We present findings from the first wave of a longitudinal study of civic and political engagement among undergraduate students at a mid-sized university in the Midwestern United States. We find that high school experiences of civic learning are a significant predictor of three of our four measures of civic and political engagement, namely, the…

This study identifies major preferences for combinations of rights and duties (henceforth, citizenship orientations), as reflected in the political worldview of Israeli junior-high school students. Two distinct orientations were found, termed here as "liberal" and "ethno-republican". In order to contextualize the examination of…

Educating for citizenship is increasingly situated within the tension of ensuring social, political, and civil rights while also promoting participation in the global market. The literature and practice on educating for citizenship often assumes a liberal perspective with attention to political and civil rights. A growing body of literature shows…

The main thesis we want to defend in this article is that learning about nationalism from a historical, sociological, and normative point of view constitutes one important, but rather neglected, dimension of a good citizenship education. Although the debate about nationalism and education has received considerable attention from political and…

Finnish youth are found to be, despite their broad knowledge, uninterested in politics and in societal participation. As a remedy, international studies suggest enabling democratic experiences in schools. This article discusses an action research project aimed at developing deliberation-based democratic practice in an elementary classroom. Results…

This article addresses the following question: What characterizes the mechanisms of political alienation among non-Western immigrant students, and how might these mechanisms be related to student's acculturation attitudes? A theory of political alienation and acculturation is applied. Substantial quantitative data from Norwegian upper secondary…

Liberal democratic education, as advocated in recent accounts of citizenship education or civic education, is often seen as incompatible with moral education or character education rooted in specific views regarding the virtues. This contrast relies on well established philosophical differences between liberal views of justice and democracy, on…

Educational discourse, like other fields, is not neutral. Through policy documents it has ideological functions of transmitting dominant cultures and serving certain sectional interest groups. In Zimbabwe 1998 was characterized by radical political discontent as witnessed by a rise in student activism and the formation of the main political…

This article posits a connection between the influence of communitarianism on New Labour's ideology and the content of citizenship education in England and Wales. We first describe and problematize communitarianism, drawing on both UK and US thinkers, and then relate our findings to literature on citizenship education. We conclude by suggesting…

In a considerable number of nations, "conservative modernization" has gained increasing influence. Neo-liberals, neo-conservatives, and new middle-class managerialists have defined the terrain of educational policy and practice. In some nations as well, authoritarian populist religious conservative movements and ideologies have also become major…

The introduction of compulsory citizenship education in England's schools, following the Crick Report's recommendations of 1998, has proved controversial and, according to a growing body of evidence, largely unsuccessful in its implementation. If citizenship education is to play an effective role in democratic renewal this article argues that its…