Does Citizenship Education Make Young People Better-Engaged Citizens?
| Author | Jon Tonge,Andrew Mycock,Bob Jeffery |
| Published date | 01 October 2012 |
| Date | 01 October 2012 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.2011.00931.x |
| Subject Matter | Original Article |
Does Citizenship Education Make Young People
Better-Engaged Citizens?post_931578..602
Jon Tonge Andrew Mycock Bob Jeffery
University of Liverpool University of Huddersfield Sheffield Hallam University
Citizenship education has been a compulsory feature of the curriculum in secondary schools in England since 2002.
However, its future may be uncertain amid inter-party disputes over the utility of such teaching. Moreover,there are
substantial concerns over the breadth, aims and reach of the Citizenship curriculum. There is a lack of clarity over
whether good citizenship can be taught and dispute over whether it can or should go beyond bolstering civil
engagement (volunteering) and improving civic (political) activity. This article assesses the motivations for the
introduction of Citizenship and the extent to which it has become a politicised panacea to a range of emerging policy
challenges. Then, using survey data gathered for theYouth Citizenship Commission,established under the previous
government to encourage community and democratic participation by young people, the article tests whether
citizenship education is making a difference to the engagement of young people in the civil and political spheres.It
assesses which categories of young people have been most influenced by – and which remain impervious to –
citizenship education.
Keywords: citizenship; education; engagement; political literacy
Citizenship has emerged as a central theme in British political discourse in response to
concerns about civic disengagement, political apathy and pessimistic projections of the
levels of active citizenship of future generations. Citizenship education is seen by advocates
as a necessary part of a programme of civic regeneration and was introduced as a statutory
subject into the secondary school curr iculum in England in 2002. Elsewhere in the United
Kingdom, the delivery and title of citizenship classes vary according to nation (see Andrews
and Mycock, 2007). However, despite its apparent potential for delivering civil and civic
renewal, the aims and purposes of citizenship education remain contested. Moreover,
insufficient evidence has been provided as to the efficacy or otherwise of citizenship
education on shaping the actions and attitudes of young people towards politics and
democratic participation.
This article explores the changing politics of citizenship education since 1997, assess-
ing its development as a key policy initiative to address an array of complex problems
facing British society in general and young people in particular. The article examines the
shifting motivations provided by the Labour government to justify the introduction of
Citizenship as a compulsory feature of schooling. It also considers issues of efficacy,
drawing on research undertaken for the Youth Citizenship Commission (2009)1to
analyse whether those young people who have undertaken citizenship education are
more likely to participate in their communities or in basic political activities such as
voting. Ongoing debates about the role of citizenship education within the curriculum
in England are indicative of uncertainty about its effectiveness as a solution to the
challenges posed by civic renewal.
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doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9248.2011.00931.x
POLITICAL STUDIES: 2012 VOL 60, 578–602
© 2012The Authors. Political Studies © 2012 Political StudiesAssociation
Theorising the Introduction of Citizenship Education: Direction
and Inadequacies
Until this century, history education, rather than citizenship classes, was viewed as the
principal agent to imbue essential political knowledge in England. The promotion of
‘multicultural education’ linked to individual welfare rights was a persistent theme of
Labour education policy throughout the 1970s and 1980s (Labour Party, 1989). However,
formal acknowledgement of the potential of citizenship education only emerged as part of
a broader programme of civic modernisation (Labour Party, 1994), linked to New Labour’s
reinterpretation of the relationship between the citizen, society and the state. With this
noted, citizenship education lacked profile in education debates and there was no mention
of plans to introduce it within Labour’s 1997 general election manifesto (Labour Party,
1997).
As such, the pledge to strengthen the teaching of democracy via citizenship education,
outlined in the Labour government’s 1997 White Paper on education policy, Excellence in
Schools (DfEE, 1997),sur prised many including the chair of the hastily convened Advisory
Group on Citizenship (AGC), Ber nard Crick.2The AGC’s final ‘Cr ick Repor t’ recom-
mended that Citizenship should be introduced as a separate statutory foundation subject
curriculum requirement in English secondary schools from September 2002, with three
separate, inter related strands: social and moral responsibility, community involvement and
political literacy (QCA, 1998).
The policy was not without its critics. Although there was all-party political represen-
tation on the AGC, Lord Kenneth Baker’s participation was not formally endorsed by the
Conservative party, which remained hostile to a subject described by then shadow Edu-
cation Secretary,Damien Green, as ‘mumbo jumbo’ that was ‘irrelevant at best, harmful at
worst’ (Ashley, 2002, p. 15). Citizenship education thus became strongly associated with
those within the Labour government proselytising the idea, notably the Education Secre-
tary, David Blunkett.3
Interpretations of the precise motivations for the adoption of statutory citizenship
education provision in England are varied even among strong adherents of the idea. Crick
(2000, p. 11) was unclear over the reasons for Labour’s haste in introducing Citizenship and
doubted whether it was linked to broader programmes of reform, such as constitutional
change. Dina Kiwan (2006, p. 133) suggests that those involved with the AGC identified
three potential models that drove policy. The first indicates that Citizenship was introduced
as a product of a complex interaction or ‘cocktail’ of personal and societal influences which
accompanied Labour’s landslide election victory in 1997, including the appointment of
David Blunkett as Education Secretary amid intense debate about political engagement and
constitutional reform. The second model suggests it was introduced after the ‘trigger’ of a
number of key incidents, such as the murders of Jamie Bulger and headmaster Phillip
Lawrence. The third model highlights the coincidence or ‘fluke’ in the confluence of
contributing factors that were unplanned. This amalgam of motivations was reflected in a
multiplicity of ideas and ambitions accompanying the introduction of the subject.
The introduction of Citizenship derived from a mix of political philosophies. These
provided moorings for British political parties seeking panaceas to a range of political, social
CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION AND YOUNG PEOPLE 579
© 2012The Authors. Political Studies © 2012 Political StudiesAssociation
POLITICAL STUDIES: 2012, 60(3)
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