Education for citizenship and the teaching of democracy in schools

adequate resources. Fourteen respondents stated that, in their view, in addition to the
specific learning outcomes for teaching about citizenship and democracy, schools
needed guidance on how this should be structured and taught. Twelve took the
opportunity in answering this question to indicate their belief that citizenship
education should be closely related to PSHE.
Do you agree with the definition of Citizenship Education
Two hundred and twenty respondents answered this question, 183 (83 per cent)
agreeing with the definition. Twenty-seven (12 per cent) disagreed and ten (five per
cent) were uncertain. Only two comments featured in more than six responses. These
were that global, European and multicultural issues should be included (15 comments)
and once again that citizenship should be closely related to PSHE (nine comments).
Other comments
In response to the invitation to add any additional comments, a number of
respondents wrote comments which could be categorised as expressing general
approval or disapproval of the report, without saying anything specific. Of these, 34
were generally positive and only seven were negative. The other comments are
summarised in tabular form below:
Table 1
Respondents’ additional comments on the initial report
Comments
Number of
Respondents
Citizenship should be integrated with or related to PSHE 33
Comments on the need for funded teacher training and resources 31
Citizenship programmes should be participatory and democratic 29
Global and European issues should be included 25
Include the wider community in an active participatory role 24
Concerns about the already crowded school curriculum 17
Stressing the importance of learning outcomes and assessment 12
Importance of addressing ethnic diversity 9
These comments were made by respondents from all of the main respondent groups.
None of the comments came exclusively or mainly from one group.
The 38 additional responses which were received in the form of statements and letters
were almost all in favour of education for citizenship and teaching about democracy
taking place in schools.
A number of these responses expressed concerns about the context within which the
advisory group was working. These can be summarised as falling into two categories:
fears that a specialist and enthusiastic group were creating a separate subject which
would have to be integrated into the National Curriculum prior to the outcomes of
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