Teachers and Young Citizens: teachers talk about their role as social educators

Abstract

This article explores the responses of a small group of primary and secondary teachers in England concerning the changing status of citizenship education, as a result of the introduction of non‐statutory guidance for the primary (5‐11) phase in 2000 and the planned introduction of statutory requirements for the teaching of citizenship in the secondary (11‐16) phase for September 2002. The sample is drawn from a larger study of trainee teachers in the mid‐1990s exploring notions of citizenship and the role of education in fostering citizenship for future generations. This follow‐up study revisited some of the original research questions and explored the ways in which, as relatively experienced teachers, the interviewees had shifted in their understanding of citizenship and their confidence in teaching citizenship related issues. Although the teachers generally were still positive about the potential role for schools in fostering good citizenship, they still lacked confidence in articulating how they specifically could best do this. They continued to be concerned about the factors, which negatively impacted on the ability and willingness of teachers to engage in citizenship issues; the pressures of workload, a prescriptive curriculum and a culture dominated by standardised testing and examination. A number of positive developments, particularly with regard to government guidance and support for teachers, are reported, but their impact will only become clear in the future. This small‐scale research supports the findings of the earlier work which argue that one of the key areas for educational policy‐makers is the effective support for addressing citizenship education during the training (both initial and in‐service) of teachers.