Journal of Social Science Education (JSSE) 1-2008 ,ISSN 1618-5293: Transformation and Citizenship Education
Editor: Reinhold Hedtke
Tatjana Zimenkova, Reinhold Hedtke
The Talk-and-Action Approach to Citizenship Education: An Outline of a Methodology of Critical Studies in Citizenship Education
Journal of Social Science Education 1-2008, pp. 5-35.
Abstract
The present research on the development of citizenship education in (transformation) countries fails to ac-knowledge that systems of citizenship education are political organisations by nature. This research does not analyse citizenship education (CE) as a multi-level, multi-actor and multi-interest system with multiple envi-ronments. The diverse environmental and internal demands addressed to CE actors are also ignored. This paper sees CE as situated and developing in a tension field of diverse and contradicting demands to which each organised CE actor has to respond simultaneously. This especially holds for post-socialist transforma-tion countries but applies as well to “old” democracies which, like the aforementioned, are confronted with the challenges of Europeanisation and migration. A multi-level actor-centred approach, acknowledging actor-specific perspectives, as suggested in this article, is essential for understanding the complex interplay of demands and reactions (talk, decision and action) of different actors and hence the change of CE under the conditions of societal change or transformation.
Thorsten Hippe
Does the Democratization of Polities Entail the Democratization of Citizenship Education? A Theo-retical Framework for Researching the Democratic Quality of Citizenship Education in Transforma-tion Countries and Elsewhere
Journal of Social Science Education 1-2008, pp. 36-57.
Abstract
In the last 30 years, the process of institutional democratization prevailing in Western Europe since at least the end of World War II has spread to Southwestern, Southeastern and Eastern European countries. To what extent has this democratic transformation of polities been followed by a genuinely democratic transfor-mation of citizenship education in these countries? Unfortunately, recent research on citizenship education does not provide a satisfactory answer, because it has mainly focused on institutional and organizational issues. Nothing was said about the question how well-sounding, but quite general – and therefore ambigu-ous – officially proclaimed goals and contents of citizenship education in transformation countries are educa-tionally construed in textbooks and the teaching practice. However, there are quite a few empirical examples and indications which clearly show that citizenship education in transformation countries (and elsewhere) shows a number of facets which are hardly in line with core democratic values. Therefore, this article pro-poses a theoretical framework for systematically researching the democratic quality of citizenship education in transformation countries (and elsewhere). With recourse to Max Weber`s analytical concept of ideal-types, this framework differentiates between a democratic and a non-democratic ideal-type of citizenship education (as outer points of a continuum between them). These two ideal-types of citizenship education are character-ized by structurally different ways of thinking about 1) human rights, 2) international relations, 3) current insti-tutions and norms, 4) authoritarian political structures and human rights violations in the history of the coun-try, and 5) differences in society.
Georgi Dimitrov
“Shut Up When You Talk with Me”: Civil Education in a Post-Communist Society Challenged by the Institutionalized Public Culture. The Case of Bulgaria
Journal of Social Science Education 1-2008, pp. 58-67.
Abstract
The paper provides a concise overview of the state of arts of civil education in Bulgaria giving proofs that the contents and values of CE basically contradict the fundamental cultural pattern which is embedded in the institutional design of the school system and the policies of the Ministry of Education. There is a tremendous tension between critical and hypocritical education in democracy. The discrepancy between public “talk” and institutional “action” in civil education is more than overt. This is why the more we concentrate our attention on texts (textbooks, expert publications, manuals for teachers, etc.) the higher level of advancement of CE we will encounter and vice versa – the more we study the school life as practice the less traits of civil culture we register. Hence, the main conclusion is that civil education cannot substitute or get ahead of the democ-ratic institution building; both processes should develop in accord with each other. Or they both would turn out to be abortive.
Janez Krek, Mojca Kovač Šebart
Citizenship Education in Slovenia after the Formation of the Independent State
Journal of Social Science Education 1-2008, pp. 68-80.
Abstract
In the present article we first describe how citizenship education is positioned in the curriculum of pre-university Slovene education. We then analyse the influence of various pedagogical and other concepts in the last fifteen years on the formation of legal provisions and curricular solutions, as well as on actual citizen-ship instruction in the state school. We first establish how influence is exerted – or could be exerted – on citizenship education by the interests of the Roman Catholic Church such that its own subject of denomina-tional religious education is implemented in the state school, along with general implications regarding ques-tions of which values should form the basis of education in the state school. Recently the question of moral education and the educational concept in the state school has come to the fore, and with this also the ques-tion of universal or particular values. In the continuation we analyse how the prevailing permissive paradigm influenced the very concept and implementation of the subject of Ethics and Society in the 1990s, and from the end of the previous decade onwards – after the implementation of curricular reforms – how it has influ-enced the subject of Citizenship Educational and Ethics.
Tatjana Zimenkova
Citizenship through Faith and Feelings: Defining Citizenship in Citizenship Education. An Exemplary Textbook Analysis
Journal of Social Science Education 1-2008, pp. 81-111.
Abstract
This article describes the specifics of the definition of citizenship in citizenship education (CE). The ambiguity of understanding citizenship between status and active position is indicated and differentiate, and percep-tions of citizenship activity are revealed. The author proposes to build a typology of citizenship conceptions in CE, suggesting an analytical instrument for typology building (types of attitudes, reflected in and crucial for each conception of citizenship). Citizenship conceptions from two Russian textbooks are analysed in order to show reconstruction of their implicit meanings. A proposed analytical instrument for the typology building is applied to the reconstructed citizenship conceptions. The author proposes a demonstrated manner of analy-sis and typologisation as instruments for international studies on citizenship education.
Calin Rus
The Model of Organised Hypocrisy Applied to Romanian Civic Education Policies and Practices
Journal of Social Science Education 1-2008, pp. 112-120.
Abstract
Behind an apparently positive image, civic education in Romania proves to be an excellent illustration of “organised hypocrisy” (Brunsson, 2002). At a closer look, it becomes obvious that policy decisions related to civic education are isolated responses to various, and often contradictory, pressures from inside and from outside Romania, and that there is a huge gap between policy statements and the school practice, where civic education has a low status and where classical, directive and knowledge-focused pedagogical methods are still widely used.
Kaarel Haav
Civic Education in Estonia: Democratic or Authoritarian?
Journal of Social Science Education 1-2008, pp. 121-130.
Abstract
The paper distinguishes between traditional formal and social theoretical concepts in education for democ-racy. On this basis, both Estonian and EU civic education systems are critically analysed. In both cases, the political literacy is not covered with adequate social theoretical concepts. Traditionally, there is a formal de-scription of main political institutions outside of real social relations. Many social scholars have revealed that such an education but contributes to reproduction of the existing social structures.
The Author develops a social theoretical approach to democracy and civic education. It relies on main social dichotomies like that of social actors and social structures, and institutional organization theory. It defines main social actors and models of decision making in main social spheres (economy, politics and education). These concepts are linked to social values (individual freedom and prosperity or social equality, solidarity and well-being) and social outcomes (effectiveness and justice). The author also uses these concepts to describe and analyze his students’ democratic knowledge, attitudes and experiences. An integration of social theoretical concepts and practices enables to achieve the ideal goals of democracy education.
The paper also critically evaluates the existing civic education system (syllabus, textbooks and national ex-aminations) in Estonia. The system focuses on delivery of some arbitrary texts. In schools with Russian in-struction, the authoritarian Estonian civic education strengthens the authoritarian national attitudes of Rus-sian students. As a result, it counteracts to the national integration of Russian students with the Estonian state.
Cristina N. Azevedo, Isabel Menezes
Transition to Democracy and Citizenship Education in Portugal: Changes and Continuities in the Curricula and in Adolescents’ Opportunities for Participation
Journal of Social Science Education 1-2008, pp. 131-148.
Abstract
The intense historical transformations in Portugal during the last 30 years have had a profound impact on the educational system and on its role in citizenship education. During this period, Portugal experienced dictator-ship, the last socialist revolution in Europe (1974), the end of colonial empire and of colonial wars, the stabili-zation of a democratic regime and the entrance in the European Economic Community later to be trans-formed into the European Union. Such deep social and political transformation had strong implications in education and its mission in promoting democratic citizenship has been intensively discussed, with fears of ideological inculcation and a tension between conservative vs. emancipatory goals underpinning the curricu-lar decisions in the field. This paper considers these transformations and articulates them with the perspec-tive of adolescents in basic and secondary education regarding citizenship, politics and civic engagement and the actual opportunities for participation they feel they have in the family, the school, and the community. The bases for this discussion are two studies with Portuguese adolescents: the IEA Civic Education Study that involves three national representative samples of students from grade 8, 9 and 11; and a longitudinal study (2005-07) with adolescents from grades 9, 10 and 11. Results from both studies show a tendency for a dissatisfaction/distrust that young people have in relation to key-institutions of democracy (government, po-litical parties) but, at the same time, the valuing of active citizenship and the emergence of new forms of participation. That oxymoron appears as a challenge to both researchers and teachers that might take ad-vantage in being more aware of the quality of youngsters’ participation experiences in their various life con-texts.
