Special Issue "Civics and Citizenship in Its Global Context"
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A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2012)
Special Issue Editor
Guest Editor
Dr. Ruth Reynolds
School of Education, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia
E-Mail: ruth.reynolds@newcastle.edu.au
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Traditional forms of citizenship education, focused on knowledge of formal institutions and processes of civic life, are increasingly challenged by global imperatives such as mass migration of peoples and the need for international cooperation around issues such as environmental, economic and social issues. It is imperative that educators address ways in which global interaction and global concerns have affected citizenship education at the school, tertiary and community level.
This special issue requests paper submissions that address themes such as:
- national identity and citizenship education in a globalised world
- personal/individual identity and citizenship education in a globalised world
- human rights education, peace education, sustainable futures education, conflict resolution education and social justice education and their relationship to citizenship education
- the role of community groups in promoting citizenship education
- the influence of media and ICT accessibility in developing and changing citizenship education
Dr. Ruth Reynolds
Guest Editor
Submission
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed Open Access quarterly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. For the first couple of issues the Article Processing Charge (APC) will be waived for well-prepared manuscripts.
English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.
Published Papers (8 papers)
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Received: 9 November 2011; in revised form: 7 December 2011 / Accepted: 19 December 2011 / Published: 21 December 2011
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Abstract: This paper examines perspectives and perceptions of democracy of pre- and in-service teachers as well as teacher-education academics in Australia in order to develop a robust and critical democratic education. Using data from an on-line survey the paper presents the quantitative analyses, and the qualitative responses of contrasting understandings of democracy, citizenship and the role of education in the promotion and development of an active and thick democracy the paper critiques the neo-liberal (thin) democratic discourse of contemporary Australian academic research that suggests that the Civics and Citizenship Education project only requires some augmentation highlighting issues like sustainability and globalization while ignoring social justice issues. It begins by outlining the concepts of thick and thin democracy, and revisits the state of civics and citizenship education (CCE) in Australia. It is argued that while the pre-service teachers in this study may have a more critical and thicker understanding of democracy that is mirrored in the views of their teacher-education professors, the practicing teachers, on the other hand, have largely adopted the mainstream neo-liberal discourse, presenting a tendency to view democracy in a very narrow or thin way that may impact on their classroom practice. The paper concludes with recommendations related to what a thick democracy might actually look like in school education.
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Received: 1 February 2012; in revised form: 28 March 2012 / Accepted: 29 March 2012 / Published: 18 May 2012
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Abstract: This study undertook a five month qualitative investigation into technology use amongst twelve high school social studies students in two different sites in the Midwestern United States. This study examined students’ use of technology and its relationship to three dimensions of citizenship in a global age: understand global events, issues, and perspectives, participate in global networks to communicate and collaborate with global audiences, and advocate on global problems and issues to think and act globally. Collecting data through semi-structured student interviews, online-threaded discussions and document analysis, I triangulated findings, and employed a qualitative approach. The study finds a relationship between student participants’ use of technology and their serving as engaged citizenship in a global age. In using technology, students accessed international news and information, joined global networks to communicate and collaborate with global audiences, and produced digital content for international audiences.
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Received: 1 March 2012; in revised form: 16 April 2012 / Accepted: 16 April 2012 / Published: 21 May 2012
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Abstract: Global food security and sustainability, animal welfare, dietary health, and socially just relations of food production have become prominent societal issues. They are of particular concern for young people as their lives progress towards becoming independent consumers and citizens with the capacity to shape food systems of the future. This paper examined the role of the Food for Life Partnership programme in promoting young people’s engagement with food-related citizenship education in secondary schools. The research consisted of a two stage study of 24 English schools. We surveyed experiences and attitudes of students and staff, and recorded programme activities. The results presented a mixed picture. Staff reports and monitoring evidence showed much successful implementation of programme activities across the whole school. However, there was less evidence of positive student behavioral change. Amongst a range of possibilities to account for the findings, one explanation is the organizational challenges of delivering a complex and ambitious programme in the secondary school setting. This suggests the need to develop food citizenship programmes that combine long term institutional reforms alongside focused interventions with specific groups of students. It also highlights the case for ensuring a place for food related citizenship on the educational policy agenda.
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Received: 22 February 2012; in revised form: 17 April 2012 / Accepted: 18 April 2012 / Published: 21 May 2012
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Abstract: This article explores how young people (aged 12–18) in the four Visegrad states of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic are constructing their identities, particularly their sense of attachment to their country and to Europe. This generation is of particular significance, in that they are the first generation for many years to have been born and socialised in wholly independent states that are in a relatively peaceful and stable state. Data was collected through 41 focus groups, conducted in 11 different locations in the different states, and were analysed in terms of the degree of enthusiasm expressed for civic institutions and cultural practices related to the country and to Europe. Two particular areas were identified: the sense of generational difference and the ways in which different groups created “other” communities, within and without their country’s borders. These parameters allow us to distinguish the significant communities that these young people are creating in order to make sense of their social and political worlds.
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Received: 14 February 2012; in revised form: 25 May 2012 / Accepted: 11 June 2012 / Published: 21 June 2012
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Abstract: The exercise of citizenship is today understood as a duty and as a right to be enjoyed within any educational context. Within the school, all of its protagonists are invited to exercise practices of citizenship. No one is excluded; even the less important parties have the right to participate in decisions that, for some reason, may have an influence on their academic life. The citizenship of the child is, thus, a challenge to the changing political, social and educational structures, to the transformation of institutions and to cultural renewal. The existence of harmonious relations between the educational community, the school, the children and the family is dependent on everyone’s ability to understand and communicate with each other. Parents and teachers have made a commitment to a fruitful and unison dialogue on behalf of the quality of education. In this article, we set out from an analysis of the new social realities and of the different meanings assigned to education, to afterwards reflect upon the current educational values and upon the practices that are consistent with those purposes. Citizenship, as well as autonomy, rise, thus, as central concepts, in which each educational community finds reasons for Making School Happen.
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Received: 9 March 2012; in revised form: 9 April 2012 / Accepted: 12 June 2012 / Published: 27 June 2012
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Abstract: Civic and citizenship education is a component of the school curriculum in all nation states. The form it takes, its purposes and the way in which it is implemented differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The pressures of globalization in recent times have meant that citizenship has increasingly come to be seen in global terms brought about by processes such as transnational migration, the homogenization of cultural practices and the development of supranational groupings that often seem to challenge more local versions of citizenship. Despite these pressures, the key responsibility for citizenship continues to rest with nation states. This paper will review issues relating to a more globalized citizenship and outline the strategies that nation states might adopt to ensure they remain capable of creating an active and engaged citizenship.
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Received: 1 March 2012; in revised form: 20 June 2012 / Accepted: 23 August 2012 / Published: 5 September 2012
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Abstract: Citizenship education has been debated for some time and has faced various challenges over time. This paper introduces the lens of “ableism” and ability expectations to the citizenship education discourse. The author contends that the cultural dynamic of ability expectations and ableism (not only expecting certain abilities, but also perceiving certain abilities as essential) was one factor that has and will continue to shape citizenship and citizenship education. It focuses on three areas of citizenship education: (a) active citizenship; (b) citizenship education for a diverse population; and (c) global citizenship. It covers two ability-related challenges, namely: disabled people, who are often seen as lacking expected species-typical body abilities, and, advances of science and technology that generate new abilities. The author contends that the impact of ability expectations and ableism on citizenship and citizenship education, locally and in a globalized world, is an important and under-researched area.
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Received: 22 October 2012 / Accepted: 26 October 2012 / Published: 26 October 2012
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Abstract: Despite much rhetoric around the notion of a global citizenship, the overriding focus of civics education, from the viewpoint of examining the international educational curriculum, seems to be on national identity and establishing national boundaries for citizenship education. [...]
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Last update: 4 July 2012
