Education for citizenship and the teaching of democracy in schools

6.2.4 Relevance
6.2.5 Quality
To address the immediate and future needs and interests of pupils in the
context of the social, moral, cultural, political and economic environment;
and to contribute to pupils’ development of positive attitudes to teaching, the
school and society in general;
To challenge teachers and help pupils to achieve the highest possible
standards of excellence, with due regard to differing aptitudes, abilities and
circumstances;
6.2.6 Access and inclusion
To ensure that all pupils should have opportunities to engage in all the
teaching, activities and experiences which constitute effective education for
citizenship.
It is important to recognise that these guiding principles are not exclusive to
citizenship education but are part of the general aims and priorities of the
curriculum in schools.
6.3 The learning process
Learning in citizenship education is influenced by a number of factors:
6.3.1 Whole-school approaches
There is increasing recognition that the ethos, organisation, structures and
daily practices of schools, including whole-school activities and assemblies
have a significant impact on the effectiveness of citizenship education.
Through such climate and practices schools provide implicit and explicit
messages which can have a considerable influence, both positive and
negative, on pupils’ learning and development. Schools need to consider how
far their ethos, organisation and daily practices are consistent with the aim
and purpose of citizenship education and affirm and extend the development
of pupils into active citizens. In particular, schools should make every effort
to engage pupils in discussion and consultation about all aspects of school
life on which pupils might reasonably be expected to have a view, and
wherever possible to give pupils responsibility and experience in helping to
run parts of the school. This might include school facilities, organisation,
rules, relationships and matters relating to teaching and learning. Such
engagement can be through both formal structures such as school and class
councils and informal channels in pupils’ daily encounters with aspects of
school life. To create a feeling that it is ‘our school’ can increase pupil
motivation to learn in all subjects.
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