Citizenship education practices in schools and colleges

Citizenship education practices in schools and colleges

As citizenship education is meant to prepare young people for an active and positive contribution to society, it should not convey only theoretical knowledge, but also the skills, practice and experience required for being a proactive and responsible citizen (Eurydice, 2004). Schools may be looked at as the microcosm in which active citizenship is learnt and practised (Kerr, 1999). Nevertheless, this can only occur if school heads, teachers and other staff give learners the opportunity to engage with the concept daily. It has been argued that within an active citizenship education all aspects of school life can potentially contribute from school ethos and values and citizenship education as a school subject, to school and class councils, the use of visitors and extra-curricular activities (Kerr & Cleaver, 2004:38).

Therefore, facilitation of students’ participation is regarded as the thrust of citizenship education. To this end, the school culture, also known as the “ethos” or general atmosphere or climate of a school must be very inviting. The school culture may be defined as its system of attitudes, values, norms, beliefs, daily practices, principles, rules, teaching methods and organizational arrangements.

In the Eurydice (2005) report, it was mentioned that the school culture includes the behaviour of the entire school community, including pupils, teachers, non- teaching staff and parents. In the United Kingdom (England), a special Advisory Group drew attention in its 1998 report, Education for citizenship and the teaching of Democracy in schools, to the important contribution that the ethos of the school can make to citizenship education.

To reach such an end, schools must be democratic settings in which people are challenged to express their views concerning issues of both the school and wider community. Democracy, according to Dean (2005), is best learned in democratic settings. At school level, active citizenship can be nurtured among learners by encouraging them to take part in the work of formally established bodies. Learners’ participation may assume some variety of forms as far as organisational levels are concerned. By taking part in school councils or boards, learners may be able to help deal with a variety of issues in their school life. According to Kerr and Cleaver (2005), students are involved in all or some of the following:

1. 
   Contributing to life at school in general
   
2. 
   preparing the school curriculum and expressing the opinions of pupils on curricular aims, content and requirements
   
3. 
   cooperation with other schools at national and international levels
   
4. 
   editing and publishing a school newspaper.
   

It is suggested that English schools are not encouraging active participation citizenship approaches, which is leading to poor student participation (Kerr & Cleaver, 2005). In countries such as Belgium (in the German speaking community), the Czech Republic, Italy and Iceland, it is hard to attract either pupils or teachers into the work of pupils or school councils (Eurydice, 2005). Such a report is strengthened by Dean (2005), who in his study about the practices of citizenship education in Pakistani schools, revealed that the structural authoritarian nature of Pakistani schools must be changed if citizenship education is to be successful.

In an attempt to ensure active democratic citizens, a shift must be made in the practice of citizenship in the schools (Fairbrother, 2004). Freely elected bodies for student representation must play a substantial role in school decision –making and the right of students to participate generally in school life should be discussed more openly for the purposes of active citizenship (Torney-Purta, & Schiville Amadeo, 1999). Avia (2010) points out that the importance of developing critical skills rather than cultivating obedient values and to use inquiry learning rather than rote learning.

Parents (or guardians) are also instrumental in helping children to learn and become active citizens. It is therefore important that there should be strong partnerships between parents and schools. Both share responsibility for transmitting appropriate civic behaviour and values to the young (O’ Shea, 2003).The parents may be informed to assume a consultative role, expressing opinions on the curriculum and school development programmes, discussing complaints from parents, or proposing possible cultural or social activities. According to Heydt (2001) in the United Kingdom (Scotland) parents and teachers may jointly form Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) in which both groups work in support of the school concerned. PTAs can be represented at the National level by the Scottish parent Teacher council.

Parents play active role in citizenship education, though schools sometimes have difficulties in involving them. The Czech Republic, Italy and the United Kingdom (Scotland) report that schools sometimes face difficulties in encouraging parents to participate in the work of their governing bodies (Eurydice, 2005). Such passivity is mainly due to a general lack of parental commitment.

Besides becoming more familiar with democratic principles and organizational arrangements, what has been learnt at school may also be put into practice. This can be enhanced through school participation in society. Birzea (2000) stresses that school participation may include a variety of activities, ranging from information initiatives through which pupils gain an insight into social developments, to their real involvement in the everyday life of the local community. Such activities include partnership and pupil exchanges with schools from other countries including pen pal correspondence, open (school) days or fetes at which the local community is invited to visit the school to find out how they function and meet pupils, visits to neighbourhood institutions or community groups including the police, fire brigade, museums, local or national authorities, religious institutions, NGOs, homes for children special needs, elderly people or asylum seekers, mock elections modeled on national or European parliament elections and games simulating the work of town councils or parliaments (Birzea, 2000, quoted in Eurydice, 2005). Aggarwal (2001) notes that there are two basic ways of linking the school and the community for purposes of teaching and learning. He stresses that these ways are either sending the school to the community or the community to the school.

It is clear that the researchers see that the introduction of effective citizenship education is pivoted on active participation. Nevertheless there are many challenges associated with effective citizenship education in schools and colleges.