Learning Citizenship for the 21st Century

E-Twinning Professional Development Seminar

Sweden10-11 October 2013

Professor R. H. Fryer CBEChair, Campaign for Learning UKBoard Member NIACE UKBoard Member & Chief Learning Advisor Arch Agilisysprofbobfryer@live.co.uk

Agenda Why the current interest in citizenship? An era of profound change – ‘risk society’ European ambitions for citizenship education Knowledge & understanding of ‘European’ citizenship Social cohesion & diversity Informality , experience & participation Citizenship & the purposes of learning Critical pedagogy Towards a ‘citizenship curriculum’ The contribution of social networking media

Why the current interest in citizenship?

Retreat from conventional, electoral politics

Youth alienation - unemployment Break up/disappearance of

‘traditional’ communities Social fragmentation Decline of trades unions Rise of individualism,

individuation & ‘identity’ politics’ Migration, ethnicity & social

integration Globalisation & its discontents New forms of and locales of

‘exclusion’ – e.g. ‘digital’ Change, ambiguity, instability &

risk ‘New’ social movements

An era of profound & widespread economic, social & cultural change

Global & national financial crises, ‘credit crunch’ & recession

Long-run changes in social, political & cultural institutions (Family, Politics, Consumption etc)

Restructuring of work, employment & industry Shifts in personal & group identities & aspirations A growing tendency for ‘choice’ An information & knowledge revolution Continuing technological innovation Greater localism within globalisation Social fragmentation & division New forms & expressions of citizenship

‘Risk Society’ (Beck)

Risk Society

Choice

Multiple &Contested Information

& Knowledge

‘Fuzzy’Boundaries

Un-sustainability

BeyondConventions,

Rules & Structures

Unreliability Uncertainty

UbiquitousChange

Unpredictability

An European conception of modern citizenship: the Eurydice

Report“This report derives from an evolved conception of citizenship, acknowledging the fact that it goes far beyond the simple legal relationship between people and the state. This conception of citizenship, which extends to citizens' participation in the political, social and civil life of society, is based on respect for a common set of values at the heart of democratic societies, and can be found in the definition of 'active citizenship' (Hoskins et al., 2006) promoted at European level.”

Source: Eurydice Report, 2012 p. 8

Education for citizenship: European ambitions

“Promoting equity, social cohesion and active citizenship through school education is… one of the main objectives of the current Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training which extends to 2020.”

Source: Androulla Vassiliou (Commissioner responsible for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth), Foreword toCitizenship Education in Europe, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, (Eurydice) 2012.

European countries need citizens to be engaged in social and political life not only to ensure that basic democratic values flourish but also to foster social cohesion at a time of increasing social and cultural diversity. In order to increase engagement & participation, people must be equipped with the right knowledge, skills and attitudes. Civic competences can enable individuals to participate fully in civic life but they must be based on sound knowledge of social values and political concepts and structures, as well as a commitment to active democratic participation in society.

Source: Eurydice Report, 2012, p. 8

Cohesion & diversity through values, knowledge & skills

Key civic competencesThe civic competences needed are: A knowledge of basic democratic concepts including an understanding of society and social and political movements; The European integration process and EU structures; and Major social developments, both past and present. Civic competences also require:Skills such as critical thinking and communication skills; Ability and willingness to participate constructively in the public domain, including in the decision-making process through voting. Finally, a sense of belonging to society at various levels, a respect for democratic values and diversity as well as support for sustainable development.

Source: Eurydice Report, p. 8

Source: Flash Eurobarometer 365, 2013

Source: Flash Eurobarometer 365, 2013

Source: Flash Eurobarometer 365, 2013

What kind of ‘participation’ in what forms of democracy’?

‘Thick’ or ‘thin’ democracy?Taking part countsMulti-dimensional & multiple

forms of engagement Deliberation, discourse, & actionAgency, empowerment & ‘voice’Critical awarenessEmancipation, liberation &

autonomyBeware of unsavoury

manifestations of community or ‘us’

Learning Citizenship by Participation in the Community

Most European countries support educational institutions in providing their pupils & students with opportunities to learn citizenship skills outside school through a variety of programmes& projects. Working with the local community, discovering and experiencing democratic participation in society & addressing topical issues such as environmental protection, & cooperation between generations & nations are examples of activities supported by national publicly-financed programmes. Finally, there are political structures, mostly at secondary level, intended to provide students with a forum for discussion & to allow them to voice their opinions on matters affecting them. Source: Eurydice Report, p. 14

Informal and experiential learning

“Students learn about citizenship not only in the classroom but also through informal learning. Citizenship education is therefore more effective if it is supported by a school environment where students are given the opportunity to experience the values and principles of the democratic process in action. All countries have introduced some form of regulation to promote student participation in school governance, whether in the form of class representatives, student councils or student representation on school governing bodies.

Source: Eurydice Report, p. 13

Citizenship & the core purposes of learningAccording to the celebrated Jacques Delors

Commission on Lifelong Learning, The Treasure Within

1) Learning to Know (learning to learn, general knowledge & understanding)

2) Learning to Do (skills, competence, practical ability in a variety of settings)

3) Learning to Live Together (tolerance, mutual understanding, interdependence)

4) Learning to Be (personal autonomy & responsibility, memory, aesthetics, ethics, communication & physical capacity)

* Recent scholarship suggests adding:Learning to Sustain

Raymond Williams’ three vital functions of learning in periods of rapid &

widespread social change

1. For Making Sense of Change - Information, ideas, knowledge, concepts, understandings, insights, theories, a critical & challenging mind

2. For Adapting to Change - Maximising benefits & minimising costs, making the most of change, capturing & applying knowledge

3. For Shaping Change - As authors of change rather than its Victims, navigating risk & uncertainty, at the heart of citizenship for the 20th century & the democratic project

Citizenship, capability & learningFor democracy to thrive, Nussbaum suggests developing ten capabilities that determine

‘what people actually are and what they are able to be’, namely: Life – able to live a full human life of normal length; Bodily health – able to enjoy bodily health, including adequate nourishment and

capacity for reproduction; Bodily integrity – able to move freely and safely from place to place; Sense, imagination and thought – able to make full use of the senses to

experience, think, reason, imagine and create; Emotion – able to experience attachment to people, things and experiences and to

express feelings of love, longing, grieving and justifiable anger; Practical reasoning – able to conceive of the good life and to engage in critical

reflection; Affiliation – able to live with others in mutual respect, understanding the position of

and worth of ‘others’, and establishing the basis of self-respect and non-discrimination;

Other species – having respect for animals and plants; Play – ability to laugh and enjoy recreational and playful activity; and Environmental control – able to engage with the processes and choices that affect

our political and material lives, including rights of political participation, property holding and employment.

Critical pedagogy - becoming ‘noisy & fractious’

Critical pedagogy aims:“… to enable learners to go beyond thinking in order to

enable them as citizens to act as engaged agents in their various worlds, giving voice to their hopes and ambitions for change and improvement”. (Giroux 2007: 1-5)

It is about fostering “a language of critique and possibility”. (Giroux 2005: 211) in which the aim must be “to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to learn how to deliberate, make judgements and exercise choice”. (Giroux: 2007: 1)

It promises to engender what Barber (1998) regards as the true mark of an activist democracy - a “noisy and fractious citizenry”.

Some core principles (From Promises of Freedom)

1. Focus on learners’ own interests2. Begin with people’s own experiences3. Be genuinely ‘life-long’ & ‘life-wide’4. Embrace all modes & forms of learning5. Develop learners’ independent & critical skills6. Connect learning with action7. Link learning to autonomy8. Base learning on equity & social justice9. Use democratic & inclusive methods10. Discursive consideration of difference11. Provide all adults with a post-school entitlement to

learning12. Instigate public investment by establishing a

‘community fund’ to underpin lifelong learning infrastructure

13. Remember, lifelong learning alone cannot achieve social change

Potential contribution of prudent use of ‘social networking media’

Already widely used –especially by young people

Fairly simple to useAvailable on mobile

technologyFacilitates variety of

‘communities’ – widens circle of ‘contacts’

Puts ‘sharing’ at its heartPromotes creativity & co-

productionValuable gateway to ‘deeper’

learning