Teaching for democracy : implications for curriculum development

Abstract

The definition and development of citizenship education has been problematic for a number of reasons which may be summarized as follows: (a) the term 'citizenship' has not been in common use in schools; (b) citizenship has been confused with traditional lessons in civics; (c) education for citizenship is an area of particular political sensitivity; (d) absence of agreement about public virtues and the common good gives rise to various disputes about citizenship; (e) the curriculum does not define the term with clarity - only a "circular characterization" of the subject matter is evident. Reasons like these render citizenship an essentially contested area of education. They often make teachers feel uncertain about the nature and aims of education for citizenship. Understanding the nature of social issues and having a reasonable frame of mind about them are often attained when seen within a conceptual framework or a sociological model. The same may be said about the difficulty with the term citizenship and the ensuing citizenship education.