Encouraging children to become 'good citizens' who positively contribute towards society through charitable and philanthropic action as part of their civic participation has become a core focus of policy and practice. Yet the opportunities afforded to children for active civic learning within primary education remain under-researched. This article…

In this paper, we discuss core ideas arising from research undertaken in a Leverhulme Trust (IN2016-002) funded international network project. The project examined youth activism, engagement and the development of new civic learning spaces within and across six countries (Australia, Canada, England, Hungary, Lebanon and Singapore). Arising from…

Purpose: We intend to bring into debate what seems to be a paradoxical relation between the lack of youth civic and political participation, and the current disinvestment in the effective implementation of citizenship education policies. Design: A comparative framework between four European countries concerning youth civic and political…

This article is based on an analysis of the treatment of the European Union in a sample of textbooks from Germany and England. Following contextual remarks about civic education (politische Bildung) in Germany and citizenship education in England and a review of young people's views, we demonstrate that textbooks in Germany and in England largely…

Although the area of parental involvement in education is well researched, much less is known about how parents and teachers might work together to cultivate desirable character virtues in their children/pupils. This article considers three potential barriers to parents/teachers forming such partnerships: i) differing views on the importance of…

Brighton People's Theatre and Slung Low are at the forefront of the contemporary people's theatre movement in the United Kingdom. I examine these companies and the broader utility of a people's theatre, historically concerned with working class representation and/or performances of civic unity, in the context of economic austerity and inequality.…

The aim of this paper is to consider the ways in which civic republican theory can provide a meaningful and useful account of social justice, one that is which holds resonance for educational debates. Recognising the need for educationalists interested in civic republicanism to pay greater attention to ideas of justice--and in particular social…

One of the biggest criticisms of international law is the lack of effective enforcement, often compounded in human rights law by the system of treaty reservations that detracts from the main object and purpose of human rights protections. Ideally, once a country has ratified a treaty, it may create domestic law that provides an enforcement…

This study explores how globalization, migration, and citizenship education intersect in four northwest European democracies. In this study of secondary schools serving students from immigrant backgrounds in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom (England and Scotland), I interviewed teachers and students and observed…

This article is concerned with a dimension of young people's civic education beyond socialisation that is neither confined to the sphere of political decision-making, nor to the achievement of a particular civic identity. The two case studies emphasise the role and importance of significant others and of democratic and non-democratic…

In this article, the author strengthens and develops the theoretical platform for her concept of little public spheres. Hickey-Moody does so in order to present the concept as a tool for theorists who want to consider the political significance of marginalized youth. The concept of little publics is a theoretical frame the author developed to show…

This paper presents the findings of a study concerned with student teachers' perceptions of their role as civic educators. Focusing on student teachers undertaking one-year, pre-service programmes within the secondary age range (11- to 18-years-old) at a large higher education institution in the south of England, the study adopted a mixed methods…

In this article I consider whether there is a process of repression occurring in definitions of citizenship and frameworks of citizenship education, which involves a forgetting of history. By focusing on recently troubled countries I identify how the force of history comes to play, and from that I consider how, in relatively stable liberal…

The re-emerging field of "student voice" has the potential to offer an important contribution to education for civic society. An exploration of what "student voice" aspires to and what it actually does suggests quite different sets of possibilities for educational and civic renewal. A new intellectual framework is offered in…

Investigates citizenship education in five different countries over ten years: (1) Denmark; (2) Germany; (3) the United States; (4) the Netherlands; and (5) England. Focuses on adolescents, ages 14 to 19, within secondary schools using questionnaires and interviews with students and teachers. (CMK)