Towards a framework for critical citizenship education

Insert Table 2 about here

Practical implications of the framework

From the framework a list of analytical questions central to the comparative study
of curricula or teaching materials can be addressed. These include questions comparing
policy intentions or actions across nations and comparisons within a nation of the
curriculum with its various levels including curriculum intentions, the ‘hidden’ curriculum,
the ‘null’ curriculum and their various concrete manifestations ranging from government-
recommended schemes of work, regional guidance and textbooks to school programmes
and classroom practice (Adamson and Morris 2007). Following such an analysis, the
framework itself can be used as a pictorial representation to contrast the existence,
opportunities for and absence of elements of critical citizenship within the various levels of
a curriculum and its materials.

For example, key policy initiatives in the context of English citizenship education
can be shown to align with particular sections of the framework. Crick’s (1998; 2008)
conception of political literacy, hugely influential on the development of the English
citizenship curriculum, would be strongly located in the top left hand corner of the
framework (political knowledge), with ‘active citizenship’ elements drawn from the right
hand column (praxis/engagement). In contrast, the Department for Education and Skills
‘Diversity and Citizenship Report’ (Ajegbo 2007) aims to promote elements from the
middle two columns, particularly concerning self-knowledge and collective / social values.
A forthcoming article uses the framework to compare the formal English and French
citizenship curricula. Teachers and students in practice might also use the framework to
explore their own experiences with critical citizenship.

20

<<   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   >>

More intriguing information