Citizenship education is
meaningful for young people, despite Michael
Gove's silence on the
matter
The
government's new citizenship curriculum takes
effect in September. You'd be forgiven for not
knowing, though, because Michael
Gove is keeping quiet about it.
One
would think he might start claiming
responsibility for the existing
curriculum (in place since 2002), now that
think-tank Demos
has reported
that today’s teenagers - 'Generation Citizen' -
are 'more engaged with social issues than
ever'.
In
their introduction, report authors Jonathan
Birdwell and Mona Bani say:
'Our
research suggests that teenagers are more
tolerant, compassionate
and likely to volunteer in their communities
than
previous generations.
'Yet,
their conception of active citizenship
differs from previous generations, and the
practice of traditional party politics may need
to undergo substantial reforms
to keep pace.'
The
report says much more than that, of course. But
it seems a key challenge is to teach citizenship
for the benefit of society in a way that is
relevant to young people in a rapidly changing
world.
And
it is
a challenge, but an exciting one: and one that
many schools are meeting head-on, despite the
lack of supportive noises from those currently
in
power. | | | | | |
 |
|
Free
guidance materials to support the revised
National Curriculum, from the Association for
Citizenship
Teaching. | | | |
|
Download
our free slides, Why
Citizenship Education in
Schools?,
and we'll keep you up-to-date about how we can
help you deliver great citizenship
education. | | | | | |
|
This
week, Citizenship Foundation CEO Andy Thornton
told teachers in Lahore that citizenship is
important because learning is for all aspects of
life: to benefit not just careers but our
communities, country and
world. | | |
|
|
The
All Party Parliamentary Group on Social
Mobility's recent Character and Resilience
Manifesto overlooks education's societal
benefit, in the same way Mr Gove does by his
silence on the value of citizenship
education. | | | | |
Teachers
and subject specialists take to Twitter at 8pm
on Thursday 20 February to chat about
citizenship and PSHE. Join us in the
conversation or simply watch and pick up advice.
Follow the hashtag #ukedchat. | | |
|
|
The
European-Atlantic Movement (TEAM) is running a
study tour of Europe's institutions, including
the European Parliament, European Commission,
Council of Europe, NATO Headquarters, and BBC
Brussels. | | | | | |
