Rethinking Schooling for the 21st Century

Recent reforms in this area have taken many forms. For instance, in India, civics
has been replaced at the federal level by the study of ‘Social and Political Life’
(NCERT, 2006a) although most provincial curricula (that in practice govern
the teaching of most schools), continue to stick to civics (see Chapter 5). In
a scattering of other countries, regional and global concerns have rendered
civics or related subjects less narrowly nation-focused. But whatever curricula
mandate, textbooks — whether state-produced or privately published — often
still portray rural residents, ethnic minorities and women in stereotypical ways:
as impediments to progress, or ‘backward’ recipients of benefits bestowed by
their more ‘advanced’ compatriots. More broadly, the concept of ‘development’
itself, and the hierarchy it posits (implicitly or explicitly) between more or less
‘advanced’ countries, cultures and peoples, is seldom opened up to critical
debate (Fong, 2011).
Curricula should
acknowledge that the
state is no longer the only
point of reference for a
responsible citizen
If citizenship education is to take on a global
dimension, recognition must be given to the
political responsibilities that an aware citizenry
performs in a democratic social order. Curricula
should acknowledge that the state is no longer
the only point of reference for a responsible
citizen. Target 4.7 mentions GCED as a means
of fostering ‘knowledge and skills needed to
promote sustainable development’, and this relates not least to the ability of
citizens to engage with corporate and commercial interests that are increasingly
transnational in their operations, and their loyalties. Major transnational
corporations have participated in recent UN conferences on sustainable
development and climate change, and some now claim to be working for a green
business model. Citizens across Asia and the rest of the world today need to
be encouraged and empowered to hold transnational business to account for
actions that affect environmental sustainability and social justice everywhere.
The coordinated transnational action that is required will be hard to bring about
or sustain without inculcation of an awareness that our identities, loyalties and
interests extend well beyond national boundaries.
With the increase in demand for and access to schooling, as well as with growing
rural-urban, inter-regional and transnational migration, school classrooms in
many parts of Asia have acquired an increasingly complex, diverse character.
These developments increase the importance of schools as places for inquiry,
understanding and tolerance. It is crucial that all disciplines contribute to this,
as the logical reasoning built up in mathematics is as important to dealing with
complex issues as the ability (learnt through the study of geography) to read
power relationships in space. Such social changes have a particular bearing on
the significance of social sciences as a resource for learning how to deal with
controversy and accommodate diverse views (foreign language learning is also
highly significant here, as we emphasise below and in later chapters). However,
18
Introduction