Teach what you preach? The relationship between teachers’ citizenship beliefs and citizenship education in the classroom

Abstract

This study aims to investigate how teachers’ citizenship beliefs relate to the way they teach citizenship in the classroom. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 65 sixth-grade primary school teachers in Flanders. The results show a dominant presence of conservative citizenship beliefs, which are also reflected in the citizenship contents teachers prefer and the roles they assign themselves. Teachers, regardless of their citizenship beliefs, predominantly use daily situations and current events as educational materials. The article concludes with recommendations for a better endorsement for teachers with particular attention for an expansion of their citizenship beliefs and citizenship education.