Citizenship education (subject)

It is known by different names in different countries – for example, 'citizenship education' (or just 'citizenship' for short) in the UK, ‘civics’ in the US, and 'education for democratic citizenship' in parts of Europe.

For example, after learning about human rights, diversity and inequality, students might decide to set up a project to address racism in their school or local community.

Other examples of active citizenship projects include starting recycling programmes, setting up student action groups to address bullying or promote fair trade or campaigning to lower the voting age to 16.

This report, which had been commissioned by the New Labour government following its election victory in 1997, called for "no less than a change in the political culture of this country both nationally and locally: for people to think of themselves as active citizens, willing, able and equipped to have an influence in public life and with the critical capacities to weigh evidence before speaking and acting".

[5] As a response to the terror attacks in Paris on 7–9 January 2015, France announced a new plan to reintegrate citizenship into the French educational system.

[6][7][8] In Poland, citizenship is known as WoS ("Wiedza o Społeczeństwie", literally "Knowledge of Society") and studied as one of the matura subjects.

(yhteiskuntaoppi)[citation needed] In Norway citizenship education is the primary mandate of Social Studies.

[13] In Vietnam, Civic Education is a system of knowledge related to many fields such as philosophy, ethics, political economy, scientific socialism, law, guidelines and viewpoints of the Party and some important policies of the Vietnamese State.

But there are radically different views on the nature of good citizenship and education should involve and develop autonomy and open-mindedness.

They suggest that schools are fundamentally undemocratic institutions, and that such a setting cannot instill in children the commitment and belief in democratic values that is necessary for citizenship education to have a proper impact.