Learning Citizenship for the 21st Century

European Schoolnet eTwinning Conference

Lisbon 14 - 16 March 2013

Professor R. H. Fryer CBEChair, Campaign for Learning UKBoard Member NIACE UKBoard Member & Chief Learning Advisor Arch Agilisysprofbobfryer@live.co.uk

Agenda Why the current interest in citizenship

& lifelong learning? An era of profound change – ‘risk

society’ Origins & forms of citizenship European ambitions for citizenship

education Social cohesion & diversity Policy & focus A ‘competence-based’ approach Informality , experience & participation Critical pedagogy Citizenship & ‘capability’ Citizenship & the purposes of learning

Why the current interest in citizenship?

Retreat from conventional, electoral politics

Youth alienation Break up/disappearance of

‘traditional’ communities Social fragmentation Decline of trades unions Rise of individualism,

individuation & ‘identity’ politics’

Migration, ethnicity & social integration

Globalisation & its discontents New forms of and locales of

‘exclusion’ – e.g. ‘digital’ Change, ambiguity, instability

& risk ‘New’ social movements

An era of profound & widespread economic, social & cultural change

Global & national financial crises, ‘credit crunch’ & recession

Long-run changes in social, political & cultural institutions (Family, Politics, Consumption etc)

Restructuring of work, employment & industry Shifts in personal & group identities & aspirations A growing tendency for ‘choice’ An information & knowledge revolution Continuing technological innovation Greater localism within globalisation Social fragmentation & division New forms & expressions of citizenship

‘Turbo Capitalism’: an Age of Uncertainty & Insecurity?

“No jobs are guaranteed, no positions are foolproof, no skills are of lasting utility, experience and know-how turn into liability as soon as they become assets, seductive careers all too often prove to be suicide tracks. In their present rendering, human rights do not entail the acquisition of a right to a job, however well performed , or - more generally - the right to care and consideration for the sake of past merits. Livelihood, social position, acknowledgement of usefulness and the entitlement to self-dignity may all vanish together, overnight and without notice.”

Zygmunt Bauman, Postmodernity & its Discontents, page 22

‘Risk Society’ (Beck)

Risk Society

Choice

Multiple &Contested Information

& Knowledge

‘Fuzzy’Boundaries

Un-sustainability

BeyondConventions,

Rules & Structures

Unreliability Uncertainty

UbiquitousChange

Unpredictability

Some origins & key forms of citizenship

Four key ‘moments’The ancients: Greece & RomeAmerican & French

revolutionsT H Marshall: citizenship &

social classLate 20th/early 21st century

Two or three variants?The liberal model

Marshall’s major revision The critique of liberalism

Civic RepublicanismCommunitarianism

See for example, Fryer, 2010, Promises of Freedom

Education for citizenship: European ambitions

“Promoting equity, social cohesion and active citizenship through school education is… one of the main objectives of the current Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training which extends to 2020.”

Source: Androulla Vassiliou (Commissioner responsible for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth), Foreword toCitizenship Education in Europe, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, (Eurydice) 2012.

An European conception of modern citizenship: the Eurydice

Report“This report derives from an evolved conception of citizenship, acknowledging the fact that it goes far beyond the simple legal relationship between people and the state. This conception of citizenship, which extends to citizens' participation in the political, social and civil life of society, is based on respect for a common set of values at the heart of democratic societies, and can be found in the definition of 'active citizenship' (Hoskins et al., 2006) promoted at European level.”

Source: Eurydice Report, 2012 p. 8

EU Youth StrategyThe EU Youth Strategy 2010-2018 declared fostering active citizenship, social inclusion and solidarity among all young people as one of its main objectives. The Strategy includes several lines of action related to developing citizenship in both formal and non-formal educational activities, for example, ‘participation in civil society and in representative democracy’ and ‘volunteering as a vehicle for social inclusion and citizenship’.

Sources: Eurydice Report, 2012 p.7 & Council Resolution of 27 November 2009 on ‘a renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field’ (2010-2018)

Policy and focus“Promoting the active participation of European citizens in EU policymaking will also be one of the aims of the 2013 European Year of Citizens for Europe.”This will entail a focus on: Curriculum aims, approaches and organisation; Student and parent participation in school governance; School culture and student participation in society Student assessment, school evaluation and education system performance; and Education, training and support for teachers and school heads

Source: Eurydice Report , p. 8

European countries need citizens to be engaged in social and political life not only to ensure that basic democratic values flourish but also to foster social cohesion at a time of increasing social and cultural diversity. In order to increase engagement & participation, people must be equipped with the right knowledge, skills and attitudes. Civic competences can enable individuals to participate fully in civic life but they must be based on sound knowledge of social values and political concepts and structures, as well as a commitment to active democratic participation in society.

Source: Eurydice Report, 2012, p. 8

Cohesion & diversity through values, knowledge & skills

A “competence-based” approach

“This competence-based approach calls for new ways of organising teaching and learning in a number of subject areas including citizenship education. A greater focus on practical skills; a learning outcomes approach; and new methods of assessment supported by the continuing development of teachers‘ knowledge and skills, are all crucial to the successful implementation of key competences.Furthermore, the European framework also demands greater opportunities for students to actively participate in, for example, school-based activities with employers, youth groups, cultural activities and civil society organisations.”

Sources: Eurydice Report, 2012 p. 7 & EACEA/Eurydice, 2009. National testing of pupils in Europe

Key civic competencesThe civic competences needed are: A knowledge of basic democratic concepts including an understanding of society and social and political movements; The European integration process and EU structures; and Major social developments, both past and present. Civic competences also require:Skills such as critical thinking and communication skills; Ability and willingness to participate constructively in the public domain, including in the decision-making process through voting. Finally, a sense of belonging to society at various levels, a respect for democratic values and diversity as well as support for sustainable development.

Source: Eurydice Report, p. 8

Towards a ‘citizenship curriculum’

Four core, intertwined capabilities•Digital capability•Health capability•Financial capability•Civic capabilityAnd should be combined together with employability (able to obtain, perform effectively in, develop & apply skills in, ejoy and progress in work) & ‘wider cultural development’The fostering of these capabilities should constitute a “minimum local offer which guarantees access to learning in relation to them”.Source: Learning Through Life, (Report of independent Inquiry into the Future of lifelong learning), NIACE, 2009

Informal and experiential learning

“Students learn about citizenship not only in the classroom but also through informal learning. Citizenship education is therefore more effective if it is supported by a school environment where students are given the opportunity to experience the values and principles of the democratic process in action. All countries have introduced some form of regulation to promote student participation in school governance, whether in the form of class representatives, student councils or student representation on school governing bodies.

Source: Eurydice Report, p. 13

Learning Citizenship by Participation in the Community

Most European countries support educational institutions in providing their pupils & students with opportunities to learn citizenship skills outside school through a variety of programmes& projects. Working with the local community, discovering and experiencing democratic participation in society & addressing topical issues such as environmental protection, & cooperation between generations & nations are examples of activities supported by national publicly-financed programmes. Finally, there are political structures, mostly at secondary level, intended to provide students with a forum for discussion & to allow them to voice their opinions on matters affecting them. Source: Eurydice Report, p. 14

What kind of ‘participation’ in what forms of democracy’?

‘Thick’ or ‘thin’ democracy?Taking part countsMulti-dimensional & multiple

forms of engagement Deliberation, discourse, & actionAgency, empowerment & ‘voice’Critical awarenessEmancipation, liberation &

autonomyBeware of unsavoury

manifestations of community or ‘us’

Critical pedagogy - becoming ‘noisy & fractious’

Critical pedagogy aims:“… to enable learners to go beyond thinking in order to

enable them as citizens to act as engaged agents in their various worlds, giving voice to their hopes and ambitions for change and improvement”. (Giroux 2007: 1-5)

It is about fostering “a language of critique and possibility”. (Giroux 2005: 211) in which the aim must be “to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to learn how to deliberate, make judgements and exercise choice”. (Giroux: 2007: 1)

It promises to engender what Barber (1998) regards as the true mark of an activist democracy - a “noisy and fractious citizenry”.

Citizenship, capability & learningFor democracy to thrive, Nussbaum suggests developing ten capabilities that determine

‘what people actually are and what they are able to be’, namely: Life – able to live a full human life of normal length; Bodily health – able to enjoy bodily health, including adequate nourishment and

capacity for reproduction; Bodily integrity – able to move freely and safely from place to place; Sense, imagination and thought – able to make full use of the senses to

experience, think, reason, imagine and create; Emotion – able to experience attachment to people, things and experiences and to

express feelings of love, longing, grieving and justifiable anger; Practical reasoning – able to conceive of the good life and to engage in critical

reflection; Affiliation – able to live with others in mutual respect, understanding the position of

and worth of ‘others’, and establishing the basis of self-respect and non-discrimination;

Other species – having respect for animals and plants; Play – ability to laugh and enjoy recreational and playful activity; and Environmental control – able to engage with the processes and choices that affect

our political and material lives, including rights of political participation, property holding and employment.

An emergent model of learningDomain Traditional Emergent

Study Education Learning

Locale School/ other institution

Everywhere – work, home etc

Time Childhood/ early adulthood

Lifelong & life-wide

Style Teacher centred Learner-driven

Delivery Face-to-face Distance & ‘e’

Target Group Universal to max school age -elite

Specific & mass

Focus Theory/ abstract Practice

Discipline Single Multi-disciplinary

Mode Learning by rote Reflective

Form I nstructional Constructivist

Purpose Qualification Action/ application

Source: Jarvis 2001 & Fryer 2010

Teacher education & training for pupils’ citizenship education

“… More efforts are needed to strengthen teachers' competences in teaching citizenship. Opportunities to be trained as a specialist teacher of citizenship education are still not common; they are available only in Austria and the UK(England) either through CPD or through initial teacher education programmes. The qualifications required to teach citizenship education are mainly generalist at primary level, while at secondary level the area of citizenship education is generally integrated within initial teacher education courses for specialists in history, geography, philosophy, ethics/religion, social sciences or economics.

Source: Eurydice Report, p. 15

Citizenship & the core purposes of learningAccording to the celebrated Jacques Delors

Commission on Lifelong Learning, The Treasure Within

1) Learning to Know (learning to learn, general knowledge & understanding)

2) Learning to Do (skills, competence, practical ability in a variety of settings)

3) Learning to Live Together (tolerance, mutual understanding, interdependence)

4) Learning to Be (personal autonomy & responsibility, memory, aesthetics, ethics, communication & physical capacity)

* Recent scholarship suggests adding:Learning to Sustain

Raymond Williams’ three vital functions of learning in periods of rapid &

widespread social change

1. For Making Sense of Change - Information, ideas, knowledge, concepts, understandings, insights, theories, a critical & challenging mind

2. For Adapting to Change - Maximising benefits & minimising costs, making the most of change, capturing & applying knowledge

3. For Shaping Change - As authors of change rather than its Victims, navigating risk & uncertainty, at the heart of citizenship for the 20th century & the democratic project