new ways and new pedagogical frameworks, a quantitative approach is the most dominating, but more qualitative approaches could also be essential.