Education for citizenship and the teaching of democracy in schools

majority – not merely because it is useful to do so, but because this process
helps foster common citizenship. This gives a special importance to
citizenship education, for these matters of national identity in a pluralist
society are complex and should never be taken for granted. We all need to
learn more about each other. This should entail learning not only about the
United Kingdom – including all four of its component parts – but also about
the European, Commonwealth and global dimensions of citizenship, with
due regard being given to the homelands of our minority communities and to
the main countries of British emigration.
3.17 Some of the replies from organisations to the Secretary of State’s call for
responses to the White Paper, Excellence in Schools, state the general aims
very well and point towards our conclusions. First however, a word on the
responses: there were only 216 responses among the 8,000 received which
expressed views on what programmes of citizenship in schools should cover
(despite – as David Kerr’s NFER national survey showed – most schools
professing to be doing something). This low response is perhaps not
surprising since citizenship was only one among many new initiatives and
despite its nominal status as a cross-curricular theme, rarely commented on
in OFSTED reports; so not something that schools are judged by. However,
all but two of the responses were favourable, but (as also reported in David
Kerr’s national survey) there was no clear consensus on aims and purposes,
or to be blunt, on what it was.
3.18 However, a summary for the advisory group from the DfEE said this of the
216 responses:
‘Although the responses to the citizenship question are relatively small in number
they contain some useful messages. They do not provide a clear consensus on aims
and purposes or a conceptual framework for education for citizenship, but that is
not surprising since they were not asked to comment specifically on these matters.
Perhaps the clearest messages to emerge are that there is support from a range of
interests for developing education for citizenship and raising its status, though
some concern that there is insufficient time in the curriculum to accommodate it at
present; that most see it as involving experiential learning as well as academic
learning; and that many see a commonality of approach with Personal, Social and
Health Education.’
We acknowledge that there may be considerable commonality of values and
approach or method, especially in primary schools – but we will differ as to
content as pupils progress from primary to secondary school – here these
must include explicit knowledge of social and political institutions and
processes. Citizenship education is important and distinct enough to warrant
a separate specification within the national framework.
3.19 The British Youth Council (BYC) represents nearly one hundred youth
organisations with a nominal membership of some 3 million young people
aged between 18 and 25. Their submission to us was so robust and well
considered that it is worth quoting in full – so well does it sum up the
common ground of many submissions we have received and what we hope to
achieve by our recommendations:
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