Improving Citizenship Education

Abstract

The chapter begins with a review of the existing research and data on the impact of citizenship education globally in order to reveal the existence of particular correlations with socio-political outcomes. It points out that the positive potential of citizenship education for democracy relies heavily on the interaction of distinct macro, meso, and micro level factors. It takes the UK, with the Bernard Crick-led introduction of citizenship education into the curriculum, as a specific case study. It identifies a gap between the original vision and the delivered reality; a shift from the radical potential of citizenship education to its evisceration by a government that has different political priorities; and a series of practical problems from a lack of teacher training to the prerogatives of competing policies such as Prevent, which have limited school interest in the subject as well as their capacity to teach it effectively. The chapter concludes with observations on the broader implications and insights of this focus on citizenship education and suggests a number of ways in which the barriers and blockages identified might be circumvented.