citizenship education, we have constructed a comprehensive framework for analysing
critical citizenship education (Table 2). Both the implications and limitations of the
framework were briefly explored.
While the official citizenship curriculum may be defined by the prevailing national
political agenda and its socio-cultural context, it may still contain spaces that might be
used by critical pedagogues to promote a strong ideological agenda. By mapping out the
manifestations of these spaces onto a framework of critical citizenship, educators may
evaluate and enhance their programmes and practice in order to achieve a true critical
pedagogy: the emancipation and transformation of students and schools towards a better
society.
Endnotes:
1. The theorists of the Frankfurt School themselves constructed the concept of “the authoritarian
personality” (Adorno et al. 1950) from a psychoanalytical rather than economic perspective.
2. Differences between the models do exist: for example Westheimer and Kahne’s (2004) ‘participatory
citizen’ would most likely be much more socially aware than Veugelers’ (2007)
‘individualistic citizen’.
References
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Adorno, T., E. Frenkel-Brunswik, D. Levinson and R. Sanford. 1950. The authoritarian
personality. New York: Harper and Row.
Ajegbo, K. 2007. Diversity and citizenship : Curriculum review. [London]: Department for
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Amadeo, J.-A., J. Schwille and J.V. Torney-Purta. 1999. Civic education across
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