An ecological framework for citizenship education: A developmental perspective

The National Charter for Education and Training and the Strategic Vision (2015‐30) constitutes the government’s most recent efforts to reform education in Morocco. These initiatives have underscored the potential of raising citizenship awareness and reinforcing social responsibility. The reforms that were implemented fell far short of this aim. Despite the fierce struggle, the gap between the stated goals of citizenship education curricula and their realistic and effective implementation still persists. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to explore school-based factors which facilitate or constrain teachers and schools from a meaningful engagement in citizenship issues. This research is framed within Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological system theory (2006). This framework provides a holistic perspective to consider the potential of the dynamic interaction of diverse stakeholders and their contributions for increased citizenship education. Using a qualitative approach, this study allows for a rich description of the context of citizenship education in Moroccan high schools. Findings indicated the existence of numerous constraining factors which worked against the mainstreaming of this process. Teachers and principals reported that citizenship education occupied a marginal status in high schools. Further, the competitive national examination system, lack of professional development in the field and absence of citizenship-oriented activities involving parents and students were found to be the main factors affecting the development of citizenship education.