Memorandum submitted by National Foundation
for Educational Research (NFER)
1. INTRODUCTION
This submission has been compiled by David Kerr,
Principal Research Officer, at NFER, who directs NFER's portfolio
of research projects in citizenship education at national, European
and international level with a team of other researchers. Details
of current and previous NFER research projects in this area are
provided in Section 1b below while Section 5 contains further
details about the author's citizenship education credentials.
The submission pinpoints the most recent research
findings in citizenship education that are of particular relevance
to the areas of interest in the Committee's terms of reference.
It dovetails with the references to NFER research findings in
the submissions from a number of other organizations and government
departments, notably the Department for Education and Skills (DfES),
Citizenship Foundation, Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT)
and Schools Council UK. The findings are drawn from the cumulative
annual reports of the Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study
since 2001, notably the third annual report entitled Listening
to Young People: Citizenship Education in England, which was
published in 2005.
However, the Committee should note that the
Study's fourth annual report, entitled Active Citizenship and
Young People: Opportunities, Experiences and Challenges in and
beyond School, has been completed and is due to the published
by the DfES at the end of April 2006. The report provides the
most up-to-date evidence about the progress of citizenship education
in schools in England from 2003-05. It focuses, in particular,
on young people's experiences of active citizenship in the academic
year 2004-05. This focus is highly relevant to the Committee's
terms of reference and it is hoped that this latest research evidence
can be heard through the further oral evidence sessions to be
held in late spring.
1(a) About the NFER
The National Foundation for Educational Research
in England and Wales (NFER) has been at the forefront of educational
research and test development for 60 years. The Foundation is
a not-for-profit organisation and is a registered charity. Our
aim is to improve education and training, nationally and internationally,
by undertaking research, development and dissemination activities
and by providing information services.
NFER undertakes around 200 research projects
every year and our work spans all sectors of education, from pre-school
to lifelong learning. We provide high quality, evidence-based
research for policy makers, managers and practitioners. Our unrivalled
experience enables us to offer a wide range of services and information
sites, making NFER a one-stop-shop for anyone interested in education
and educational research.
1(b) NFER research in citizenship education
NFER has a distinguished track record in carrying
out innovative and influential research and evaluation in citizenship
education for policy-makers at national, European and international
level. The Department for Evaluation and Policy Studies (EVP)
is the base for the NFER's research into citizenship education,
headed by David Kerr at http://www.nfer.ac.uk/research-areas/citizenship/.
Some of the leading research studies conducted and/or currently
underway include:
IEA Civic Education StudyNFER
conducted the English country description and national surveys
on citizenship for the IEA CIVED study involving a comparative
sample of over 80,000 14-years-olds in 28 countries. This was
the largest ever study undertaken in citizenship education.
Citizenship Education Longitudinal
StudyNFER is half-way through a nine-year longitudinal
study of the introduction of the citizenship curriculum in England
for the DfES. This ground-breaking study is assessing the short-term
and long-term effects of citizenship education on the knowledge,
skills and attitudes of young people. The Study is following a
cohort of over 18,000 young people from age 11-18 as well as surveying
their teachers and school leaders. It also involves a number of
longitudinal school case studies.
National Evaluation of Post-16 Citizenship
Development ProgrammeNFER has recently completed a three-year
evaluation of the post-16 citizenship development project programme
for the DfES. The evaluation ascertained how well citizenship
education was developed for 16-19 year olds in a range of settings.
Pupil Assessment in Citizenship EducationNFER
is currently managing a European-wide study on pupil assessment
in citizenship, funded by NFER and CIDREE, the Consortium of Institutes
for Development and Research in Education in Europe.
Evaluation of 2005 European Year
of Citizenship through EducationNFER is also evaluating
the impact of the 2005 European Year of Citizenship through Education,
across its 48 member states, for the Council of Europe.
Mapping Citizenship Education Resourcesthis
project has just been completed and was commissioned by the Department
for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) to map the citizenship resources
available of most relevance to the DCA priorities concerning citizenship
and human rights education.
IEA International Civics and Citizenship
Study (ICCES)NFER is part of an international consortia
which is managing the international co-ordination of this new
IEA Study. The Study looks to survey 14-year-olds, their teachers
and school leaders about their citizenship experiences in and
beyond school in participating countries and produce national
and comparative findings in 2009. Topics addressed include students'
acquisition of civic knowledge and understanding, development
of civic capabilities and understanding of issues concerning identity
and belonging.
2. RESEARCH RELEVANT
TO THE
SELECT COMMITTEE'S
AREAS OF
INTEREST
2(a) Where are we at with citizenship?
Citizenship education became a new statutory
national curriculum subject for 11-16-year-olds in England in
September 2002. There was a particular emphasis in the policy
statements for citizenship education, both in schools and colleges,
on developing students' political literacythe knowledge,
understanding and skills required to play a full and active part
in "public life" in the many communities to which they
belong, including the school/college community. This was seen
as the new element of citizenship education.
The last three years have seen schools attempting
to make sense of the "light touch" Citizenship Order
and turn it into effective practice, and those in 16-19 exploring
approaches to active citizenship. So how are schools and colleges
faring? While recognising that these are still early days for
citizenship, research evidence suggests that progress has been
patchy and uneven. Though there has been undoubted progress, there
are still aspects that require further development. A recent report
by Ofstedi argued that citizenship was amongst the least well-taught
subjects and that about a quarter of schools had made insufficient
provision in this new area. This backs up findings from the Citizenship
Education Longitudinal Study (hereafter "the Study").
The Study started in 2001 and will run until
2009. It is funded by DfES and carried out by NFER with the overarching
aim of assessing the short- and long-term effects of citizenship
education on students. To date, the Study has improved our understanding
of citizenship education by:
identifying the main types of citizenship
education provision in schools in England;
determining the factors, at management,
institution and learning context levels, which underlie successful
citizenship education provision in schools and colleges; and
ascertaining the views of young people
about their citizenship experiences in schools and colleges and
about wider citizenship issues.
KEY FINDINGS
FROM THE
STUDY
What are the main approaches to citizenship education
in schools?
The Study has identified four types of approach
to citizenship education in schools: schools that are progressing
in citizenship, others that are focused, those that are minimalist
and those that are implicit in terms of citizenship (see Figure
1).

The main difference in the typology is the relative
emphasis that schools give to citizenship in terms of curriculum
provision and active citizenship developments in the school and
wider community. Progressing schools are the most advanced in
terms of curriculum provision and active citizenship developments,
whereas in minimalist schools there is the greatest scope for
improvement in both areas. Implicit and focused schools each have
their own strengths: namely, active citizenship in the former
and citizenship in the curriculum in the latter. In a nationally
representative sample of schools about one quarter of the schools
surveyed fall into each category. This suggests that citizenship
education provision in schools in England is currently uneven
and patchy, with one quarter of schools offering only a minimal
level of provision: a finding that concurs with recent Ofsted
conclusionsii. In addition, many schools are still to develop
a holistic and coherent approach to citizenship education.
How and where are schools and colleges providing
citizenship opportunities?
The latest Study findings reveal that citizenship
is delivered most typically in school and college contexts where:
citizenship is delivered through
PSHE (Personal Social and Health Education) and/or though assemblies;
school/college is viewed as an institution
that is "moderately democratic" by staff;
there is a traditional teaching and
learning environment, where note taking and listening while the
teacher/tutor talks are more prevalent than more active discursive
approaches;
there is a positive classroom climate
(ie students feel free to express their opinions and bring up
issues for discussion);
there are a variety of extra-curricular
opportunities on offer for students; and
there is less of a concentration,
according to students, on teaching about political literacy (ie
political and legal processes and institutions) and more on other
citizenship topics.
What factors underpin the most successful provision?
The Study also identifies a series of factorsat
management, institution and learning context levelswhich
underpin the most successful provision of citizenship education
in schools and colleges. These include:
At management level:
senior managers who actively support
and promote citizenship education in the school and college;
sufficient resources allocated to
citizenship education, including time (eg curriculum space and
time for planning);
an effective and manageable assessment
strategy through which students' achievements can be recognised;
and
on-going planning and reviewing to
sustain the development of citizenship.
At institution level:
a clear and coherent understanding
of what citizenship education means;
high status of citizenship, promoted
by a well-respected coordinator who is "a citizenship champion";
staff training and development that
builds confidence and improves teaching and learning strategies;
a participatory school/college ethos
that supports the aims of citizenship education and positive relationships
within the school/college community;
delivery approaches that are diverse
and effectively link the curriculum, school/college and wider
community dimensions of citizenship education; and
tailoring of citizenship education
to the needs, skills, interests and experiences of young people.
At learning-context level:
positive relationships between the
school/college and the wider community that enable the school/college
to foster opportunities for the students to engage with individuals
and organisations beyond the school/college;
dedicated and enthusiastic staff,
with the skills to facilitate as well as teach;
dedicated timeslot for citizenship,
whether as a discrete course, a module within a programme or a
specific project;
involvement and participation of
students in decisions about their learning, and the development
of a student voice; and
focus on critically active forms
of learning, including discussion, debate, dialogue and reflection.
The best examples are where students are helped to think, reflect
and take action.
What factors impact on students' development of
citizenship knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes?
Broadly, these influencing factors can be divided
into two groups:
School/college factors: citizenship
(education) experiences offered by schools and collegesiii.
Student background factors: personal,
family and community characteristics (eg home literacy resources,
age, ethnicity, gender).
The Study demonstrates how the following are
important and influential factors:
school/college experiences of citizenshipstudents
currently define citizenship as more to do with rights and responsibilities
and issues of identity and equality than with political literacy
and formal political processes;
home literacy resourcesthe
more books students have at home, the higher their civic knowledge
and the greater their intended future political engagement;
age/year groupstudents' sense
of belonging to the school community increases with age in comparison
to attachment to other communities;
ethnicityAsian and Black students
have the most positive views about volunteering compared to other
groups; and
gendercompared to boys, girls
think that volunteering has fewer costs and more benefits.
This suggests that young people's development
of citizenship-related dimensions is influenced not only by their
experiences in school and college (both in the curriculum and
in the school/college community) but also by their wider experiences
beyond school.
The specific research findings, concerning the
Committee's areas of interest, that follow are drawn largely from
the third annual report of the Citizenship Education Longitudinal
Study. It is based upon a large, nationally representative sample
of 237 schools and 50 colleges and reports the responses of 238
school and college leaders, 876 teachers and college tutors and
6,400 students across years 8, 10 and 12 (students age 13-14,
15-16 and 17-18 respectively) in the academic year 2003-04.
2(b) Teachers attitudes to Citizenship
Teachers and school leaders remain positive
about the outcomes of citizenship education, believing that it
will have a number of positive impacts on students' participation,
engagement, skills, awareness and tolerance.
2(c) Initial Teacher Training and CPD
There is little evidence in the sample of schools
involved in the Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study of the
impact of initial teacher training and CPD. This is not surprising
given the relatively small numbers of newly qualified citizenship
teachers who are trained each year (250) compared to the number
of secondary schools in England. In terms of continuing professional
development (CPD), few teachers say that they have heard of the
Association for Citizenship Teaching and limited numbers have
had access to CPD training in citizenship. Access to citizenship
CPD remains dependent on the attitudes of senior managers in schools
and what they see as overall training priorities for their school.
Teachers surveyed demand more citizenship CPD in relation to three
priorities: improving their subject knowledge; helping them to
understand assessment issues; and, increasing their confidence
in more active teaching and learning approaches.
2(d) Role of Local Authorities in supporting
school staff
There is some evidence of Local Authority involvement
in CPD training and support for schools. However, such support
is inconsistent across the country with LA staff having limited
capacity to support schools because of competing priorities for
their time and lack of funds.
2(e) Continuity of Citizenship from KS1 to
post 16
Students in all year groups report that citizenship
is more noticeable to them in secondary schools than in 2002.
The third annual report confirms students' development
of citizenship dimensions (knowledge, skills, understanding and
attitudes) is neither even nor consistent. The findings reveal
lower levels of citizenship knowledge; student efficacy; personal
efficacy; active student participation; trust and embeddedness
and belief in the benefits of participation among the Year 10
students who took part in the survey, when compared with those
in Years 8 and 12.
It also confirms the complex nature of young
peoples' citizenship experiences and attitudes and the range of
factors and influences that can impact on their development. These
include contextual characteristics or factors (such as age, gender,
ethnicity and family characteristics), the different contexts
or "sites" of citizenship education including the school,
the family, peer groups, and students' local and wider communities,
and the various actors that take part in the (formal and informal)
educational processes at these different "sites".
The report suggests possible changes in this
interrelationship and its impact on students' development of citizenship
dimensions across a number of age ranges and educational stages.
Findings suggest that there may be a considerable "dip"
in development around Year 10, when students are age 14-15. However,
at this stage of the analysis it remains unclear whether these
findings are cohort specific, will be replicated in future years,
or indeed if such a "dip" exists nationally. This requires
further in-depth investigation.
It suggests that policy-makers should:
Consider the implications for current
and future policy in citizenship education of the uneven development
of students' citizenship dimensions over time.
2(f) Quality of Citizenship across all schools
including faith schools
As already underlined, the overall quality of
citizenship across all schools, including faith schools, remains
uneven, inconsistent and patchy. While there are schools that
are developing excellent practice, and making links between citizenship
in the curriculum and active citizenship in the school and through
links with wider communities, this is not the norm in all schools.
There remain a worrying number of schools where citizenship is
not a priority and, as a result, where students are not receiving
their statutory entitlement to citizenship education in the National
Curriculum.
Schools are finding it particularly challenging
to deliver the more active components of citizenship and ensure
sufficient opportunities for engagement and participation for
all students. There is also no one standard delivery approach
to citizenship in schools. While there is increased separate curriculum
time given to citizenship, often alongside personal social and
health education (PSHE), citizenship is also delivered through
a range of other approaches including: through other subjects;
as a cross-curricular approach; through tutorial and form tutor
time; and, through collapsed timetable days and activities. Delivery
approaches are dependent on a wide range of factors including
ethos and values (a strong factor in faith schools), senior managers
understanding of citizenship education and the impact of standards
and league tables, among others. The range of approaches means
that students are not always aware of when they are being taught
citizenship and are not always successful in linking their citizenship
learning within schools.
However, the third annual report also highlights
that schools, two years after the statutory introduction of citizenship,
may already be influencing students' development of citizenship
dimensions. There are signs in the report that school experiences
can have an influence on students' conceptions of citizenship,
their civic knowledge and on their sense of efficacy and empowerment.
2(g) Debates about Britishness and identity
Students, teachers and school leaders who have
taken part in surveys and case study visits during the Longitudinal
Study have made no reference to the impact of debates about Britishness
on citizenship policy and practice. However, they have raised
broader issues concerning identity and belonging in relation to
citizenship. Interestingly, when asked to define citizenship students
say that it is more to do with rights and responsibilities and
issues of identity and equality than with political literacy and
formal political processes. There is insufficient evidence, at
present, to say how far this definition is influenced by the way
that citizenship is taught in schools (ie students' citizenship
experiences in school) or by students' everyday citizenship experiences
in communities beyond school. However, a number of points are
relevant to such a discussion. They include:
Students demonstrate that they are sophisticated
users of the media in accessing information about citizenship
issues at national, local and international level. They place
most trust in news reports on the TV, less in reports on the radio
and show least trust in newspaper reports.
Students' development of citizenship dimensions
may be influenced by personal, family and community characteristics.
Findings suggest a clear relationship between home literacy resources
and feelings of empowerment, levels of trust, engagement, community
attachment and commitment to volunteering, participation and political
engagement. Differences were also found in attitudes and behaviours
between male and female students as well as between those from
different ethnic backgrounds.
2(h) Contribution of Citizenship to Community
Cohesion
Several citizenship surveys at national and
international level (notably the IEA Civic Education Study and
Longitudinal Study) highlight a persistent minority of students
(approximately 5%) in schools who express unlawful and discriminatory
attitudes toward minorities, equal opportunities, immigration
and new migrants. These attitudes are related to factors beyond
school such as family, peer and community influences. More in-depth
investigation is required as to what gives rise to such attitudes
and how far the introduction of citizenship education in schools
can combat them.
However, it should also be noted that the survey
reveals that students' sense of belonging and attachment to the
different communities in their lives may change over time. It
is noticeable in the survey that students' sense of belonging
to the school community increases with age in comparison with
their attachment to other communities. This suggests that schools
and colleges may have a key role to play in providing students
with real opportunities to participate and engage through the
confines of the school/college community with which they are most
familiar on a daily basis. School leaders and teachers remain
positive that citizenship will improve a sense of tolerance and
community within schools and increase students' propensity to
participate for the good of the communities to which they belong.
Findings suggest a clear relationship between
home literacy resources and feelings of empowerment, levels of
trust, engagement, community attachment and commitment to volunteering,
participation and political engagement.
Findings also hint at differences in attitudes
between those from different ethnic backgrounds. For example,
Asian students in the sample had the highest levels of student
efficacy compared to other groups while Asian and Black students
had the most positive views about volunteering compared to other
groups. The influence of community and culture on students' attitudes
and behaviour, alongside other influences, is something that requires
further investigation.
This means that school leaders and teachers
and policy-makers need to:
Consider how the school as a "site"
for citizenship impacts on, and is impacted on by, student experiences
of other citizenship contexts and sites, such as the local community,
family and peers.
Recognise that schools cannot develop
citizenship education in isolation from the social contexts in
which they are situated and with which students interact on a
daily basis. Schools are but one of a number of interrelated "sites"
for the development of citizenship dimensions.
2(i) Active aspects of the citizenship curriculum
This is the focus of the Study's fourth annual
report, to be published in late April 2006. The report will provide
greater details about the type and range of active citizenship
opportunities available to young people in their schools and communities
and the challenges facing schools in providing such opportunities.
The Study has confirmed, to date, alongside
other research evidence, that the linkage between citizenship
in the curriculum and active citizenship in the wider school and
through links with wider communities is not well developed in
schools. Many schools are struggling with the more active aspects
of citizenship, particularly the provision of active citizenship
in partnership with communities beyond school. They are struggling
both in terms of staff confidence and expertise to take these
active aspects forward as well as a lack of time, money and resources
for such actions, alongside other competing priorities.
It is unclear, as yet, what the impact of the
Every Child Matters: Change for Children action plan, and
the particular outcome making a positive contribution, will be
on the development of citizenship education in schools. The Every
Child Matters agenda provides considerable opportunity to
link students' opportunities for participation in schools with
those available to them in the wider community and provide continuity
and cohesion between the two. It also has the potential to encourage
students to reflect on the outcomes of such participation. However,
the Change for Children action plan is still in its early
days of implementation and schools and Local Authorities are still
to decide what its impact will be on their policies and practices.
The third annual report highlighted that:
The classroom continues to be a "traditional"
teaching and learning environment with methods such as note taking,
working from textbooks and listening while the teacher talks taking
precedence over discussion and debate and the use of new information
and communication technologies (ICT).
Despite this, both teaching staff and students
agree that their classrooms have a positive climate with students
feeling free to express opinions and to bring up issues for discussion.
Extra-curricular activities, such as school
councils and opportunities to raise money for good causes, remain
consistently available across school and college settings and
school leaders and teachers continue to be supportive of a democratic
school ethos. However, the gap between opportunities to participate
and student levels of take up remains large, with most schools
offering these activities yet only a small proportion of students
taking them up.
There is recognition by schools that they are
"moderately democratic". This suggests that the idealism
of citizenship as involving equal democratic participation of
everyone in a school is giving way to an acceptance that there
are limits to participation and democracy in schools.
Schools are strengthening their community links.
This may signal a growing realisation among schools that citizenship
education involves not just the school, its curriculum and culture/ethos,
but also how the school relates to the wider community.
The findings suggest that those working in schools
need to:
Consider whether their institution
uses a sufficient range of teaching and learning approaches for
citizenship education that encourage active learning approaches.
Consider how to involve students
more fully in the running of schools, beyond school councils,
and in negotiation of their teaching and learning experiences.
2(j) Curriculum design and appropriateness
of DfES/other guidance
The introduction of statutory citizenship education
in schools was designed, in part, to improve the "democratic
deficit" in society. This was developed through the political
literacy strand of the Crick report, which was the new and challenging
element of citizenship for schools. The curriculum that followed
was designed to be "light touch" in order to ensure
that young people had sufficient knowledge and understanding about
participation and engagement in the political process at many
levels, as well as practical opportunities to experience it first-hand
in response to topical citizenship issues in society as they arose.
The vision was for students to develop and experience political
literacy in action in relation to their everyday citizenship experiences
and interests in their schools and wider communities. DfES and
other guidance promoted this approach.
However, research evidence from the Longitudinal
Study suggests that the political literacy strand of the citizenship
curriculum has proved difficult for teachers and students to grasp
and take forward. This is related to issues concerning the confidence
of teachers in having sufficient subject knowledge to address
political literacy topics (such as government, elections and voting),
particularly where the subject is taught by non-specialists, as
well as the challenges in making such topics interesting and relevant
to the lives of young people.
Key findings from the third annual report that
address these issues include:
Certain citizenship curriculum topic areas are
less likely to be taught than others; in particular, topics such
as, voting and elections, the European Union (EU), the economy
and business and parliament and governance.
Students continue to report low levels of intention
to participate in conventional politics in the future, beyond
voting.
Students currently define citizenship as more
to do with rights and responsibilities and issues of identity
and equality than with political literacy and formal political
processes (see Figure 2 below).
Figure 2
MOST COMMON STUDENT DEFINITIONS OF CITIZENSHIP

Students' citizenship knowledge about political
and legal processes and institutions appears to be lower than
recorded in the first cross sectional survey in 2002; particularly
for students in Year 10. However, this may reflect the nature
of the questions posed to students and the subjects taught in
schools. The knowledge items in the survey tested knowledge about
political and legal processes and institutions, including those
concerning voting, political representation and legal rights.
These are precisely the citizenship topics that students report
they are taught least about.
The findings suggest that policy-makers and
those in schools should:
Ask whether the citizenship education
programme offered to students is improving their citizenship knowledge,
as well as understanding and skills.
Support the development of students'
citizenship knowledge by focusing on the topics that schools are
teaching under the umbrella of citizenship education and the teachers
involved in teaching citizenship topics. Take action to ensure
that the core knowledge at the heart of citizenship education
is being taught in schools.
2(k) Practice in other countries
Citizenship education policy and practice has
moved on apace in other countries and regions around the world.
There are no countries in Europe and few in other regions across
the globe that have not either undertaken major reforms of their
civic/citizenship curriculum in schools or are planning to undertake
such reforms, as part of broader curriculum reviews. England is
now viewed as a leading light in initiating policy reform and
attempting to bridge the "implementation gap" between
policy and practice. Proponents of citizenship policy and practice
in England are in high demand to share their experiences with
those in other countries via organisations such at the British
Council, DfES international division, the Council of Europe, UNESCO
and the European Commission.
Indeed, the last two decades has witnessed a
fundamental review of the concept of citizenship and what it involves
in communities in the United Kingdom (UK), Europe and globally.
This review has encompassed countries, communities at local, national
and regional levels as well as cross-national organizations such
as UNESCO, European Union (EU) and Council of Europe (CoE). A
central feature of debates about public education and educational
policies has been the increasing stress on the importance of citizenship
education. This has led UNESCO, at an International Bureau of
Education conference in 2004 to identify "education for active
and responsible citizenship" as a priority for action in
order to improve the scope and quality of education for all young
people. Meanwhile, the Council of Europe launched its "education
for democratic citizenship" (EDC) project in 1997, culminating
in the designation of 2005 as the European Year of Citizenship
through Education around the slogan "learning and living
democracy". Not to be outdone, the European Commission has
identified the development of European citizenship as a priority
area for the EU, and recently launched an action programme, entitled
Citizens for Europe, to promote increased civic participation
and a stronger sense of citizenship, as well as a scooping study
to provide indicators of active citizenship.
This fundamental review of the concept of citizenship
has been brought about by the impact of the rapid pace of change
in modern societies, in political, economic and social life, and
the need to respond. The pace of change is having significant
influence on the nature of relationships in modern society at
a number of levels, including those between individuals, community
groups, states, nations, regions and economic and political blocs.
This period of unprecedented and seemingly relentless change has
succeeded in shifting and straining the traditional, stable boundaries
of citizenship in many societies. A series of major events across
the world, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the bombings in
America, Bali, Madrid and, more recently, London, the Iraq conflict
and the populist revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine, has resulted
in important social and political changes which have, in turn,
triggered considerable discussion and debate. These discussions
and debates have raged within and across national, academic, professional
and practitioner boundaries.
The cumulative effect has caused experts and
policy makers to reflect anew on the meaning and role of citizenship
education in the curricula of public educational systems and,
in particular, on its influence on the formation and development
of democratic, political culture in society. As a result of such
reflection, discussions about citizenship education in public
education have become enjoined with wider debates about approaches
to issues such as human rights, equality, tolerance and social
justice. Citizenship education has become strongly linked to contemporary
discussions about the pressure of changes on the nature of relationships
between differing groups in society as well as those between the
individual and the state. Indeed, the pressure has become so great
that it has triggered a fundamental review across many societies
of the concepts and practices that underpin citizenship.
The review has concentrated on four particular
dimensions of citizenship, namely:
rights and responsibilities;
These dimensions are interrelated and have been
dubbed by some commentators as the "new dimensions"
of citizenship. They are viewed as the dimensions that are most
in need of redefinition in modern society. The review has focused,
in particular, on how these dimensions should respond to four
particular issues concerning citizenship in modern societies.
These are the issues associated with:
diversityof living in increasingly
socially and culturally diverse communities and societies;
locationof the nation-state
no longer being the "traditional location" of citizenship
and the possibility of other locations within and across countries,
including notions of "European", "international",
"transnational" or "cosmopolitan" citizenship;
social rightsof changes in
the social dimension of citizenship brought by the impact of an
increasingly global economy; and
participationof engagement
and participation in democratic society at local, national and
international levels.
It is not always easy to address these dimensions
and issues relating to citizenship because of the inherent tensions
between them. However, the review of citizenship has begun to
see its traditional boundaries reshaped in order to respond to
the rapid pace of change in modern society. The attempts to redefine
citizenship have had a considerable knock-on effect on citizenship
education. They have triggered and influenced debates about the
definition and nature of citizenship education and the role to
be played by schools, curricula and teachers, parents and communities.
Reshaping citizenship has also meant reformulating citizenship
education at the same time. The two go hand in hand. This has
been the case in many countries and contexts, including in the
United Kingdom (England, Scotland and Northern Ireland in particular)
and in Europe (Council of Europe All-European EDC Policy study,
2004; EURYDICE survey, 2005). It is no coincidence that effective,
active citizenship education has been included as a fundamental
goal of education systems in the curriculum reviews that are underway
in many countries. Schools, curricula and teachers have been given
a significant role in helping to actively prepare young people
for engaging with and participating in modern society.
2006 has seen the IEA launch its third study
in citizenship education, the new International Civics and Citizenship
Study, as a follow up to the 1999 IEA Cived study. The launch
is recognition of the changes in policy and practice in citizenship
education that have taken place in many countries and regions
across the world since 1999. The Study is expecting a strong participation
from European countries. It will be interesting to see whether
England participates again given developments. Participation would
provide a measure of progress in citizenship education in relation
to national results for 1999 as well as in comparison to the results
of other participating countries.
3. FINAL COMMENT
It is not the place of the NFER to suggest detailed
recommendations to the Select Committee concerning citizenship
education. Rather our role is to present the research evidence,
to date, in order to strengthen the basis upon which such recommendations
can be made. The research findings from the Citizenship Education
Longitudinal Study suggest a number of key considerations for
reviewing citizenship education in schools and colleges. These
considerations may provide a useful aide-memoire in reviewing
the evidence from other submissions. They are:
1. What is the status of citizenship in my
school/college?
Is citizenship education considered
important in the eyes of managers, teachers and students?
Do school/college leaders, teachers
and students understand the rationale for and benefits of citizenship
education?
Is citizenship education actively
supported and promoted across the institution?
Are there sufficient "citizenship
champions" in the institution to take this area forward?
Are students actively involved in
their citizenship learning and developing a student voice across
the school/college?
2. How is citizenship education provision
approached in my school/college?
Where does your school/college fit
in the typology of approaches to citizenship in Figure 1? Is it
progressing, focused, implicit or minimalist?
Is there a clear and coherent understanding
of what citizenship education means across the institution?
Are there links between citizenship
in the curriculum and active citizenship developments in the whole
school/college and through links with the wider community?
And in particular:
Does citizenship have a dedicated
timeslot and sufficient resources?
Are the knowledge and understanding
areas associated with political literacy covered as well as other
citizenship topics?
in the school community:
What opportunities are available
to students for active participation in school life?
How well-organised and led is the
school/college council and how does it contribute to the development
of a "real" student voice?
What is the state of the partnerships
and links between the school/college and the local community?
How involved are staff and students
in local, national and international communities and links?
3. What citizenship opportunities are provided
for students?
Is citizenship a recognisable entitlement
for all students and how would they define citizenship, if asked?
How coherent are student experiences
of citizenship in the curriculum and in the life of the school/college?
What opportunities are there for
students to be involved in more active approaches based around
discussion, reflection and action?
How well is the political literacy
strand of citizenship covered?
4. What is the impact of school and other
factors on students' citizenship experiences and development?
To what extent does your school/college
tailor its citizenship education provision to the needs, interests
and experiences of students?
How much use is made of students'
"everyday citizenship experiences" in their homes and
communities in order to make citizenship relevant to them?
Is there a clear strategy for building
strong links with local and wider communities beyond the school/college?
How far have individuals and groups
(including parents) from the local community been involved in
the planning and delivery of citizenship?
5. What factors underpin citizenship developments
in my school/college?
How far are the factors that underpin
the most successful citizenship provision present in my school/college?
What is the status and impact of
management factors?
How far is citizenship developed
and supported across the whole institution?
To what extent are learning contexts
supportive of citizenship in terms of staff expertise, active
learning approaches and positive classroom climate?
The research findings should be viewed with
caution. It should be remembered that the citizenship education
initiative in England is still in its early stages of implementation.
The findings from the Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study
remain interim findings at this stage. It is not surprising that
they present a picture of uneven and inconsistent practice within
and across schools. This does not mean that there is not room
for considerable improvement in many areas. However, it would
be premature to suggest major changes to the citizenship curriculum
until a cohort of young people have experienced statutory citizenship
in schools and colleges from age 11-18 and the outcomes of such
experience have been fully evaluated, published and reviewed.
This will be the case when the final report from the Longitudinal
Study is published in 2009.
Finally, we would strongly support the need
for research and evaluation to be at the heart of any on-going
and future development in citizenship education in England (and
in other countries). Research means that we know a lot more about
policy and practice in citizenship in schools in England now than
in 2001. And by 2009 we will know considerably more than in 2006.
4. FURTHER EVIDENCE
NFER will be pleased to provide further details
about the findings and issues raised in this submission. NFER
researchers are also happy to contribute to any meetings or sessions
convened by the Education and Skills Select Committee should committee
members which to pursue anything further. We also hope that we
will have an opportunity to place the latest findings from the
Longitudinal Study on Active Citizenship before the Committee
once these are publicly available in April. We believe they have
a major bearing on the Committee's activities.
5. ABOUT THE
AUTHOR
David Kerr (d.kerr@nfer.ac.uk) is Principal
Research Officer at the National Foundation for Educational Research
in England and Wales (NFER) and Visiting Professor in Citizenship
at Birkbeck College, University of London. He was Professional
Officer to the Citizenship Advisory Group chaired by Professor
(now Sir) Bernard Crick. The group's final report led to the introduction
of citizenship in schools in England in 2002. David is currently
leading at NFER a nine-year Citizenship Education Longitudinal
Study which began in 2001 and aims to assess the short and long-term
effects of the new citizenship courses in schools on young people.
The Study has produced a number of influential reports including
Listening to Young People (2005) and Making Citizenship
Education Real (2004). He was previously the national research
coordinator (England) for the 28 country IEA Civic Education Study
(CIVED).
David is active in citizenship networks in Europe.
He is currently the UK National Co-ordinator and on the CAHCIT
Steering Group of the Council of Europe's Education for Democratic
Citizenship (EDC) project. The Council of Europe has designated
2005 as the European Year of Citizenship through Education. He
co-authored the Council's All-European Study on Education for
Democratic Citizenship Policies (2004) and contributed to
the EURYDICE survey Citizenship Education at School in Europe
(2005) and CIDREE 2005 Yearbook on Citizenship Education.
He has led a number of international seminars for the British
Council on citizenship and human rights education, both in the
UK and abroad, and published widely.
REFERENCES i Office
for Standards in Education (2005). Citizenship in Secondary
Schools: Evidence from Ofsted Inspections (2003-04) (HMI 2335)
[online]. Available: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/index.cfm?fuseaction=pubs.summary&id=3822
[15 March, 2005].
ii See also Kerr, D (2004)."How to
develop citizenship education in schools: England's results from
the IEA Citizenship Education Study", TOPIC, Issue
31, [Item 3].
March 2006
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