Memorandum submitted by NASUWT
1. NASUWT believes that the citizenship
curriculum must be "fit for purpose". To this end, the
Union advocates four key criteria which should be applied in relation
to the citizenship curriculum; as follows:
Does the curriculum avoid the imposition
of additional workload burdens on schools and teachers through
effective design of content, teaching methods or assessment systems?
(ii) Capacity for teaching and learning
Does the design of the curriculum
support the principles of the remodelling agenda by ensuring that
teachers are able to concentrate on their core responsibilities
for teaching and learning? Does the curriculum ensure that teachers
do not have to undertake responsibilities that could be more appropriately
carried out by other members of the school workforce?
Does the curriculum support the work
of teachers to raise standards and provide high-quality learning
opportunities for all pupils?
Does the curriculum provide a learning
context that will have a positive impact on pupils' motivation
and behaviour?
In respect of the citizenship curriculum, NASUWT
believes that establishing the extent to which these criteria
are met is essential if an effective assessment of the role of
citizenship in the National Curriculum is to be undertaken.
KEY CRITERIA:
WORKLOAD
NASUWT has concerns about the place
of citizenship education in an "overloaded" National
Curriculum framework. As more subjects have been added into the
curriculum the time available to teach has been condensed and
the space for learning overly congested.
The introduction of the citizenship
curriculum has had some identifiable workload implications for
teachers, including timetabling changes, the completion of curriculum
audits and the recording and tracking of pupils.
In some schools there have been pressures
to lengthen the school day as a solution to an overburdened National
Curriculum. In NASUWT's view, the curriculum should be rationalised
to ensure that it is coherent and "fit for purpose"
and does not lead to the worsening of teachers' working conditions
through increases in their workload burdens.
The QCA review of Key Stage 3 and
14-19 provision provides an opportunity to revise and rationalise
the National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4. NASUWT is in favour
of a streamlined, coherent and cohesive curriculum framework,
where the delivery of the citizenship curriculum does not create
additional workload burdens for teachers.
A wide range of curriculum models
have been used to deliver citizenship education and can lead to
additional work for teachers, who are required to audit the existing
curriculum to identify links. The co-ordination and management
of citizenship across the curriculum requires substantial organisation
and administration which detracts from the time available for
teaching and learning. In NASUWT's view, there is a need for clear,
transparent guidance on the location and best models of delivery
for citizenship education.
KEY CRITERIA:
CAPACITY FOR
TEACHING AND
LEARNING
Any review of citizenship education
should comply with the provisions of the National Agreement "Raising
Standards and Tackling Workload".
Assessment methods should be "fit
for purpose" and allow teachers to concentrate on their core
responsibilities for teaching and learning. The current review
of Key Stages 3 and 4 of the National Curriculum should avoid
an overly bureaucratic approach to pupil assessment to ensure
that it does not significantly increase the workload burdens for
teachers.
The remodelling agenda provides opportunities
for schools to use other members of the school's workforce to
organise citizenship education that takes place outside the "formal"
classroom environment.
KEY CRITERIA:
RAISING STANDARDS
The time and space available for
citizenship education has been affected by the distorting effects
of a "high-stakes" accountability system based on school
performance tables.
citizenship is often seen as a "bolt-on"
to the rest of the National Curriculum, rather than being fully
integrated.
Trade unionism should be included
as part of the citizenship curriculum.
Teachers have the right to receive
effective support in the teaching of citizenship. While some local
authorities provide excellent resources, there is a need for citizenship
teachers to have consistent access to high-quality CPD.
NASUWT welcomes the development of
specialist ITT and PGCE courses in citizenship, which provide
essential support for teachers delivering this curriculum area.
There are positive reports about
the quantity and quality of resource materials to support citizenship
education, although some teachers report that there are fewer
resources available for less able pupils.
KEY CRITERIA:
PUPIL MOTIVATION
AND BEHAVIOUR
There is insufficient research available
to comment on the effects of the citizenship curriculum on pupil
motivation and behaviour. This is a significant concern and one
that needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency.
If citizenship is to make a positive
contribution to tackling disaffection, it is important that more
work is undertaken to understand the perceptions of the subject
amongst teachers and learners.
BACKGROUND
2. NASUWT welcomes the opportunity to contribute
to the Education and Skills Select Committee Inquiry into Citizenship
Education.
3. NASUWT is the largest union representing
teachers and headteachers throughout the UK.
4. NASUWT has members in post-16, secondary,
primary and special education. Members of the Union are active
in identifying issues and concerns around curriculum design, delivery
and assessment and how these interact with teachers' terms and
conditions. Issues, concerns and good practice identified by members
have informed this evidence.
The role of citizenship in the modern curriculum
5. NASUWT welcomed the introduction of citizenship
as a statutory National Curriculum subject in September 2002.
NASUWT believes it is essential that young people develop an understanding
of their rights and entitlements as citizens, and an appreciation
of the political, economic and social contexts in which they operate
at local, national and global levels. citizenship education enables
teachers to address many of the complex issues surrounding individuals'
rights and responsibilities in society, through the exploration
of identity, belonging, diversity, human rights, democracy, democratic
participation and global issues.
6. The citizenship curriculum provides pupils
with an opportunity to express and examine their own views and
attitudes, and develop important skills, which are not addressed
in the same way in other National Curriculum subjects.
7. Citizenship has an important place in
the modern curriculum. However, NASUWT has some concerns about
the emphasis in the citizenship curriculum and the different approaches
that have been developed in the UK. The citizenship curriculum
in England defined by the Crick Advisory Group[43]
in 1997 covers three broad themes:
social and moral responsibility;
community involvement; and
In Wales, citizenship is delivered through the
statutory PSE curriculum and focuses on "empowering pupils
to be active, informed and responsible citizens aware of their
rights and committed to the practices of participative democracy
and the challenges of being a citizen of Wales and the world."
[44]In
Northern Ireland, there is a strong emphasis on developing a "culture
of tolerance" through citizenship education. In other European
countries, citizenship refers specifically to equality, social
justice or participatory democracy. In NASUWT's view, an approach
that emphasises empowerment, participation and citizens' rights
in a democracy is preferable to the current definition of citizenship
as used in the National Curriculum in England which focuses on
the duties that citizens "owe" to society, for example
to vote in elections.
8. The inclusion of identity and notions
of "Britishness" is important but makes citizenship
a challenging area for teachers to teach. Definitions of "Britishness"
are complex and there is a danger that this concept could be interpreted
as denoting a fixed "British identity". NASUWT believes
that a curriculum which seeks to explore notions of "Britishness"
and "identity" should be clear, transparent and capable
of being delivered by teachers. Appropriate resource materials
are needed to assist teachers' delivery of this complex and contested
area.
The citizenship Curriculum: Key Criteria
9. NASUWT believes that the citizenship
curriculum must be "fit for purpose". To this end, the
Union advocates four key criteria which should be applied in relation
to the citizenship curriculum; as follows:
(ii) capacity for teaching and learning;
(iii) raising standards; and
KEY CRITERIA:
WORKLOAD
An overloaded National Curriculum
10. citizenship became a statutory National
Curriculum subject at Key Stages 3 and 4 in September 2002, with
a curriculum entitlement at Key Stages 1 and 2. While the concept
of citizenship education is welcome, NASUWT has concerns about
the place of citizenship in an overburdened National Curriculum
framework. NASUWT supports the provision of a broad and balanced
National Curriculum which does not add to the workload burdens
of teachers. However, all too often, additional content has been
added to the National Curriculum with no corresponding reduction
in the size and volume of the rest of the curriculum. This means
that the time available to "teach" the required curriculum
has become increasingly condensed, with consequent pressures on
teachers and pupils.
11. The introduction of citizenship as a
statutory National Curriculum subject has had workload implications
for teachers, including timetabling adjustments, the completion
of curriculum audits to identify where citizenship is taking place,
preparation time for the delivery of a new subject, additional
assessments at all Key Stages, and the recording, tracking and
reporting of pupils achievements, combined with additional work
for Ofsted inspections and the production of SEFs.
12. In some schools, there have been pressures
to lengthen the school day as a solution in an overloaded National
Curriculum. In NASUWT's view, these pressures should be addressed
by rationalising the curriculum to ensure that it is coherent
and "fit for purpose" and that it does not lead to the
worsening of teachers' working conditions.
QCA curriculum review
13. NASUWT notes that the QCA is currently
engaged in a debate about the contours of a "modern world-class"
curriculum for the future. This includes a review of the 14-19
curriculum and Key Stage 3, following on from publication of the
14-19 Education and Skills White Paper (2005). The review
will address important issues about the content and design of
the future curriculum. While NASUWT supports work to ensure that
citizenship is not perceived as a "bolt-on" in an already
"overfilled" framework, the Union also believes that
a period of stability and consolidation is required, with minimal
changes being made to ensure that teachers' workloads are not
adversely affected and to minimise disruption to teaching and
learning.
14. NASUWT believes that it is essential
for any review of citizenship education to comply with the provisions
of the National Agreement Raising Standards and Tackling Workload.
The curriculum review should seek to bring downward pressure on
the working hours of teachers, cut unnecessary bureaucracy and
reduce the level of prescription. These curriculum design features
would reflect fully the objectives of the National Agreement and
the New Relationship with Schools agenda.
Assessment
15. The DfES'S and QCA's[45]
proposed "menu" of assessment methods for citizenship,
including portfolios, peer assessment and participation logs,
and the use of in-school levelling processes to ensure the consistency
of assessments, also raises concerns about the workload implications
for teachers. While teachers use all these assessment methods,
it is NASUWT's view that teachers should be encouraged to use
their professional judgement when making decisions about appropriate
assessment tools. Assessment should be "fit for purpose"
and allow teachers to focus on their core responsibilities of
teaching and learning. In any review of the citizenship curriculum
an overly bureaucratic approach to pupil assessment should be
avoided to ensure that this does not significantly increase the
workload burdens of teachers, and, thereby, undermine educational
standards.
Modes of delivery
16. A wide range of curriculum models[46]
have been used to deliver citizenship, including stand-alone,
discrete subject timetabling, integration with PSHE, delivery
through other related curriculum areas such as humanities and
RE, and suspended timetable activities. This wide variety of potential
delivery models for citizenship education can lead to additional
workloads for teachers. This problem is exacerbated by the requirement
for teachers to audit the curriculum to identify where citizenship
is already being delivered and might "fit" as a stand-alone
subject. [47]
17. The co-ordination and management of
citizenship across the curricula, the assessment of pupils and
the recording and tracking of their achievements requires substantial
organisation and administration on the part of schools. This process
can be time-consuming, and detracts from the time available for
teaching and learning. Similarly, time spent justifying schools'
"choices" in relation to citizenship education merely
in order to satisfy Ofsted inspectors or to inform the completion
of the school's SEF further exacerbates time and workload pressures.
18. In NASUWT's view, for the curriculum
to be "fit for purpose" there is a need for clear, transparent
guidance on the location and best models for delivery of citizenship
education in the National Curriculum framework.
KEY CRITERIA:
CAPACITY FOR
TEACHING AND
LEARNING
19. The choice of location of the citizenship
curriculum can lead to teachers spending a disproportionate amount
of time auditing the existing curriculum to identify where citizenship
is already taught and developing separate timetabled sessions
to ensure its delivery. The time spent on the practical organisation
of the citizenship curriculum detracts from the time that citizenship
teachers should be allocating to the delivery of the curriculum.
Clear and transparent guidance on the location and delivery of
citizenship education is required to maximise the time available
for teachers to undertake their core responsibilities for teaching
and learning.
20. The National Agreement contractual changes
and implementation of the remodelling agenda in schools has prompted
many schools to revise their curriculum practice and the organisation
of teachers' work. This has produced many positive benefits for
pupils as well as for teachers and their schools; in particular
by creating capacity for a personalised/tailored curriculum and
for teachers to focus their time and skills on the development
of strategies for improving pupil outcomes. The National Agreement
and the remodelling agenda presents a very important opportunity
for the DfES, QCA and schools to collaborate on the future development
and organisation of the citizenship curriculum. Working with the
Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group, the QCA could consider how
the citizenship curriculum could be more effectively delivered
by the whole school team. There is a real opportunity to build
on existing DfES and QCA materials[48]
on citizenship education that indicate how many schools are including
educational visits, outside speakers, community and volunteering
activities and the operation of school councils as part of their
citizenship curricula programmes. In schools with effective citizenship
programmes, many of the administrative and organisational duties
associated with these activities will be carried out by school
support staff. Teachers and other staff will also work together
collaboratively to deliver different aspects of the citizenship
curriculum. Specific school personnel can also positively assist
in the delivery of citizenship education; for example, the school
librarian/resources manager employed to assist pupils' research
information for citizenship projects.
KEY CRITERIA:
RAISING STANDARDS
21. The pressure to deliver additional subjects
in an already "overloaded" National Curriculum[49]
has led some schools to perceive citizenship as a "threat"
to the teaching time for other subjects. Moreover, the "high-stakes"
accountability mechanism of school performance tables has resulted
in action by many schools to weight curriculum time in favour
of mathematics, English and science[50],
and to give less time to other subjects that are perceived to
be less critical to schools' measures of success. The publication
of school performance tables does not support the provision of
a broad and balanced curriculum and operates to distort the delivery
of learning objectives. The effects of an overloaded curriculum
and the distorting effects of school performance tables have led
to citizenship frequently being treated as a "bolt-on"[51]
to the rest of the National Curriculum.
Curriculum scope
22. One gap in the citizenship curriculum
relates to developing pupils' knowledge and understanding of industrial
relations and the opportunities for workers to engage in the democratic
process through recognised trade unions. As voluntary organisations
in civil society, trade unions have an important role to play
in developing ideas about "citizenship" and the active
engagement of trade union members in the social, economic and
political processes in society. It is NASUWT's view that trade
unionism should be included as an area of study as part of the
citizenship curriculum. As students increasingly engage in periods
of work experience and work-related learning, an appreciation
of the role and functions of trade unions, and measures to protect
health and safety in the context of developing a wider knowledge
and understanding of industrial relations and democratic participation,
would seem to be an essential ingredient within a contemporary
citizenship curriculum. The TUC has produced an excellent resource
pack focused on raising awareness of trade unions for use in schools,
which could be used by citizenship teachers. [52]NASUWT
believes that the TUC programme should be promoted widely by QCA
as an integral component of the citizenship curriculum.
Initial Teacher Training and CPD
23. NASUWT welcomes the development of initial
teacher training (ITT) and PGCE courses for citizenship teachers.
Ofsted's report[53]
of ITT courses for citizenship teachers found that these courses
were generally well received by participants and were judged to
be of satisfactory quality. The provision of ITT and PGCE courses
forms an essential part of the framework of support required by
teachers to focus on raising standards of teaching and learning.
It is vital that this success is built upon and not compromised
by future revisions of the ITT curriculum.
24. However, whilst initial training appears
to be good, the training provided to teachers as part of CPD is
a cause for concern.
25. The citizenship curriculum contains
complex and sensitive issues that NASUWT strongly believes should
be part of every child's educational entitlement (eg dealing with
discrimination, tackling racism equal opportunities, and notions
of identity and belonging), but which can be very challenging
for teachers to "deliver" effectively. Teachers need
access to high quality CPD on the teaching of citizenship, whilst
some local authorities already provide excellent resources and
training for teachers this provision is patchy, and may be difficult
for teachers to access due to the ways in which schools make provision
for teachers CPD.
26. There have been positive reports about
the quality and quantity of resource materials available for the
teaching of citizenship from such organisations as NFER[54]
although some teachers have pointed out that there are fewer resources
available for less able pupils.
KEY CRITERIA:
PUPIL MOTIVATION
AND BEHAVIOUR
27. Regrettably, there appears to be insufficient
research available on the effects of the citizenship curriculum
on pupil motivation and behaviour. This is a significant concern
and one that should be tackled as a matter of urgency.
28. The teaching of citizenship should contribute
to a greater appreciation by pupils of appropriate ways of participating
in a democratic civil society. It should promote pupils recognition
of rights and responsibilities and the need for respect and tolerance.
The establishment of schools councils has been one way in which
pupils have been engaged in working constructively together and
sharing opinions. Such developments could well inform how young
people engage with wider democratic processes, including future
participation at the ballot box. The citizenship curriculum should
also make a positive contribution to tackling disaffection. It
is very important that more work is undertaken to understand the
perceptions of the subject amongst teachers and learners. This
is particularly important given that citizenship will remain a
core National Curriculum subject at Key Stage 4.
March 2006
43 Advisory Group on "Education for citizenship
and the Teaching of Democracy in Schools" 1997. Chaired
by Professor Bernard Crick. Back
44
Eurydice "citizenship education at school in Europe: Country
reports" 2005 page 3. Back
45
QCA Assessing Citizenship: example assessment activities for
key stage 3 2006. Back
46
DfES CPD Handbook Making sense of Citizenship 2004. Chapter
2. page 3. Back
47
QCA The schools self-evaluation tool for Citizenship education
2005. Back
48
DfES CPD Handbook Making sense of Citizenship 2004 page
7 and the QCA citizenship: a scheme of work for key stage 4:
Teacher's guide 2002 page 11. Back
49
The DfES CPD Handbook Citizenship in the curriculum (2004)
states that "finding the right amount and kind of timetable
time for citizenship is not always easy. The school timetable
can appear over-stretched with citizenship competing with other
subjects for what time there is." Chapter 2, page 2. Back
50
DfES Watching and learning 2 Earl, L et al, Ontario Institute
for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, September 2001. Back
51
Ofsted Report Citizenship in secondary schools: evidence from
Ofsted inspections (2003-04) February 2005, page 4. Back
52
TUC publication: A Better Way to Work (2005). Back
53
Ofsted Report Initial Teacher Training for teachers of Citizenship
2004-05 2005. Back
54
NFER Report for the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA)
Connecting with citizenship education-a mapping study 2005. Back
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