The art of self-making: identity and citizenship education in late-modernity

an article by Reza Gholami (Keele University, UK) published in British Journal of Sociology of Education Volume 38 Issue 6 (2017)

Abstract

Taking the English National Curriculum as its main example, this article argues that an overly nationalistic, normative and ‘fact-based’ citizenship education curriculum is failing to engage the dimensions of young people’s identities which they experience as deeply meaningful.

There is thus a chasm – albeit a false one – between official discourses and pedagogies of citizenship and what young people consider to be their ‘real’ selves. I argue that citizenship education must develop a more sophisticated understanding of the complexities of how identities are formed and performed, especially in light of globalisation and increasing migration.

I also make a somewhat unorthodox argument for conceptualising ‘relating-to-otherness’ in the same way that we think of music consumption. This has implications for how we experience, interpret, value and create ‘others’.

The article also makes some recommendations for how these ideas can begin to be implemented in educational settings.

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Service learning and active citizenship education in England

An article by Lee Jerome (London Metropolitan University) published in Education, Citizenship and Social Justice Volume 7 Number 1(March 2012)

Abstract

This article compares the English tradition of active citizenship education with the US tradition of service learning. It starts by outlining service learning and noting some of the defining characteristics as well as some of the tensions. It then discusses the model of active citizenship that has been promoted in England’s secondary school curriculum, considering how this has been defined and how it has been implemented.

The two traditions are then compared to highlight the substantial areas of overlap between the two models, sharpen some of the distinctions and consider why there have been limited connections between them in practice.

This discussion raises several issues that link to foundational questions about the nature, scope and purpose of citizenship education which are discussed in relation to the changed political context in England after the establishment of the coalition government.

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New Labour, communitarianism and citizenship education in England and Wales

an article by Andrew Dunn (University of the West of Scotland) and Diana Burton (Liverpool John Moores University) published in Education, Citizenship and Social Justice Volume 6 Number 2 (July 2011)

Abstract

This article posits a connection between the influence of communitarianism on New Labour’s ideology and the content of citizenship education in England and Wales. We first describe and problematise communitarianism, drawing on both UK and US thinkers, and then relate our findings to literature on citizenship education. We conclude by suggesting that the influence of communitarianism could be researched with teachers of citizenship to illuminate the extent of its practical manifestation.

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