Memorandum submitted by the Learning and
Skills Development Agency (LSDA)
INTRODUCTION
1. The Learning and Skills Development Agency
(LSDA) welcomes the opportunity to provide evidence on citizenship
education for the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee.
In making this response the Agency has drawn on its experience
of managing large-scale research and development projects for
the post-16 education and training sector, in particular the Post-16
Citizenship Development Programme, which has run for nearly five
years.1
2. The authors of this response would be
happy to provide oral evidence to the House of Commons Select
Committee to supplement the information below and to arrange for
young people who have benefited from post-16 citizenship to speak
to the Committee.
3. In this response we have only answered
questions where we have relevant experience.
KEY POINTS
4. Post-16 citizenship education can be
highly beneficial to the young people who experience it. We strongly
believe that effective and successful post-16 citizenship activity
can and should be developed in the full range of post-16 settings
for young people at all levels where they learn and train formally
and informally.
5. Evidence from the final evaluation of
the development programme suggests that for post-16 citizenship
programmes and activity to be most successful, there needs to
be:2
— coherent, planned provision;
— senior management support;
— a supportive cultural ethos; and
— dedicated and enthusiastic staff
with sufficient resources and development opportunities.
6. There are significant staff development
challenges across the post-16 settings to ensure that individuals
and organisations feel equipped to deliver citizenship programmes
effectively. Sufficient curriculum materials and training opportunities
are needed to create mainstream provision and build capacity.
7. Post-16 citizenship provides further
opportunities to tackle issues of young people's identity and
sense of Britishness, as well as ways of promoting community cohesion.
Staff need particular support in handling the discussion of these
and other potentially controversial issues and the promotion of
political literacy.
8. More research and development activity
is needed to establish a clearer understanding of how post-16
citizenship learning and progress relates to and develops from
national curriculum citizenship.
9. While the benefits of "active"
citizenship are evident,3 it is also clear that organising opportunities
for practical action within large citizenship programmes, for
example in FE colleges, poses big challenges. The key to success
here is focused support from senior management, targeted resources
and trained and enthusiastic citizenship staff.4
VALUE AND
BENEFITS OF
POST-16 CITIZENSHIP
EDUCATION
10. LSDA's experience of running the Post-16
Citizenship Development Programme leads us to support the following
conclusion drawn by David Bell, then Chief Inspector of Schools:5
The development of citizenship post-16 is important:
there is no logic in young people studying citizenship as a National
Curriculum subject up to age of 16 and then not building on this
as they approach the age when they can vote.
11. Similarly we recognise the contribution
that post-16 citizenship education can make to the implementation
of Every Child Matters and to the statement in the 14-19
White Paper: "[. . .] we need to be confident that everyone
leaving education is equipped to be an informed, responsible,
active citizen".6
12. We believe that significant lessons
about the delivery of successful citizenship programmes generally
can be learnt from the post-16 pilots. Our experience tells us
that the most successful programmes for post-16 citizenship are:
— demonstrate clear understanding of
what citizenship means; and
— tailored to the needs, skills, interests
and experiences of young people.
13. The development programme has shown
clear benefits of post-16 citizenship in a number of ways including
the following.
14. Young people on citizenship programmes
have reported increased self esteem, feelings of empowerment and
motivation for learning, all of which come from being genuinely
listened to and being able to make a difference to an issue of
concern to them.8 For example, one young person from a youth inclusion
project in Oldham, on winning the recent Citizenship Through Music
competition organised by LSDA, commented as follows:9
We chose the theme of this rap because we're
trying to show other people that we're not criminals, that we
are only human beings, and that we need a little help from other
people sometimes in order to get on in life.
The competition was like someone finally giving
me the opportunity to be noticed and share my views on things.
We want to show that although we don't really
like exams and stuff that we still have values and care about
where we live. We want to show that citizenship can reach all
parts of the community.
15. Senior managers have commented on the
positive impact of citizenship programmes on the retention and
achievement of young people. For example the chief executive of
a training provider within the programme said:
The benefits of citizenship to our training agency
have been immeasurable. Due to the opportunities for personal
development, our retention rates have improved significantly.
16. Wider benefits are also evident including:
— better-informed young people who
are aware of their rights and responsibilities;
— positive young people who feel they
belong; and
— young people who say they are more
likely to vote.
RESPONSES TO
SPECIFIC ISSUES
RAISED
Teachers' and leaders' attitudes to citizenship
education: workload implications
17. The national evaluation of the development
programme reported that staff directly involved in the delivery
of post-16 citizenship were generally very positive and largely
enthusiastic about citizenship education. It also identified future
challenges such as lack of time, the need for resources, motivating
new staff to become involved and developing and sustaining programmes.
The need for effective staff training and support was seen as
crucial. 10
18. Evidence from the development programme
demonstrates an excellent take-up rate of support and training.
For example, regional networks designed to share effective practice,
national themed training events and active and practical curriculum
materials proved popular and were well regarded.
19. Staff working directly with young people
have the most immediate impact on the success of citizenship activity.
A committed and well-resourced member of staff can make the difference
between an effective project and an ineffective one. We believe
that the attitudes and support of senior managers are crucial
to the success and effectiveness of all post-16 citizenship activity.
20. Benefits for many managers have arisen
when young people are:
— regularly and directly involved as
researchers in quality assurance processes; and
— consulted on matters such as the
design of new buildings, catering facilities and the appointment
of new staff.
21. Other senior managers, however, do not
appear to understand fully the value of citizenship education
in a post-16 context and accordingly have not given the activity
sufficient resources, profile or the wider support it needs. Of
considerable help in making the case with senior managers would
be further research and development activity. This could be used
to help communicate the relationship between young people's involvement
in citizenship activity and their retention and achievement in
education and training.
Initial and in-service training
22. Research recently carried out within
the development programme about training needs for staff involved
in the delivery of post-16 citizenship education indicates a strong
demand for a wide range of support. The most frequently requested
support is for:
— managing the teaching of controversial
issues;
— ideas on how to engage actively with
young people in a facilitative way; and
— opportunities to share effective
citizenship practice.
23. Guidance on exactly what citizenship
education and activity is in post-16 settings is particularly
valuable in the early stages of projects. The 2004 QCA guidance
document is widely seen as very useful in benchmarking the basics
of what is required. 11 It has also been useful in drawing out
the differences between Personal, Social and Health Education
and citizenship, which is a common cause of confusion among staff
who are delivering citizenship education.
24. We have also experienced high demand
for specific accredited training. Eight post-16 sector staff participating
in the development programme have taken part in the pilot of the
DfES certificate of teaching citizenship. Feedback was generally
positive although there was a strong call for courses more tailored
to the particular needs of post-16 settings as they were designed
for 11-16-year-olds in schools.
25. Despite their apparent interest in the
area of citizenship, beginning teachers do not always clearly
understand citizenship issues. 12 This includes those entering
the profession via citizenship specialist PGCE courses. The development
programme recently developed a pack of appropriate materials and
activities to answer the need for simple clear messages about
post-16 citizenship. 13
26. Evidence from the development programme
tells us that young people also need support and training if they
are to develop and exercise effectively a range of citizenship
skills. For example, young people need training on how to represent
the views of others or negotiate with others. Such skills are
important when, for instance, young people become actively involved
in representative structures (such as college councils or workers
forums) or when they are organising and delivering conferences
on citizenship issues for other young people.
27. It is evident that where such training
has taken place with young people they feel more confident and
empowered. At Aylesbury High School, for example, young people
organised and recently ran a conference called "Breaking
down barriers" for their peers in the locality. Questions
such as "Can we be both multicultural and inclusive while
maintaining our national identity?" and "How should
we respond to the terrorist attacks in London?" were tackled.
The young people leading the conference took part in a preparatory
training session to learn and practice strategies for managing
discussions about controversial issues. The teacher facilitating
this training drew on activities and strategies that she had recently
experienced at a staff development session run by the LSDA development
programme on the same issue. 14
Continuity of citizenship education between primary,
11-16 and post-compulsory stages
28. We believe that stronger links between
the different stages of citizenship education should be developed.
At the same time the distinctive nature of each stage should be
recognised. Evidence from the development programme suggests there
should be greater efforts by teachers and curriculum managers
to relate post-16 citizenship work to learners' previous experience.
29. Best practice in post-16 activity builds
on and extends the skills and knowledge of young people that was
developed as part of national curriculum citizenship. This is
in part achieved through the use of effective base-lining activities
during induction into post-16 citizenship work. For example, at
Merton College, before a six-week unit of work on political literacy
for all A level students, learners were asked to do a quiz which
helped diagnose their starting point for the new module.
30. Some providers of education and training
have found it difficult to make decisions about the level of activities
required for post-16 citizenship programmes. 15 More work needs
to be done to define what is required at each stage of citizenship
education particularly at the boundary of Key Stage 4 and post-16
citizenship.
31. The work that QCA has already begun
on criteria to establish a new A-level in citizenship studies,
so that awarding bodies can develop the qualification ready for
2008, will be useful in better defining what is required at each
stage of citizenship education. We also welcome the development
of a new post-16 active citizenship qualification at Level 3 commissioned
by QCA and currently being trialled by the Associated Qualifications
Alliance (AQA) examining board with a small number of projects
drawn from the LSDA-run development programme.
32. We would strongly urge QCA to consider
developing this qualification at Levels 1 and 2 as well as Level
3 because evidence from our pilot projects suggests a strong demand
at all levels of qualification. These qualifications should reward
"real" active citizenship and creative activity, which
have strong characteristics of the development programme to date.
Relationship between citizenship education and
current debates about identity and Britishness
33. In our view citizenship education has
a key role to play in allowing young people to explore in a supported
and structured way a wide range of issues concerning identity
and diversity. Indeed aspects of these debates are part of the
citizenship curriculum for secondary school students.
34. In post-16 education there are further
opportunities to revisit important issues. With its emphasis on
starting from the interests of young people themselves, a significant
number of projects in the development programme have chosen themes
such Britishness for recent activity (see below).
— At Camden Jobtrain motor mechanics
on an Entry to Employment training programme painted "a diversity
car" representing all the different identities of the group
following considerable discussion and investigation into the issue
of cultural identity.
— At "Youth Action" in Blackburn
a group of learners wrote and performed a song on identity called
"Recognition" following on an intergenerational project
that involved Asian war veterans.
— At Oldham Sixth-Form College, students
have learned to debate controversial issues that help them reflect
on local, national and international issues. Through the tutorial
programme students explore their identity as citizens and reflect
on the relationship between the various religious and ethnic communities
in Oldham.
35. As already stated, many staff find facilitating
this work particularly challenging. Such is the demand for activities
and ideas to support them, a new pack of curriculum materials
on citizenship and identity, with a case-study film on Muslims
in Britain today, is currently being produced jointly by the LSDA
programme and the Foreign Office.
Citizenship education: potential to contribute
to community cohesion
36. LSDA's experience of running the post-16
citizenship development programme suggests that citizenship education
has the potential to contribute powerfully to community cohesion—both
within and beyond the learning organisation.
37. The two examples following demonstrate
this point and the range of activities that projects have chosen
to explore these issues.
38. At Richmond Upon Thames College, a group
of students as part of their citizenship programme chose to investigate
the self-separation of different ethnic groups across the college's
social and catering areas. The group interviewed fellow students
about the perceived problem. They made a video of their findings,
which they then presented to the senior management with suggestions
for improving the overall sense of community within the college.
— At Aylward School in Edmonton, as
part of an annual intergenerational project with Age Concern local
residents were invited in over a series of weeks to discuss a
wide range of social issues with all Year 12 students. Issues
such as crime, perceptions of young and old in the locality, the
environment and fair trade were chosen by the groups for research
and discussion. Follow-up work enabled some of the young people
to go out into related community placements such as working in
an Oxfam shop or "shadowing" a local magistrate to understand
more about their work. An Ofsted inspection of the project praised
the young people's critical thinking skills and reported that
they were "engaging positively and to good effect with members
of their community".16
39. It is clear from the programme that
projects involving young people going into the community or community
members visiting young people in their places of learning are
beneficial and enjoyable. However activities like these are time
consuming to set up and need to be well planned and focused. In
the best examples, young people did preparatory work beforehand
and were given space and time to reflect on the activity afterwards,
allowing the citizenship learning to be drawn out and consolidated.
Implementation of active aspects of curriculum,
ie community involvement and involvement in the running of the
school
40. Evidence drawn from the programme shows
that there have been genuine attempts by pilot projects to combine
knowledge, understanding and skills with practical action. This
is in part helped by the greater flexibility possible with post-16
citizenship programmes and the greater maturity of these young
people, allowing them more opportunities to lead activities themselves
or train others in citizenship issues and skills.
41. We believe that practice and "active"
citizenship learning experiences for those over 16-years-old are
both desirable and motivating—enabling young people genuinely
to feel they are making a difference.
42. It is clear that senior managers and
leaders need to understand the implications of involving young
people more fully in the decision-making processes of their organisations,
the benefits of such actions and the negative and demotivating
effects of doing this in a tokenistic way. As already stated in
paragraph 6, professional development is particularly key here.
All staff involved need to feel confident about supporting young
people to go beyond a narrow knowledge approach to the subject
to a position where they can "apply" their learning
in "real" contexts.
APPENDIX: THE
POST-16 CITIZENSHIP
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Background
43. The Post-16 Citizenship Development
Programme17 was established in 2001 following recommendations
in the second Crick Report18 and the Government's decision to
make citizenship statutory at Key Stages 3 and 4.
44. The programme is funded by the DfES
and the European Social Fund and managed by LSDA. It aims to trial
different ways of providing citizenship learning in all post-16
education and training settings: school sixth forms, sixth-form
colleges, FE colleges, tertiary colleges, training organisations,
workplaces, youth services and voluntary community groups. The
programme is probably unique in that staff from these different
areas have met regularly at local networks and national training
events to share ideas and strategies for the embedding of active
citizenship within their curricula and courses. In all, around
150 organisations have been involved.
45. The programme has gained considerable
experience of what works, and what does not in the development
of active citizenship for 16-19-year-olds. Independent evaluation
indicates a high level of success in meeting the programme's original
aims: the final evaluation report from the National Foundation
for Educational Research, Taking post-16 citizenship forward
(December 2004) concluded:
Overall the Programme has been hugely successful
in laying the foundations for the development of post-16 citizenship.
Above all it has succeeded in showing how the aspirations of the
Crick Group on 16-19 citizenship, that citizenship should be an
entitlement for all young people aged 16-19 [...] can be developed
in practice in a range of post-16 settings and contexts.
Active citizenship
46. The post-16 citizenship team at LSDA
has worked closely with the QCA in developing guidance for post-16
citizenship, which appears on the QCA website (ww.qca.org.uk/citizenship/post-16).
The document states that "Citizenship education (should equip)
young people with the knowledge, skills and understanding to play
an active, effective part in society as informed, critical citizens
who are socially and morally responsible". It aims to give
them the confidence and conviction that they can act with others,
have influence and make a difference in their communities (locally,
nationally and globally) (p6).
47. It sets out a framework for citizenship
learning within which a wide range of activities can take place.
The framework includes three essential opportunities that post-16
citizenship work should offer young people. To:
— identify, investigate and think critically
about citizenship issues, problems or events of concern to them;
— decide on and take part in follow-up
action where appropriate; and
— reflect on, recognise and review
their learning.
48. The main forms of provision used for
post-16 citizenship programmes and activities are:
— representative structures (eg youth
councils, unions, forums);
— components of citizenship within
other courses and qualifications;
— specially written courses or units
for citizenship, sometimes leading to qualifications or awards;
— group tutorial programmes;
— voluntary and community activities
and campaigns;
— events (eg citizenship conferences);
and
— individual or group research projects.
Benefits of citizenship in the words of young
project members
Taking responsibility for myself and others—it's
given me an opportunity to explore my social and political views—something
young people have been deprived of in the past. Youth project
member, Worcestershire
Citizenship has exposed me to the feeling of
wanting to get up and make a change in society and the wider world—it's
invigorating. Sixth-form college student, Merton
I think because we did citizenship [...] it's
given me a different perspective on college life. Rather than
just what the college can do for me, it's made me think what I
can do to contribute to the college community.
College student, Richmond-Upon-Thames
The benefits of citizenship to our training
agency have been immeasurable [...] due to the opportunities for
personal development, our retention levels have improved significantly."
Training provider, north London
REFERENCES
1 For further details of the Post-16 Citizenship
Development Programme please see the Appendix.
2 The full evaluation report of the Post-16
Citizenship Development Programme can be downloaded from www.nfer.ac.uk/research/post16.asp
3 Further information about "active"
citizenship can be found in the Appendix.
4 See footnote 2.
5 Speech by David Bell about the publication
The evaluation of the post 16-citizenship pilot, Ofsted.
November 2005. At www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/index.cfm
6 14-19 White Paper, February 2005 at www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/14-19educationandskills/
7 See footnote 3.
8 For other views of young people from the
programme see the Appendix at the back of this response.
9 More details of the music competition
and winning song can be found on www.post16citizenship.org
10 Final evaluation report of the development
programme—as footnote 2.
11 Copies of the QCA guidance for post-16
citizenship can be downloaded from www.qca.org.uk/citizenship
12 Members of the central team have presented
twice at the TDA's Citized national conference which has representatives
from all HEI's providing citizenship PCGE programmes
13 Developed for the TDA's Citized initiative.
Details of the pack Post-16 Citizenship: a guide for trainee
teachers can be found at www.post-16citizenship.org
14 Details of the pack (with training materials),
Agree to disagree: citizenship and controversial issues can
be found on www.post16citizenship.org
15 This refers to the depth and range of
activity appropriate to the age and interests of young people
who are 16-19-years-old.
16 For details of where to find the Ofsted/ALI
evaluation report, see footnote 4.
17 For more information about the programme
and the resources and support it offers, see www.post16citzenship.org
18 Citizenship for 16-19 year olds in
education and training (2000). The "second Crick report".
Department for Education and Skills.
March 2006
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