Active citizenship in schools and the community

Abstract

During the 1980s the government of the time mooted the need for active citizenship which was associated with education for citizenship. The re-emergence of citizenship education as an important part of the curriculum has meant that notions underpinning the idea, including the meaning of active citizenship, are once again under scrutiny.This article examines different understandings of citizenship and how they give rise to different beliefs about what the rights and responsibilities of the citizen should be. It then discusses the present government's understandings of active citizenship and their intention to create a socially inclusive society, shifting from a rights-based paradigm of citizenship to one based on mutual obligation. It concludes by examining how those intentions might translate into the school context, drawing from recent research in three secondary schools in the United Kingdom.

Keywords:

• Active Citizenship Citizen'S Rights And Responsibilities Curriculum Implications