teaching AUTUMN 2021
IN THIS EDITION
As we mark ACT’s 20th anniversary we consider three of the big issues that will shape citizenship for the next 20 years: the climate emergency, disinformation and conspiracies, and digital citizenship.
ALSO IN THIS EDITION
The future of teacher education, peace education and ACT council.
20/20 Vision – What does the next 20 years hold for citizenship education? Journal of the Association for Citizenship Teaching www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
Issue 54
2 | Welcome
Liz Moorse, ACT Chief Executive
ACT at 20 - New Opportunities and New Optimism for Citizenship education Liz Moorse Our 20th Anniversary Year marks the start of new opportunities and new optimism for all of us engaged in Citizenship education. As we look forward to a year of anniversary events (see details on the news page), we also move into 2022, which is the anniversary of Citizenship becoming a national curriculum subject in England. Our celebrations began in November with a fantastic joint event with our friends at UK Parliament Education and Engagement as we hosted a conference over three days on Sustainable Citizenship, Climate Change – does Citizenship hold the key? Our conference programme was inspired by former Education Minister Lord Jim Knight, who has proposed a bill for a refreshed programme of study that incorporates Climate Education. We also had the pleasure of hearing Lord Blunkett about where next for Citizenship and his pride at being ACT’s Honorary President. We saw this as an opportunity to hold something in the week of COP26 that brought together thinking about how Citizenship addresses teaching about the environment, climate change and sustainability; the role we need our politicians to take on leading systematic change, and legislation that supports a more sustainable economy and democratic society; and how students can get involved in the parliamentary law-making process to influence those decisions. Our speakers included three ACT teaching ambassadors who shared their lessons and teaching insights, a range of experts from Parliament who work on Select Committees, Bill committees and drafting of new laws, as well as some of our organisational partners and representatives from the Our Shared World network to which ACT belongs. It was exactly the kind of rich and vibrant event that would have been so good to hold face-to-face. And our hope is to do just that in the summer of 2022, when we are planning a celebration and teaching conference on 7 and 8 of July.
Teaching Citizenship
As if it were planned, on day three of our conference the Secretary of State for Education, Nazim Zahawi, launched his ‘world leading’ Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy at COP26. The strategy is in draft form but presents real opportunities to engage and stimulate high quality Citizenship education for pupils in more schools. As we look forward, we can see how our subject needs to continue to evolve to ensure that we can explore the innovations and changes in society and new approaches to curriculum and teaching. In this, the first of two editions to mark ACT’s anniversary and the anniversary of Citizenship as a subject, we are focused on three key developments: the proliferation of disinformation and conspiracy theories and how these affect the young people we are teaching; how democracy and technology are changing the way we can do politics digitally and provide new opportunities to engage citizens in a new relationship with those in power; and how we should approach teaching the climate emergency – the greatest threat to humankind. All of this brings new challenges and some opportunities, which means we as Citizenship educators need to have the best curriculum planning, pedagogy and teaching at our fingertips so that we help young people see a positive future as we try to tackle these issues. That is why ACT is here and why we continue to work hard to support you. As we embark on the next 20 years of Citizenship, we are also excited to have benefited from a significant grant that has enabled us to expand our staff team and develop plans to enhance the work we do to support teachers and schools. There is much work already going on to build our teaching community and we will be saying more about this next year. Finally, we say a heartfelt thank you to those who support us financially, to those who volunteer with us including Council members, Ambassador teachers and Trustees, to staff past and present and, of course, to all those who have contributed to this exciting anniversary edition. z www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
Autumn 2021
Editorial notes We regularly call for more of you to get involved, to write for the journal (all of it is voluntary) and to spread the word and we really do thank you for your contributions. Citizenship education and where we are today is a direct consequence of your hard work. Let’s remember the huge expectation placed on the subject 20 years ago and recognise the enormous and significant strides made under complex circumstances. These last couple of years have been particularly challenging for everyone, and so we know that doing a bit more is always a challenge – but if you read these pages and think ‘I have a resource that would be good to contribute’ ‘I want to read and review a book’ (and keep it), ‘I want to help develop the knowledge of subject and non-subject specialists’, ‘I want my pupils to get more involved’ get in touch – there is always something you could do, or some way in which we can recognise you, like with the ACT Quality Standard for your school. If you think we are missing somethings, let us know that too! We hope that you enjoy this edition of the journal (and the companion one in Spring 2022) and that together they enable you to look forward with confidence to address what the next 20 years of citizenship education will look like. The Editorial Board: Lee Jerome, Hans Svennevig, David Kerr, Sera Shortland & Pauline Amechi Cover image: A selection of Teaching Citizenship from the past 20 years
Theme
4 Editorial Lee Jerome, Hans Svennevig & David Kerr 8 Changes to ITT and beyond – the role of a subject association Zoe Baker Theme 1: Media literacy 12 Conspiracy theories and citizenship education Jeremy Hayward Theme 2: Digital citizenship 18 Mind the gap: Digital citizenship – the missing aspect of citizenship education David Kerr 20 Five things you should know about digital citizenship education Ted Huddleston 24 Children’s rights in the digital environment Lee Jerome 27 Bringing deliberative democracy and deliberative polling to schools and citizenship classrooms Alice Siu 30 Introducing ACT’s new scheme of work David Kerr Theme 3: Sustainable citizenship 34 Introduction to sustainability and the citizenship curriculum Sera Shortland 36 In Our Bones Awa Ndiaye © 2021 Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT) ISSN 1474-9335 No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means without the permission of the publisher. Teaching Citizenship is the official journal of ACT. The views expressed in signed articles do not necessarily represent those of ACT, and we cannot accept responsibility for any products or services advertised within the journal. Printed and distributed by Premier Print Group: www.premierprintgroup.com
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39 Education for sustainability and consumer citizenship Katy Wheeler 43 The importance of climate education and youth action Tess Corcoran 45 Sustainability in the citizenship classroom – a scheme of work Sera Shortland 51 55 62
Features
ur responsibilities for peace education O for the next generation Hans Svennevig Opportunities and threats Hugh Starkey & Maddie Spink Spotlight on ACT memories Hans Svennevig
Regulars 6 News 59 Review of Mya-Rose Craig’s ‘We Have A Dream’ Lee Jerome 60 Review of Maria Hantzopoulos & Monisha Bajaj’s ‘Educating for Peace and Human Rights’ Anna Liddle 61 Review of Lee Jerome & Hugh Starkey’s ‘Children’s Rights Education in Diverse Classrooms’ Hans Svennevig Design & Production Editor: Grant Lucas Telephone +44 (0)7702 411251 Email grant@magazineproduction.com Web www.magazineproduction.com Published by the Association for Citizenship Teaching, Suite 281, Hill House, 210 Upper Richmond Road, London SW15 6NP Email info@teachingcitizenship.org.uk Telephone 07395 308 806
Teaching Citizenship
4 | Editorial
Editorial: Celebrating 20 Years, Looking Ahead to the Next 20 ow times flies, was it really two decades ago when the Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT) was founded as the new subject association in advance of Citizenship becoming statutory in the National Curriculum? ACT was set up to be an inclusive umbrella organisation with a mission to promote citizenship education and support all those involved with it – originally NGOs, charities, Local Authority advisors, researchers, and teacher educators, but quickly supplemented by those teaching and leading on Citizenship in schools and colleges from primary to post-16. A lot has changed during that period in terms of issues that citizenship educators have had to deal with; policy context for the subject through successive governments; school reforms and education challenges. ACT’s membership has also developed as a new group of expert teachers and school leaders (be they in training, newly qualified, subject leads, heads of department, deputy heads and heads) have taken up the mantle of leading the development of the subject. However, the one thing that has remained constant during this period is ACT has remained true to its origins and mission. In this edition of Teaching Citizenship (our 54th), and the one that follows it in Summer 2022, we are considering how Citizenship as a subject will need to adapt over the next twenty years, and how ACT will need to evolve to continue to offer strong subject leadership and professional support. As citizenship teachers we are used to incorporating contemporary issues in our classes and responding to changing political circumstances so we know our teaching will need to be different in twenty years’ time. But there are also deeper, positive changes that have taken place in the subject over the past two decades which will help to make the necessary adaptations such as a growing confidence in subject pedagogy (especially around controversial issues and community participation), and a deepening subject knowledge.
Teaching Citizenship
What kinds of deeper changes might we see that will make citizenship education a different kind of activity over the next two decades? Inevitably, some of the challenges we will face cannot be foreseen from our current position – 20 years ago who could have predicted Covid19, the sweeping rise of populism across the world or the targeted use of social media to influence electorates in elections and referenda? However, it is certainly possible to project forward from some of the trends and changes that we have already seen, and to think about how our citizenship education community must develop. In this edition we consider four themes or trends which we think will remain high on the agenda for citizenship educators and ACT over the next two decades. These are: 1. T he changing policy landscape for initial and continuing professional development (CPD). 2. The spread and diversity of media and its outlets and the need to develop critical media literacy. 3. The rapid and pervasive rise of digital citizenship in all aspects of our lives and the need to educate people to be digital as well as physical citizens. 4. The threats and opportunities posed by climate change and sustainability and our behaviour as citizens. For the first theme, Zoe Baker considers the changing policy landscape for initial and continuing professional education, and starts to define an agenda for ACT as the subject association. ACT’s work in the future will build on the various networks established to provide specialist support to ensure the subject community continues to deepen its knowledge and pedagogical base. For the second theme, Jeremy Hayward extends some of ACT’s existing work on critical media literacy by thinking specifically about the challenge presented by the rise in conspiracy theories. The ubiquity of social media, and the stickiness of the conspiracies means teachers have to tread with care. His suggestions demonstrate how our teaching strategies for dealing with the whole range of media literacy challenges will continue to develop and become more refined.
www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
Lee Jerome, Hans Svennevig and David Kerr, Co-editors, Teaching Citizenship
For the third theme David Kerr curates a series of articles considering the pedagogic challenges of the rise of digital citizenship. Ted Huddleston emphasises continuity by arguing the perennial issues of citizenship remain the same, whether we are considering citizenship in the physical or digital realm. And of course he is correct that questions of identity, collective action, fairness, social justice, power and representation are fundamental to both realms. But Lee Jerome’s article emphasises some things that may be changing, and in particular argues that teachers will need to become more confident in facilitating students’ access to the digital realm and to prepare them for action, and to balance these participation rights more explicitly against the urge to protect and safeguard. Alice Siu’s reflection on Stanford University’s online deliberation platform indicates that the technology already exists to move substantive democratic deliberations online, and that these digital platforms still maintain the potential to enable transformational educational experiences. This clearly offers up new pedagogic possibilities for the future, assuming we can solve the problems of student access to decent technology. Finally, David Kerr summarises the new scheme of work that ACT has developed with Oak Academy on digital democracy and political participation. This is designed to offer practical support to teachers wanting to engage with the impacts of digital citizenship as part of their practice. For the fourth theme Sera Shortland considers the implications of climate change for citizenship education. Sera helped to organise ACT’s series of events on this theme with Parliament Education (in November 2021) and shares some of the resources developed as part of that work. Whilst aspects of climate education are rightly undertaken in science and geography, it is obvious that we need to engage with this existential threat as citizens, and Sera addresses the political dimension and also illustrates the connections we must make to consumer education via Katy Wheeler’s research. Climate change affects all aspects of our lives (a truth that will only become more evident over the next twenty years) and so Tess Corcoran addresses the emotional dimension to that experience by
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considering the educational implications of ecoanxiety. Awa Ndiaye’s poem and Maya Adams illustration demonstrate how the arts could play a significant role in how we process and respond to this unfolding threat. Perhaps citizenship teachers will be best placed to make the connections between our emotional responses, our everyday activity as consumers and the political solutions we need to develop at community, national and international levels. It is clear we need to develop more holistic educational approaches to help young people make sense of the climate crisis and sustain hope that it can be meaningfully addressed. Elsewhere in the journal we include some lesson resources to try out in your class and review some publications that may be useful. Hans Svennevig picks up the theme of peace, Hugh Starkey and Maddie Spinks share their personal takes on the past and next twenty years for citizenship education, and we indulge in a little bit of nostalgia and reflect on some of the highlights and memories of Council members from the past few years. Council continues to be the driving force at ACT and is predominantly made up of teachers, so if you would like to be more involved, please do get in touch to discuss whether Council might be the way you can help us shape our future. ACT is for its members and the subject community at large, ACT council, the Ambassadors and Trustees are essential to its development and we thank you all for your contributions, every piece of work is valued. In all the work that we all do we want to bring you the cutting edge in resources, and pedagogic practice, we want to showcase strong subject knowledge and places to go to build your knowledge. We put on courses for your development and have recently received significant funding to develop our work and conduct research into how we can strengthen Citizenship teaching in schools. All of this is not possible without you – our subject community. One last point, there is of course always more to do, but let us all take a moment to celebrate our achievements in Citizenship education to date. Congratulations, well done and thank you to everyone who makes up the Citizenship subject community! z Teaching Citizenship
6 | News
Scott Harrison, Chair of ACT Trustees
The Case for Citizenship Scott Harrison Twenty years on from its introduction as a National Curriculum subject, there are many well-trained and talented citizenship teachers and plentiful highquality resources. Moreover, the case for citizenship education is all the greater in an age of social media, extremism, and cynicism about government. Yet, in too many schools, citizenship remains insubstantial, tokenistic and has low status. In part, this has resulted from lack of enthusiasm for citizenship from the Department for Education and Ofsted. However, the greatest barrier to development of citizenship lies squarely at the doors of school leaders who have not understood that their laudable aims cannot be achieved without a well-developed citizenship curriculum - what citizenship can and should be; or who have a view of the curriculum framed by traditional subjects and structures – curricular inertia; or who have simply not found practical ways to introduce substantial programmes of citizenship
Teaching Citizenship
education into an already crowded curriculum. Success in citizenship education requires curriculum time, specialist teaching and high expectations of outcomes, just as in any other subject. Twenty years on, and drawing upon ACT’s support, this is a good time for schools to review their provision and raise the bar to provide effective, compelling citizenship education that benefits students and their communities. With the strategic support of a highly expert and committed team of Trustees, ACT is currently undertaking a major new project to strengthen partnerships with schools, empowering leaders and teachers to develop effective programmes that can in turn provide examples of good practice and data for our research. We hope to receive many expressions of interest in the near future, particularly from schools that want to explore anew the full contribution that citizenship can make to their students’ education. z
www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
News | 7
News roundup Sustainability and Climate Change Education Strategy launched at COP26 Having supported Lord Knight’s proposed Environment and Sustainable Citizenship Education Bill, it was excellent to see the Secretary of State, Nadhim Zahawi highlight the special role of Citizenship education in tackling climate change in the Education Strategy announced at COP26. ACT is working with the Department for Education (DfE) and other subject associations to take forward this agenda and we look forward to supporting schools with resources and CPD to help ensure every child receives high quality climate and sustainability education through Citizenship. ACT’s 20th Anniversary Year launched at Sustainable Citizenship Conference It was fantastic to be joined by so many partners, champions and teachers over the course of the three day Sustainable Citizenship Conference, held in partnership with the UK Parliament Education Service. Access the conference lessons developed by ACT Ambassadors on sustainable citizenship on our website. Further Anniversary Events and lessons will be launched during the year. See dates below and on our website. Minister highlights the role of Citizenship in new Finance Education guidance The Money and Pensions Service has published new financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools, supported by the DfE. Aimed at school leaders and subject leads, the guidance sets out how schools can improve their financial education and signpost to services and resources that can help. Minister for Schools, Robin Walker, highlighted the role of Citizenship and Mathematics in teaching high quality finance education.
Diary dates and ACT’s 20th Anniversary Year For information on ACT’s events visit: www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk/events-cpd-training 18 January 2022 Early Careers Network meeting 2 February 2022 Expert Led Webinar with the University of Law - LGBT law and hate crime 15 February 2022 GCSE Citizenship Studies Network, will focus on summer exam pre release 3rd March 2022 Expert-Led Webinar on Protest Law, with ACT Trustee and Law expert Richard Glover 25 March 2022 ACT Anniversary Event Panel Discussion: The Future of Citizenship 7-8 July 2022 Hold the date for ACT’s Anniversary Celebration Event and Teacher CPD Conference
New Funding and expanded ACT team Earlier this year ACT received funding from the NCS Trust C.I.C. to help develop a national programme to embed citizenship into schools. This includes funding to develop and expand our work with schools and new resources to support every teacher in developing their understanding of the subject. We look forward to sharing developments throughout ACT’s 20th anniversary year. With new funding, ACT has been able to increase its core delivery team from 2 to eight. This includes two new education roles, two supporting programme delivery and communications and two part-time researchers. You can read more about the new team on the website, with further planned roles being advertised in the months ahead.
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Teaching Citizenship
8 | Theme
Changes to ITT and beyond - what is the role of the subject specialist and subject association? Zoe Baker Readers who work with ITT institutions or have teachers who are new to the profession will be aware that much has changed in the landscape of teacher training in the last 12 months. It was billed as “The biggest teaching reform in a generation”. Indeed it has been suggested that these changes are the largest since the 1990’s. New acronyms are flying around schools, CCF, ECF, ECT and suddenly as a mentor you need to be an expert in instructional coaching. In this article Zoe considers what has changed, how this affects citizenship teachers, and what this might mean for ACT. In November 2019 both the Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework were published. The CCF is promoted as the minimal framework that teacher training programmes should provide (think National Curriculum for teachers). However, unlike the National Curriculum rather than specifying detailed area of subject knowledge that a trainee teacher should develop it deals with eight teaching standards we are by now familiar with. For each of these standards we now find that our trainees need to ‘learn that’ or ‘learn how to’. It may not be a surprise that the ‘Learn that’ statements in the Early Career Framework are exactly the same as the Core Content and the ‘Learn how to’ vary very slightly (see figure 1). Therefore trainee teachers now spend three years working towards the eight teaching standards with the support of a mentor and termly assessments. Figure 1: Standard 3 – ‘Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge’ (extracts to illustrate cross-over and progression between the ITT and ECF requirements) Learn that… 2. Secure subject knowledge helps teachers to motivate pupils and teach effectively. 3. Ensuring pupils master foundational concepts and knowledge before moving on is likely to build pupils’ confidence and help them succeed. 4. Anticipating common misconceptions within particular subjects is also an important aspect of curricular knowledge; working closely with colleagues to develop an understanding of likely misconceptions is valuable. 7. In all subject areas, pupils learn new ideas by linking those ideas to existing knowledge, organising this knowledge into increasingly complex mental models (or “schemata”); carefully sequencing teaching to facilitate this process is important.
Teaching Citizenship
ITT framework: Learn how to… Support pupils to build increasingly complex mental models, by: - Discussing and analysing with expert colleagues how to revisit the big ideas of the subject over time and teach key concepts through a range of examples. - Discussing and analysing with expert colleagues how they balance exposition, repetition, practice of critical skills and knowledge. Develop fluency, by: - Observing how expert colleagues use retrieval and spaced practice to build automatic recall of key knowledge and deconstructing this approach.
ECF framework: Learn how to… Support pupils to build increasingly complex mental models, by: - Discussing curriculum design with experienced colleagues and balancing exposition, repetition, practice of critical skills and knowledge. - Revisiting the big ideas of the subject over time and teaching key concepts through a range of examples. - Drawing explicit links between new content and the core concepts and principles in the subject. Develop fluency, by: - Providing tasks that support pupils to learn key ideas securely (e.g. quizzing pupils). - Using retrieval and spaced practice to build automatic recall of key knowledge.
www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
Zoe Baker Head of Education and Professional Development at ACT
Figure 2: The new ECF structure
Old system Year 1 Year 2 ITT route leading NQT year with reduced to QTS timetable & mentor New system Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 ITT route leading ECT year 1 with reduced ECT year 2 with to QTS timetable & mentor reduced timetable & mentor of the ITT Review Group, stated “the role of the NQT Mentor has Some of you may have spotted that it is now three years to work been there forever, but what happens from next year is that it gets with a mentor and this is a new element with the introduction of properly recognised”. This is because of the increased funding and the Early Career Framework. Now rather than being an NQT with training being put into the development of the mentor role by the a reduced timetable and the support of a subject mentor for one ECF. She hopes that this will cause a greater academic this continues for two years. Therefore recognition of the role, “because it needs to, your training is fully complete at the end of a three because it’s so important”. year cycle (figure 2). Many of us will This then is perhaps the most important place Those of use who have worked with ITT for a have continued to we begin to see the role of a Citizenship teacher number of years may well welcome this extension be mentors for our in the new world of teacher training. The role of a as a number of us will have memories of NQT’s NQTs well past mentor. This is a role that many of us have been who have found their second year of teaching a doing for years. If we are lucky enough we will real struggle and would have benefited from the the first year in an have had a strong mentor to guide us through extra 10% of timetable reduction to continue to informal way and our early years as Citizenship teachers. But at ACT observe other colleagues or team teach to refine now this process we know that, however much we would like to their skills over a longer period of time. Many of allows for this think that every Citizenship trainee and ECT has us will have continued to be mentors for our NQTs relationship to be an experienced Citizenship mentor, this is simply well past the first year in an informal way and recognised for a not the case. now this process allows for this relationship to be From our years of working within the recognised for a longer period of time. longer period Citizenship subject community we know that The role of subject mentor has long been of time. often Citizenship teachers are lone departments. recognised as vital to a trainee teachers’ Sometimes they have the support of heads of development. Now however under the new CCF humanities, often there is a host of other teachers within a school and even more so under the ECF the mentor provides (and is who have some Citizenship on their timetable. This then does not responsible for) more than ever. Professor Sam Twiselton, Chair
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Teaching Citizenship
10 | Changes to ITT and beyond - what is the role of the subject specialist and subject association?
evaluate in their own communities. By doing so the ECT building make for the best environment for a trainee or ECT. There is often a up the essential knowledge they need to extend the learning of lack of subject specialists to observe lessons and provide feedback. students from a basic understanding of listing rights for example The teacher who is timetabled to deliver the subject may have less to a much more sophisticated level of knowledge where they are subject knowledge than the trainee or ECT themselves which can able to hold well supported discussions about the importance of be challenging when the novice teacher is trying to develop their balancing the rights of groups within a society. subject knowledge. The new frameworks compounds this with These examples from the document make it clear that statements including: in order for a Citizenship trainee or ECT to be mentored • Discussing and analysing with expert colleagues how to identify successfully they need to work with colleagues who have possible misconceptions and plan how to prevent these forming. extensive knowledge of the Citizenship curriculum, understand • Receiving clear, consistent and effective mentoring in how to the distinct pedagogical approaches to Citizenship and the identify essential concepts, knowledge, skills and principles of the core knowledge and concepts that students subject. are entitled to. For many of our early career • Discussing and analysing with expert colleagues teachers when they enter their first year in the rationale for curriculum choices, the process If we are lucky a school they are expected to be the person for arriving at current curriculum choices and enough we will with the knowledge. This is what they bring to how the school’s curriculum materials inform have had a strong school, this is why they are needed. It is not lesson preparation. mentor to guide unusual for ACT to be contacted by one of our us through our early career teachers within their first year of When we look at just these simple examples we early years as teaching to tell us that they will be head of can see that in order to discuss misconceptions department or subject lead from year two of the need of an experienced Citizenship mentor is Citizenship their career as the school has recognised their needed. For example, when dealing with the topic teachers. But at abilities and expertise. This is a credit to the how our country is ruled students often confuse ACT we know ITT institutions that train Citizenship teachers the concept of government and parliament. that, however to such a high standard but also a concern if This is not a surprise when may in society would much we would there is a lack of subject specialist mentoring struggle to define the difference between the like to think that available for this teacher who is still in the very two. However, with an experienced mentor who early stages of their career. is skilled at curriculum planning and can explain every Citizenship What then can we do as a subject community to a teacher new to Citizenship how important it trainee and ECT to support our trainees and ECT to ensure that is to show the development of our parliamentary has an experienced they receive the high quality mentoring that system to support an understanding of the Citizenship mentor, other subjects receive just by the benefits of operation of our government system. It is similar this is simply not having more experienced staff around them? when teaching Human Rights, while many have the case. heard of the United Nations Declaration of 1. ACT Early Career Network Human Rights what is less clear if how to teach For two years now ACT has organised a network for trainee and NQT the complex concepts held within. From the legislation which teachers as well as those new to the subject. This meets online to applies to each country to which means that you are able to discuss ideas in an informal setting as well as running more formal defend your rights in UK courts for example (only passed in 1998). CPD aimed at supporting those new to Citizenship as a subject Additionally, there is the challenge of oversimplification of topics such as this. Teaching Human Rights through the death penalty 2. ACT Membership to exemplify the right to life. An experienced Citizenship mentor Joining ACT as a member gives you access to a wide variety of will realise that this topic while often used in other subjects resources including lesson plans and resources. It also enables you such as RE is still abstract to young people. Most we would hope to view previous training that we have offered to members. would not come into contact with a situation where they had 3. Early Career Ambassador first hand experience of the death penalty. However many of our ACT has a range of teaching ambassadors who work regionally and students do come into contact with abuses of human rights on who have a range of specialism they can provide support for. One of a frequent basis and the skilled Citizenship mentor will help the these is David Elliot, our Early Career Ambassador, who is always on ECT identify concrete examples such as domestic abuse, abuse hand to support and advise those new to the subject. due to sexuality or gender that students can recognise and Teaching Citizenship
www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
Zoe Baker
4. Virtual Staffroom Once a term we host a virtual staffroom as an informal meeting place for Citizenship teachers to discuss ideas, share good practice and learn from each other. This is an ideal opportunity for ECT and trainee teachers to meet and network with experienced colleagues and learn from them. As an experienced Citizenship teacher you can be vital to the development of young Citizenship teachers just by attending events and offering advice.
Once a term we host a virtual staffroom... This is an ideal opportunity for ECT and trainee teachers to meet and network with experienced colleagues and learn from them.
Thinking ahead So far I have discussed the relatively straightforward aspects of recent reforms, but there are still lots of controversial issues to be discussed and worked through the system. ACT will have an important role in at least four ways, representing the interests of our members and promoting quality citizenship education. • ACT could run courses to support ECTs and the development of the ECF but the 6 Hubs can only support DFE approved training and only DFE funded courses have ever been approved. This presents a practical barrier to getting into the hubs to offer Citizenship specific training. This means ACT will continue to develop parallel professional development and support for people to tap into, but it also means we have to continue our lobbying work to ensure Citizenship is available through those officially funded hubs. • The research that CCF and ECF has been based on has been criticised throughout the ITT sector (and beyond) because it is based on a particular interpretation of what is often referred to as ‘cog sci’ evidence and a particular approach to researching ‘what works’. This ignores both the debates within cognitive science, and the wider debates about other forms of professional knowledge and practitioner-led research, which offer equally important insights into subject specific teaching and learning. ACT will continue to undertake, fund and disseminate research that addresses the needs of Citizenship teachers to develop a richer body of knowledge to inform the ECF. • CCF will now be used by Ofsted in ITT inspections and so ACT will continue to work with ITT providers to support them and share examples of emerging good practice. We are well placed to do this as ACT Council includes Amit Puni and Hans Svennevig, who lead PGCE courses at Kingston and UCL, and because I have a dual role as Head of Education at ACT and PGCE & Teach First Course Tutor at Canterbury Christ Church University. ACT is already working with NASBTT to ensure specialist input is available to trainees on School Based ITT routes. Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
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• The combination of the CCF, ECF, and market review have made many ITT institutions very unhappy and complaining of feeling straight jacketed in terms of what they could teach. ACT can play a role in celebrating and disseminating innovative case studies, where providers embed the CCF within the kinds of distinctive pedagogic and professional training we have come to associate with Citizenship ITT. ACT has always worked closely with the network of Citizenship ITT tutors and we will continue to work with colleagues in the sector to explore ways in which these practices are rooted in positive responses to the CCF, not stifled by it. z
David Elliott, ACT’s Early Career Teacher Ambassador David@teachingcitizenship.org.uk I have been working with teachers new to Citizenship in this role for near 3 years now and am pleased to see how the ACT Early Career Network has grown. This now provides ongoing support for those who are training and those who are their first year of teaching Citizenship. I remember how challenging it can be when entering school and needing to rely on your own resources and subject knowledge while getting used to new curriculum and specifications. One of the most valuable things I think about the network is that everybody can support each other and share ideas. As the Early Careers Ambassador, I provide one to one support to ACT members who are new to the subject. I can advise on how to design new units of work, help with moderating assessment marking and with subject knowledge. However probably more importantly that this I can be an additional mentor with subject specialism who can offer support and a listening ear when needed. The most important element is that by being part of the ACT early Career Network and as the ACT Early Career Ambassador I am part of a bigger community myself. I also develop my subject knowledge and feel supported by the other Ambassadors and teachers I work with which is very important in a small subject in a school.
Teaching Citizenship
12 | Theme 1: Media literacy
Conspiracy theories and citizenship education Jeremy Hayward This article builds on our previous journal on ‘Information Disorder’ (edition 51) with some specific ideas about tackling conspiracy theories. It underlines the need for a nuanced range of strategies to engage in critical media literacy.
In the UK, the QAnon conspiracy is not widespread, but it is n the summer of 2020, a bizarre story reached growing and is more popular with younger age groups. In a recent the MSM (mainstream media). The online report by Hope Not Hate (entitled QAnon in the UK: The Growth of furniture seller, Wayfair, was being (falsely) a Movement Lawrence & Davis, 2020) most of the two thousand accused of trafficking abducted children adults surveyed had not heard of QAnon; however, there was some in expensive wardrobes. It was indeed true support for several of the claims associated with it, particularly that Wayfair sold expensive, industrial-sized amongst younger people, with 35% of 18-24s agreeing with the wardrobes, with each style having a different girl’s statement “Secret Satanic cults exist and include influential elites”. name. However, some believers in the QAnon conspiracy theory had matched some of these What has this got to do with schools and wardrobe names to those of young citizenship teachers? girls reported missing in the USA and All teachers have a duty of care and there are, of accused the company of trafficking the In the UK, the course, child safety concerns with those who fall children via the wardrobes. QAnon conspiracy deeply into conspiracy thinking. Many extremist The wardrobe conspiracy started is not widespread, groups have conspiracy theories as part of their on reddit forums but spread rapidly but it is growing ideology (see the great replacement theory and around the world via Instagram and is more popular the far right). and Facebook (where recent with younger age Often explorations of the internet and social research suggested that false stories/ media in schools have a personal safety and disinformation are six times more likely to be liked groups. In a recent PSHE focus (safety, bullying, grooming). These are and shared than the truth). report… 35% of 18very important lessons, however it can be argued But who would believe such a crazy idea? It 24s agreed with the that the rise of conspiracy and disinformation turns out that growing numbers do. The Covid statement “Secret is not just a personal safety issue but is now a pandemic gave rise to some other well-publicised Satanic cults public crisis and one that threatens the future of conspiracies (Covid being caused by 5g masts, exist and include democratic states. Bill Gates putting microchips in the vaccines). The Teaching critical media literacy and resistance more established conspiracy theories have also influential elites”. to conspiracy/disinformation is not only in the incorporated the Covid pandemic into their stories interest of the student, but may also be essential of hidden agendas and the result is that someone for a healthy democracy. researching Covid vaccinations can suddenly find themselves falling The rise of disinformation and conspiracy theory during the down a QAnon rabbit hole. You may know some of these people. pandemic was troubling. In the UK alone 159 5g phone masts QAnon is a recent conspiracy theory which has a number of loosely were attacked, while NHS staff and health workers have been fitting beliefs - one of them being that wealthy elites regularly traffic physically and verbally abused and stand accused of faking the young children and use them in satanic rituals, which includes pandemic. Many individuals refuse to be vaccinated, all because harvesting their blood for health benefits. Other beliefs include the of disinformation and conspiracy. As a response to this, UK idea that Trump was waging a war with these elites and was about to Research and Innovation (UKRI) have funded research into the expose them all in an event known as the ‘storm’. The Capitol rioters of spread of disinformation and as part of one project I was asked January 6th included many who were spurred on by this conspiracy. Teaching Citizenship
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Jeremy Hayward is a Lecturer in Education, UCL Institute of Education.
Young people and conspiracy. What do we know? There is very little research on young people and their belief in disinformation or conspiracy theories. However, this is an area that is starting to be explored and recent research by Jolley et al. (2021) suggests that interest in conspiracy thinking starts to develop around the age of 14 and may even peak in late adolescence (in terms of the numbers of people believing in conspiracy theories). How deeply conspiracy beliefs are held at this age is not clear. A student putting forward a conspiracy theory may be doing so for a range of reasons: perhaps as part of a role as an alternative thinker, an outsider or even a disruptive student. The belief itself may not be firmly held. Adolescence is also a time when young people seek broader answers, play with different identity roles and sometimes have anti-establishment feelings, in addition to it being a time of anxiety. All of these elements may be factors in drawing young people to conspiracy theories/disinformation. Even if jokingly suggested, such beliefs can be harder to change if they are held/repeated for long enough to become ‘identity forming’ (think about people’s views on Brexit, or even supporting football teams). Much of the guidance in the document draws on research from political science that suggests our reason may not be the driving force for our beliefs, particularly when the beliefs are well established. Luckily, this is not likely to be the case for many young people, and teachers may be able to play an important role in keeping students open-minded and suitably sceptical about conspiracies/disinformation. At the Institute of Education, we recently conducted research into extremism in the classroom. Taylor et al. (2021). As part of this research, we surveyed around one hundred teachers asking about the extreme views they had encountered in the classroom. The most frequently encountered were conspiracy theories, with over a fifth of the teachers encountering these fairly regularly. Nearly 90% have encountered them at some point. In interviews, teachers were concerned about the possible increased exposure of young people to social media and disinformation during lockdown and noted the loss of the physical classroom as a space to discuss ideas (and presumably challenge misconceptions).
Image courtesy of Joel Muniz from Unsplash
to prepare guidance for schools on how to respond to conspiracy theories in the classroom. This guidance is now completed and available to download on the ACT website.
Anecdotally, I have spoken to several teachers in the last few years who are concerned about students being drawn into conspiracy theories. Previously the concerns had all been with male students constantly raising the Illuminati conspiracy, but most recently a teacher was concerned with a group of girls that had become obsessed with QAnon. The extent of conspiracy beliefs amongst young people is not known. It is not likely to be widespread however disinformation and conspiracy are on the rise. Should we treat conspiracy theories/disinformation as all being false? Whilst it is true that people do secretly conspire to do wrong (the Volkswagen emissions scandal, the Salisbury poisonings) the fact that people believe in conspiracies is not a good enough reason alone to treat them as open issues for the purposes of teaching. After all, some people harbour racist views and we would not teach from a position that racism is an acceptable position to hold. Most of the conspiracies that teachers are likely to encounter are the common ones, that do not have credible evidence. Climate change is a useful case study to think about. There are two essential claims: a) that it is happening & b) that it is caused by human activity Forty years ago, a teacher might address these issues as open looking at arguments for and against. Until the last ten years or so,
How frequently have you encountered extremist views in the classroom?
Fairly regularly
A few times
Once or twice
Never
Conspiracy theories 20.8 36.5 19.8 11.5 Extremist views on women 4.2 24.0 34.4 26.0 Homophobia 10.4 31.3 36.5 11.5 Islamophobia 5.2 24.0 32.3 27.1 (Other forms of extremism encountered included Racism and Far Right extremism & Anti-Semitism) Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
Teaching Citizenship
14 | Conspiracy theories and citizenship education
Image courtesy of the blowup from Unsplash
These references to the academic community give both nuance this was also the position taken by the BBC. Anytime the issue of and accuracy. We have recently seen many extreme weather climate change was in the news, the BBC would invite a scientist or events. Scientists openly acknowledge that it is very hard to campaigner to talk about the issue, but would also invite a climate attribute one particular weather event to global warming, as sceptic to put forward their (non-evidence based) ideas. This extreme weather events have always occurred. But modelling approach, of treating a debated issue as being completely open, suggests that the frequency and extremities of these events became problematic as more and more scientific evidence pointed makes it highly likely that global warming is playing a significant towards climate change. The ‘BBC balance’ method seems to only causal factor in most cases. Giving answers like these helps to give give two options, treat an issue as closed or treat it as entirely open. a more detailed account and portrays climate This dichotomy has placed classroom teachers scientists as people who follow evidence and in a tricky position over the years (although less The ‘BBC balance’ think in terms of probabilities rather than so now, as the evidence is insurmountable). So absolutes. This approach can also help build should a) and b) be taught as open issues or method seems more confidence in scientists (often a target of entirely closed? to only give two conspiracy theories). To navigate this, it can useful to think of the options, treat an Indeed, climate change itself has been a major teacher as a representative of the academic issue as closed focus of disinformation and conspiracy theory. community. In this way a teacher can represent or treat it as Climate change denial is often accompanied the thinking of the academic community, which is entirely open. This by fake claims about scientific and liberal elites that the scientists are pretty much unanimous that collaborating for some dubious end. Again, climate change is happening and that it is caused dichotomy has a teacher should feel confident not to reflect by human activity. However, forty years ago this placed classroom denial of climate change that might exist among was not the case and a teacher may have reflected teachers in a members of the general public, but to reflect this split of opinion in the scientific community. By tricky position the academic community. E.g “Yes, I know that reflecting the views this way, the teacher is given over the years. some people deny climate change, but this is not more options than just a true or false. Over time based on evidence. The scientific community is the responses a teacher can give can evolve from in universal agreement that climate change is happening and is The scientific community is divided…, the majority of scientists…, the caused by humans.” scientific community is unanimous…. Etc. Teaching Citizenship
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Jeremy Hayward | 15
repositioning both you and the conspiracy theorist as being openLessons from the US climate change debate minded critical thinkers. In other words, gently encouraging the The climate change debate in the US has been particularly vitriolic. person to also apply the scepticism (inherent in many conspiracies) Research by Kahan (2015) suggests that the ‘name-calling’ element to the conspiracy theory itself. often involved has not been helpful. Calling people idiots, stupid, This approach should work with students too. If a student does ignorant etc only serves to strengthen the belief. (Think of the support a conspiracy theory, then hopefully this will not have online Brexit debate. The terms ‘remoaners’ and ‘brexidiots’ likely been the case for too long. Making them aware of the dangers of achieved nothing, other than strengthening resolve on both sides). conspiracy theories, warning them not to associate themselves Why might this be? too closely with the idea (for example by pointing out that many Try this thought experiment. Imagine all climate change deniers conspiracy theories are racist, or have racist elements) or trying to were ranked on both their strength of climate change denial and reframe their identity as that of a critical thinker may help to avoid also the strength of their scientific knowledge. Do you think the the belief becoming too entrenched and identity forming. strongest deniers would have the strongest or the weakest scientific knowledge? Intuitively, it might seem that the strongest deniers Conspiracy theory in the classroom would have the least scientific knowledge, and There are two main ways that conspiracy the weakest deniers have the strongest. In fact, Climate change theories may find their way into the classroom. Kahan’s research has shown that the exact denial is often A teacher might proactively explore the topic, reverse is the case. The strongest deniers have the perhaps as broader exploration of media strongest scientific knowledge. accompanied literacy, or a pupil might raise a conspiracy This phenomenon has been attributed, in by fake claims theory as part of a different discussion. The part, to something in political/social psychology about scientific guidance document on the ACT website focuses known as the backfire effect. The more you and liberal elites on these two routes. research a topic, the stronger your belief collaborating for becomes, even when the research goes against some dubious end. Reactive strategies your belief. Again, go back to Brexit. All of the If a student raises a conspiracy in the classroom, online discussion seemed to achieve nothing, A teacher should is it best to a) carry on the discussion, perhaps other than strengthening beliefs. If a news article feel confident not expose the ‘crazy’ ideas to the fresh air of was published that seemed to support leave, to reflect denials scrutiny or b) close the idea down? Context is all those voting remain would spend cognitive of climate change important but our guidance suggests going for b) resource arguing why this was wrong (and vice that might exist in most cases. Allowing a discussion to carry on versa for an article that supported remain). among members of may not always be effective. A student may have Spending more time researching just served to researched a topic in depth and have quick or strengthen existing beliefs, rather than changing the general public, well-rehearsed answers. And of course, repeating them. This phenomenon is particularly strong but to reflect disinformation/conspiracies is spreading them. A for identity-related beliefs. In the US, climate the academic discussion may also lead to the student becoming change denial is broadly linked to political community. defensive which could entrench the view further. affiliation (with Republicans as sceptics/deniers). Closing down should not just be seen as a In this way, it is identity related (as is being pro or form of censorship. Teachers close down off-topic discussions all anti-vaccination). The tendency is for humans to spend cognitive the time and, even if the conspiracy is vaguely related to the topic, resources (thinking/research) boosting ideas that support their it likely to be irrelevant in terms of the learning outcomes of the sense of identity while rejecting ideas that go against it, so once a lesson. So there is always a valid reason for needing to carry on with belief is linked to identity it is much harder to change. the lesson. In the guidance we suggest appropriate wording for this Based on these ideas, Kahan suggests that the rhetoric needs to (remembering not to ridicule) but again, context is important. be taken out of the climate change debate. Calling people idiots Sometimes the student raising the idea may be doing so playfully; is not going to change minds. It can strengthen the sense of an however, if you have concerns - or if a student has repeated this identity being under attack and in this way be counterproductive. idea on a few occasions - then a chat outside/at the end of the class may be appropriate. The guidance has ‘prompt’ questions to Discussing conspiracy theories with young people help explore how serious the belief may be and gives logic-based A range of guidance has emerged in the last few years about how arguments/counters to encourage the students to reposition their to have conversations with adult conspiracy theorists (see for thinking to that of a critical thinker and to not become too attached example The Conspiracy Theory Handbook). Most of the guidance to the conspiracy. If you have more serious concerns - for instance if seems to take on board these ideas about identity and the backfire the conspiracy is racist, or a student is messaging/being contacted effect. If the belief is well established, then their sense of identity frequently on forums - then seeking further help or even a chat with will be under threat and rational argument becomes very difficult. the school Prevent lead may be appropriate. A better approach is to try and find common ground. Perhaps by Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
Teaching Citizenship
16 | Conspiracy theories and citizenship education
• Developing media literacy knowledge. For example, Proactive guidance understanding different types of media and how they work, The are a range of free resources available for teachers to tackle exploring how they are regulated or not regulated issues relating to disinformation and conspiracy theories. ACT itself • Developing media literacy skills. How to spot signs of has developed some excellent materials. A list of these, together disinformation or fake news. Looking for common signs with links, is provided in the guidance. Most of the materials take for example being aware of how images are a media literacy approach and it would seem often recycled with faked headlines to create there is a real need for this. Many young people disinformation do not gain their news from traditional media. The tendency is for • Developing defensive strategies (to stop But despite being raised with the internet, humans to spend the spread of disinformation). These often they may not be particularly good at spotting cognitive resources include mnemonics to help remember quick disinformation or fake news. A recent study (thinking/research) checks to run through before sharing/liking/or (Wineburg et al., 2020) asked 263 U.S. university boosting ideas that believing a purported piece of news/information. students to use online resources to evaluate the trustworthiness of two ‘news’ stories. One support their sense Conclusion story was from a satirical website, the other was of identity while Citizenship teachers are used to engaging in produced by a corporate lobbying group. Two rejecting ideas that contemporary debate. This places them in an thirds of the students did not discover that the go against ideal position to spot the signs of conspiracy first ‘news’ story was satirical and 95% were not it, so once a belief belief, and also to develop critical media able to identify the lobbying group that produced literacy. As well as living through a pandemic, is linked to identity the second piece of ‘news’. we are also living in an infodemic, bombarded The different educational approaches to it is much harder by information of various quality and intent. A developing media literacy is an area that has to change. healthy democracy requires the ability to sort been researched, particularly in the U.S, and out the truth from the lies. effective methods include: This is an area I will be researching further. If you have encountered • Active/creative. This could involve creating a new conspiracy conspiracy theories in the classroom and would be happy to have a theory and then analysing why conspiracy theories appeal and conversation, then please feel free to contact me. z how they spread. Image courtesy of Chad Madden from Unsplash
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Jeremy Hayward | 17
Conspiracies you might encounter The Great Replacement The Illuminati Beginning in France with the novelist and political A loose set of beliefs about a secret society who are running commentator Renauld Camus, the Great Replacement the world and aim to establish a ‘New World Order’ of is an Islamophobic conspiracy theory which originated totalitarian and authoritarian control. The original Illuminati with the idea that Muslims present a threat to French were a group of intellectuals in 18th century Bavaria but the and by extension white, Western - civilisation and culture. name was playfully co-opted, and the conspiracy created, Having gained traction in the rest of by a writer for Playboy in the 1960s. Its Europe, believers proclaim that the white iconography - a triangle with an outline race is being systematically replaced of an eye at the centre - is often used in Allowing a demographically and culturally. For this popular culture and many young people discussion to reason, this conspiracy theory is popular hypothesize about famous stars being part carry on may not with far-right movements and is white of this infamous, secret sect. Most recently, always be effective. supremacist at its core. Beyonce and Jay Z are said to be members.
A student may have researched a topic in depth and have quick or well-rehearsed answers. And of course, repeating disinformation/ conspiracies is spreading them.
QAnon Originated in the USA in 2017 but has since gained global traction. Those who subscribe to QAnon believe that a satanic, cannibalistic cabal of paedophiles run a global sex trafficking ring. QAnon followers often subscribe to far-right ideologies and believe that Trump was appointed to enact a ‘storm’, where the paedophile ring (made up of Democrat politicians, Hollywood elites and government officials) will be exposed and arrested. Followers believe that a deep state agent named ‘Q’ is leaving hints - or ‘Q’ drops - for them online to reveal the details of the imminent ‘storm’. Because believers are often far-right politically, many who subscribe to this theory believe in white supremacy and are deeply anti-Semitic and racist.
Single events conspiracies Many conspiracy theories centre around single events that either they claim didn’t occur, or were not as they seem. These include the theories that Princess Diana was killed by the Royal Family, the moon landings were falsified by the US government, the Sandy Hook shooting was not real and performed by actors and 9/11 was orchestrated by the Bush administration and/or the CIA. Increasingly the broader framework theories such as Illumaniti, Qanon, New World order (sometimes the protocols of the Elders of Zion) incorporate these events into their world view.
References Jolley, D., Douglas, K., Skipper, Y., Thomas, E., & Cookson, D. (2021). Measuring adolescents’ beliefs in conspiracy theories: Development and validation of the Adolescent Conspiracy Beliefs Questionnaire (ACBQ). British Journal of Developmental Psychology 39 (3), 499-520 Kahan, D. M. (2015) ‘Climate-Science Communication and the Measurement Problem’ in Advances in Political Psychology, Vol. 36(1) 1-43 For example see The Conspiracy Theory Handbook https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ ConspiracyTheoryHandbook.pdf or advice from from Sense about Science https://senseaboutscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Talking-about-Covid-Conspiracy.pdf Lawrence D. & Davis G. (2020) QAnon in the UK: The Growth of a movement Hope Not Hate: Retrieved from https://www.hopenothate.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2020/10/qanon-report-2020-10-FINAL.pdf Taylor, B., Mills, M., Elwick, A., Pillinger, C., Gronland, G., Hayward, J., Hextall, I. & Panjwani, F. (2021). Addressing Extremism Through the Classroom. A Research Report from the Centre for Teachers & Teaching Research, London: UCL Institute of Education. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10133809/ Wineburg, S. et al. (2020) Educating for Misunderstanding: How Approaches to Teaching Digital Literacy Make Students Susceptible to Scammers, Rogues, Bad Actors, and Hate Mongers Working Paper A-21322, Stanford History Education Group, Stanford University. Retrieved from https://purl.stanford. edu/mf412bt5333 Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
Teaching Citizenship
18 | Theme 2: Digital citizenship
Mind the Gap: Digital Citizenship – The Missing Aspect of Citizenship Education David Kerr
Whether we accept it or not many of us have become digital citizens f we ask ourselves what the big now as have many children and young people. These statistics new challenges for citizens and and trends highlight the powerful reach and pervasive influence – Citizenship Education over the both positive and negative - of digital technologies on our actions, next 20 years are then the dynamic thoughts and opinions (see Jeremy Hayward’s article in the impact and growing influence of edition). They also underline the urgent need for us as citizenship Digital Citizenship on political and civic educators to educate ourselves about this expanding digital world, participation should be near the top of the with all its challenges and uncertainties, so that we, in turn, are list, if not at the top. able to educate children and young people to understand, operate When Citizenship was introduced as a new and participate in it (alongside the physical world) with growing National Curriculum subject in 2002 there was confidence, responsibility and maturity. no indication of the immense role that digital Digital technologies are also rapidly impacting on how people, technologies would rapidly come to play in our including children and young people, engage and interact with daily lives. Yet 20 years on they are integral to the world around them, both physical and digital, and how they our activities and actions as consumers, workers, are educated and learn. Great advances are underway with digital learners, friends, families and citizens. Indeed, it technologies concerning immersive learning and the metaverse. is difficult to separate the digital world from the These include: physical, so intertwined have - Augmented Reality (AR) where digital elements they become. The following key can be added to a live view; facts on our digital lives in 2021 bear We spend an Virtual Reality (VR) where immersion is this out in stark terms. average of 6hrs completely in an online, virtual world; • 4 .20 billion people, 54% of the world’s 54 minutes on the - Extended Reality (XR) which blends AR and VR population, are active social media users. internet each day to enhance our senses of what we experience in •W e spend an average of 6hrs 54 minutes on meaning roughly the digital world. the internet each day meaning roughly 42% 42 per cent of our Interestingly Facebook has recently announced a of our waking lives are online. name change to Meta to reflect these changes and •W e spent an average of 2hrs 25 minutes a waking lives are possibilities. Meanwhile, new learning platforms day on social media in 2020 up from 1hr online are springing up which make use of AR, VR and XR 51 minutes in 2015 and the time is set to as part of the learning experience and with which increase going forward. citizenship educators will soon have to engage. •M obile phones are the dominant digital device and we spend The Crick Report defined political literacy as educating people an average of 4hrs 10 minutes on them each day. to be ‘effective in public life’ as informed, responsible and active • F acebook is the world’s most used social media platform with citizens now and in the future (Crick, 1998). Informed understanding over 2,740 million active users. of, critical engagement with, and responsible and active use of •S taying up to date with news and current events is the top digital technologies is now a critical dimension of such political reason for using social media. literacy if people are to be truly effective in public life in the 21st • 8 1% of internet users agree that blog posts are trusted sources century. For this, they need to be educated to be both physical and of information and advice. digital citizens. DataReportal (2021) Teaching Citizenship
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David Kerr is Head of ITT at the University of Reading, Consultant Director of Education at Young Citizens and Co-editor of ACT’s Journal.
Critical Takeaways Though the articles in this section come from different perspectives there are some critical takeaways that shine through all of them. They provide a roadmap for helping to narrow the gap between the urgent need to address Digital Citizenship in citizenship education and the reality of the limited current practice. The critical takeaways are: • Though it is a new aspect Digital Citizenship is here to stay and will become even more pervasive and powerful in our daily lives, communities and society. • Digital Citizenship and virtual technologies will provide greater opportunities for how children and young people engage with and learn about the world around them. Citizenship educators will need to be made more aware of the impacts and possibilities of such engagement and learning as part of their practice. • Digital Citizenship needs to be an integral part of Citizenship Education provision and practice and not an artificial bolt on if it is to be addressed effectively. • There is still much development work to be done in Digital Citizenship in terms of providing clear definitions, setting out associated concepts and competences and understanding the application of digital platforms if Citizenship Education is to Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
Image courtesy of Marvin Meyer from Unsplash
The articles in this section recognise and address this issue. They explore current thinking and challenges concerning Digital Citizenship from a variety of perspectives and provide some exciting ways forward for Citizenship Education. In the first article, Ted Huddleston sets out five things citizenship educators should know about what he terms Digital Citizenship Education (DCE). He offers reassurance that citizenship educators can rise to the challenges of addressing Digital Citizenship if they approach it with the right mindset and utilise the skills and techniques they have already developed in their training and practice. In the second article, Lee Jerome considers how children’s rights need to be translated into the digital environment using the common 3 Ps of provision, protection and participation rights. He then sets out how recent comments issued by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child are useful in helping with this translation. He finishes by setting out the implications for Citizenship Education and Citizenship teachers. The third article offers a case study of a Deliberative Polling online platform as a way to bring the deliberative democracy to schools and classrooms. Amy Siu explains how the Stanford Platform for Online Deliberation came about at Stanford University, how it has been used across the world with positive outcomes. The final article is written by me. It draws attention to the newly created Scheme of Work (SoW) on Digital Citizenship and political participation drawn up by ACT and expert Citizenship teachers and available via the Oak Academy website. It explores why and how it was created, what it covers and how it can be used in practice. It is hoped it marks the start of ACT building of a growing repository of Digital Citizenship schemes of work, lessons and materials that can be shared with citizenship educators.
offer comprehensive and coherent approaches. • It is important for citizenship educators to keep (or be kept) up to date with developments and trends in the use, application and influence of digital technologies in civic and political life in order that approaches to Digital Citizenship remain real and relevant. • There is a need for professional development and training for Citizenship teachers concerning Digital Citizenship so that they can develop their practice with growing knowledge and confidence. • ACT and other citizenship organisations in the UK and beyond have a key role to play in closing the gap between the need to address Digital Citizenship in Citizenship Education and the reality of limited existing policies and practices in schools, classrooms and teacher education programmes. The good news is that they are not only keen to do so but are more than up to the job. Finally, what is clear from this section is that the ACT Journal will need to have specific issues dedicated to Digital Citizenship over the coming years. Who knows, you may have acquired the knowledge and expertise to be an active contributor. There are exciting times ahead for Digital Citizenship in Citizenship Education over the next 20 years – watch this space (and no doubt other digital ones) for further updates and developments. z
References Crick Report (1998). Education for Citizenship and the Teaching of Democracy in Schools: The Final Report of the Crick Group. DfEE: London. Available at: https://www.teachingcitizenship. org.uk/sites/teachingcitizenship.org.uk/files/6123_crick_ report_1998_0.pdf DataReportal (2021). Digital 2021: Global Overview Report at: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-global-overviewreport Teaching Citizenship
20 | Theme 2: Digital citizenship
Five Things You Should Know about Digital Citizenship Education (DCE) Ted Huddleston In this article Ted Huddleston reflects on his experience working on the Council of Europe’s project on Digital Citizenship Education to identify five things teachers might like to consider in relation to developing their teaching.
But digital technology today is far more than a useful tool. It has wenty years ago, less than 7% of the global population become part of life. We live our lives virtually as much as physically was online, today over half of the world has access to these days, whether it be working, playing, shopping, learning, the internet. At the start of the 2000s, there were 740 socializing, loving, or creating art and music – or, equally, lying, million cell phone subscriptions, now the number cheating and stealing. has surpassed 8 billion, meaning that there are The virtual world created for us by digital technology is no less now more cell phones in the world than people. ‘real’ than the physical one. Cyberbullying hurts just as much Facebook had not even been launched twenty as physical bullying, identity fraud as physical theft, and social years ago, now it has between 2 and 3 billion users. media trolling as threats made in a physical encounter. This When Citizenship became a formal part of the is because the virtual and the physical are school curriculum in England in not separate worlds. They blend together to 2002, we had no idea of the role The challenge is form one extended and overarching reality. that digital technology would not so much how What happens in the physical world has come to play in our daily lives consequences for the virtual and vice versa – nearly twenty years later. It is no to keep up to date as the person who trolled a professional boxer exaggeration to say that digital with the digital found out when one day the boxer turned up in technology has completely world, but rather person on his doorstep. revolutionised the world as we how to incorporate For citizenship educators, then, digital knew it then and know it now. it into what we technology is much more than a tool. It is an To get an idea of the range and already teach. extension of the world. As such, it presents us scale of impact, enter “digital with a whole new range of subject-matter to technology has revolutionised” into your search teach – topics we could not have imagined engine. twenty years ago - from video-sharing, influencers, ‘likes’ and This transformational shift begs the big question: How should we ‘follows’, to cryptocurrencies and cyber warfare. as citizenship educators respond to this digital revolution? Keeping up to date with the complex and constantly evolving digital world is going to be challenging. However, Citizenship 1. Digital technology is no longer just a tool, it is part of educators have always been committed to refreshing our everyday life subject-knowledge and organisations such as ACT help us There was a time when digital technology was just a tool. It helped do this. Also, we should remember that dealing with evolving us to find information or write documents more quickly and easily subject-matter is not new to citizenship educators either. We – as the generation before might have used an encyclopaedia or have developed techniques and strategies to help us handle typewriter. Digital technology is still used for these things today, this in the classroom (see for example Activity 2.5 Kerr and and many more besides – like staying in touch with friends, Huddleston, 2015). planning a journey, monitoring health or choosing the date and The challenge is not so much how to keep up to date with time of a work meeting. Teaching Citizenship
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Ted Huddleston is an international consultant in civic and citizenship education. He is an Associate of Young Citizens and a member of the Council of Europe expert group on Digital Citizenship Education (DCE)
of advice, online and offline, on how parents and schools can teach children and young people how to protect themselves from the dangers of online bullying, internet fraud, sexual predators, misinformation, excessive screen time, and so on. 2. Digital citizenship is more than eSafety This is often linked to a concern about children’s Mapping the new subject-matter presented by online behaviour. Thus e-Safety frequently goes the digital world will be essential for determining What is needed now hand in hand with teaching designed to promote the broad and balanced citizenship education is a concerted effort a more civil form of online discourse. This, too, curriculum of the present and future. How we to map the wide has its origin in concern about the dangers, rather do this depends to a large extent on our concept range of citizenship than benefits, of digital technology – such as of what it is to be a digital citizen. International issues to which trolling, hate speech and cancel culture. Alongside literature suggests this is far from agreed. A digital technology advice on teaching about safety, therefore, we Council of Europe (CoE) study identified fourteen regularly find an emphasis on respect and the different definitions and frameworks of digital gives rise in all its responsible use of digital technology. For example, citizenship competences (Frau-Meigs et al., 2017). complexity, and in Mike Ribble’s three guiding principles for digital It concluded that, despite the growing number to build and share citizenship education: of references to digital citizenship, there is no good practice in • Safe (Protect Yourself/Protect Others) consensus on what it refers to precisely. It is not this field. • Savvy (Educate Yourself/Educate Others) always treated as a distinct area of learning, but • Social (Respect Yourself/Respect Others). often as part of other areas such as ‘media and (Ribble, 2015) information literacy’. The one aspect of digital citizenship education in which there is For educators versed in the UK tradition of citizenship a sense of urgency, both in schools and in society, is the need to education, with its emphasis on critical thinking and active protect children and young people from dangers they are likely to participation, however, this kind of approach will seem rather encounter in their own use of digital technology. narrow. It emphasises the personal, but neglects the social and Thus e-Safety plays a central role in many of the most influential political. In focusing almost entirely on the individual’s own accounts of digital citizenship education. There is a preponderance the digital world, therefore, but rather how to incorporate it into what we already teach.
Digital domains
Citizenship themes
Access & Inclusion
• Differences in access to digital technologies or technological skills e.g. remote learning • How digital technologies can exclude and discriminate e.g. facial recognition
Learning & Creativity
• Digital media in education and learning e.g. classroom rules for online lessons • Creating and sharing digital content e.g. copyright
Media & Information Literacy
• Digital media as a source of information or news e.g. fake news
Ethics & Empathy
• Relationships and inter-personal behaviour online e.g. sexting • Prevention of online bullying and violence e.g. hate speech
Health & Well-Being
• Impact of digital media on mental and physical health e.g. age restrictions on platforms • Health and lifestyle advice on digital media e.g. self-harm
ePresence & Communication
• Self-image, identity and digital media e.g. photo-shopped selfies
Active Participation
• Role of digital media in protest and social action e.g. e-petitions • Online community-building and campaigning e.g. social media campaigns • Digital media and formal politics e.g. communicating with elected representatives
Rights & Responsibilities
• Citizens’ rights in relation to digital technology e.g. freedom of expression • Digital responsibilities and where they lie e.g. responsibilities of tech companies
Privacy & Security
• Digital safety and protection e.g., radicalization
Consumer Awareness
• Buying and selling online e.g. rights of buyers • The digital economy e.g. data harvesting
Fig. 1. Council of Europe (2019): Ten Digital Domains Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
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22 | Five Things You Should Know about Digital Citizenship Education (DCE)
interactions with digital media, it provides few opportunities for learners to consider the wider implications of technology for society as a whole – issues to do with surveillance, encryption, censorship, data collection, regulation, climate change, and so on. Arguably, if critical and participatory digital citizenship is to be our goal, a wider digital citizenship curriculum will be required – one which covers a range of digital issues, not just safety and respect. What kind of issues should this include? How might they be characterised? Again, current literature is not altogether helpful but one of the few organisations to suggest the wider approach recommended here is the Council of Europe. The Committee of Ministers defined digital citizenship education as: “empowerment of learners of all ages through education or the acquisition of competences for learning and active participation in digital society to exercise and defend their democratic rights and responsibilities online, and to promote and protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law in cyberspace.” (Council of Europe, 2019) The Recommendation clearly distinguishes this active and participatory notion of digital citizenship from one based solely on child safety and protection: “empowering citizens by giving them the means to acquire the technical and functional skills and competences for democratic culture is no less important than their protection and safety.” On the basis of this, the Council of Europe has drawn up an outline for a digital citizenship education curriculum organised around ten digital citizenship domains (Council of Europe, 2019). Figure 1 (left) is a simplified account of these Digital domain, with added examples listed under Citizenship themes. 3. The virtual world raises the same types of citizenship issue as the physical one Although digital technology brings us new range of subjectmatter to teach, it is important to recognise that it does not present us with any new types of citizenship issue. Nor does it bring us any fundamentally different citizenship questions. The heuristic questions we use to engage learners in digital citizenship issues are of exactly the same type as those used in conventional citizenship education. They are structured around the same basic citizenship concepts – such as rights and responsibilities, fairness, equality, freedom, authority, welfare, and so on. For example: • Should there be more girl heroes in video games? • Is a good broadband connection to be regarded as a basic human right? • Who is responsible for preventing hate speech on social media? • Ought you to have a say in what platforms do with the data they collect about you? Teaching Citizenship
•D o search engines reinforce inequality? •S hould you be free to say what you like online? • Who Is to blame for fake news? • I s it fair for parents to restrict your screen time? Just as the structure of the questions we use in digital citizenship education replicates that in conventional citizenship education, so does the way we cluster digital citizenship issues into topics, or themes, for planning units and courses of work. Headings such as ‘Crime and Punishment’, ‘Children’s Rights’, ‘Media Literacy’, ‘Prejudice and Discrimination’ and ‘Political Literacy’ work just as well with digital citizenship. To make digital citizenship into a separate category would be a mistake. Digital media are not separate from everyday social and political life, they are an extension of it. 4. You don’t need hi-tech to teach digital citizenship education Using an app or a platform doesn’t make a citizenship education lesson a digital citizenship one. There is a distinction to be made between using technology as an aid to teaching and learning, and making technology the subject of teaching and learning. In fact, it is possible to teach digital citizenship education without using any digital technology at all. All the teaching techniques and methods we use to support teaching and learning in relation to citizenship in the physical world are just as appropriate in relation to citizenship in the virtual world. Talk and discussion are as central as they ever were. So, too, are active, collaborative and participative techniques, and generic learning activities like ranking exercises, simulations and role play, etc. A face-to-face discussion about sexualization in video games, a role-play of a conversation in a chat room, a class survey of screen-time use – none of these require any technology, yet all can lead to good citizenship education. www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
Ted Huddleston | 23
initiatives (e.g. student social media campaign on young people’s Of course, these activities can also be mediated through mental health and well-being), and Computer Club. digital technology. There are specific digital applications that Anywhere that digital technology is used in school can be are particularly useful for this; for example, for making mind turned into a source of digital citizenship education learning – maps, holding class votes and carrying out surveys. It is not from the official school website and social only educational apps, but any form of media presence, to email communications digital technology can be used to support Although digital with parents, data collection on students teaching and learning in citizenship – and the digital display welcoming visitors technology brings us especially the use of ‘authentic’ material, in reception. This learning does not happen e.g. free video games. Digital formats can new range of subjectby itself, of course. It has to be planned, and also be applied to citizenship learning matter to teach, it is an understanding of the sorts of citizenship activities, such as writing content for or in important to recognise issues that might be raised by technology in the style of social media, e.g. tweets – or, that it does not present out-of-lesson situations is needed before this perhaps more controversially, the use of us with any new types of planning can take place. ‘gamification’ to enhance the teaching and citizenship issue…. The learning process. So where do we go from here? There are different reasons for applying heuristic questions we The digital revolution has created a wide range digital technology in this way. It can enhance use to engage learners of new opportunities for citizenship educators the learning experience and motivate in digital citizenship – primarily new subject-matter, but also new learners; provide opportunities for different issues are of exactly media for engaging learners in this subjectlearning styles; encourage collaboration; the same type as those matter. However, it is important, as we come to improve digital skills; improve access to grips with this new virtual environment, not to used in conventional information; help learners take ownership forget what stays the same – the same types of for their learning, and so on. Also, as we have citizenship education. issues and questions, the same fundamental learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is concepts that underpin these, and the same essential for remote and hybrid learning. characteristic learning activities used to engage learners. It is also Nonetheless, it is important to remember that this is merely important not to confuse digital citizenship with digital safety. to replace one learning medium with another. It is not digital Digital safety is an essential life-skill, but it is not citizenship until citizenship education in itself: it merely aids the process. we move on from asking ‘How can I protect myself?’ to ‘How can we protect society?’. 5. Digital citizenship education doesn’t just take place in What is needed now is a concerted effort to map the wide range the classroom of citizenship issues to which digital technology gives rise in all Just as conventional citizenship education isn’t restricted to its complexity, and to build and share good practice in this field. formal lessons, so digital citizenship education cannot be limited We have already made a start, but much more is needed (Oak to the confines of the classroom. Digital citizenship questions can National Academy, 2021; Young Citizens, 2021). All citizenship be raised in circle time and in class or school councils (e.g. fairness educators have a role in this; as, too, do ACT and other educational of school rules about mobile phones), community projects (e.g. organisations, national, European and international. z effects of internet shopping on the local economy), social action References and useful links Common Sense Education (2020). ‘Help kids practice smart internet habits and stay safe online.’ https://cutt.ly/IRQLFIq Council of Europe (2019). Digital Citizenship Education: Key Domains https://cutt.ly/nRQLL0j Council of Europe (2019). Recommendation CM/Rec(2019)10 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on developing and promoting digital citizenship education. https://cutt.ly/kRQL2u9 Frau-Meigs et al. (2017) Digital Citizenship Education: Overview and New Perspectives. Council of Europe, Strasbourg. Kerr, D. and Huddleston, T. (eds.) (2015). Teaching Controversial Issues: Training Pack for Teachers. Council of Europe, Strasbourg. https://rm.coe. int/16806948b6 Oak National Academy (2021). Citizenship KS3 Resource on Digital Democracy. https://cutt.ly/4RQL332 Ribble, M. (2015). Digital Citizenship in Schools: Nine Elements all Students Should Know. International Society for Technology in Education: Washington DC. www.digitalcitizenship.net/nine-elements.html UNESCO (2019). ‘Fostering Digital Citizenship through Safe and Responsible Use of ICT’ https://cutt.ly/XRQZqna Young Citizens (2021). ‘What is a Digital Citizen?’ www.youngcitizens.org/resource/what-is-a-digital-citizen/
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24 | Theme 2: Digital citizenship
Children’s Rights in the Digital Environment Lee Jerome In this article Lee Jerome reflects on the relevance of a children’s rights framework for thinking about digital citizenship. Echoing Huddleston’s warning in the previous article, Lee argues we need to find ways to balance our concerns over safeguarding with children’s rights to access information and participate in online activities. in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and in domestic Digital citizenship monitoring, for example the UK’s Office for National Statistics For increasing numbers around the world, childhood is experienced (2019) reported that 12% of 11 to18 year olds had no Internet through on-line activities as well as those taking place in the physical access at home from a computer or tablet. This figure became world. For many young people, reference to their communities more significant during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when will imply connections to people whose lives are close on-line children increasingly relied on the internet for access to teaching. but physically distant, as well as more traditional connections to But beyond these emergency uses, the internet is increasingly people in their neighbourhood. This aspect of the internet alone used to access government services and information and is thus opens up radically new possibilities for young people to develop becoming important for all citizens. identities and relationships beyond their geographical and cultural In ordinary circumstances, schools have a potentially significant contexts. This means digital citizenship is relatively untethered role to play in providing access to the internet from national politics, with people being able to for children who do not have such access at form bonds of identity, engage in collaborative home, but there is also a need to ensure that activity, and express solidarity with those from Children have when children do access the internet, they find around the world. rights in the onresources there that reflect and value cultural Children have rights in the on-line world line world as well and linguistic diversity (Livingstone 2014). as well as in the physical world, but the way as in the physical these translate into their digital childhoods world, but the way Protection rights in tension with is not always obvious as the Convention participation rights on the Rights of the Child (CRC) itself was these translate When provision has been established, written before such childhood experiences into their digital protection often tends to trump participation could be fully imagined. In this article I start childhoods is not rights, especially in risk-averse cultures where to consider how we might translate rights into always obvious as even children ‘have inherited a popular the digital environment using the commonly the Convention on discourse that is characterized primarily by cited 3P’s shorthand to describe the CRC the Rights of the fear – if not moral panic [which] potentially (provision, protection and participation inhibits their capacity to imagine and articulate rights). Then I share some useful insights Child (CRC) itself the opportunities digital media affords them’ from the new General Comment No.25 was written before (Third et al. 2014: 40). This can be seen when from the UN Committee on the Rights of such childhood the EU adopted the General Data Protection the Child. experiences could Regulation in 2016. Whilst in general terms be fully imagined. it aimed to protect citizens’ rights over their Provision rights data, it also added the requirement that those There are clearly some basic issues relating under 16 must have verifiable parental consent to provision, as there is a well-documented to access ‘information society services’, effectively banning many ‘digital divide’ which mirrors established patterns of sociofrom social networking sites, online gaming, health forums and economic inequalities, both within and between countries. more (Livingstone and Third 2017: 264). Access to the internet has been adopted as an indicator (17.8.1) Teaching Citizenship
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Lee Jerome is Associate Professor of Education, Middlesex University and co-editor of Teaching Citizenship.
was issued in March 2021 and I was surprised at some of the issues The capacity of computers and other mobile devices to monitor being discussed. It sets a clear agenda for teachers for the future usage and record the ‘digital breadcrumb trails’ of users also means if we are to properly prepare young people to be digital citizens. that many of the aspects of teenage social / sexual life that would In the following section I have summarised some of the key points traditionally have been kept from adults’ view have now become in my own words, thinking about the implications for teachers (I visible and therefore open to new forms of regulation (Livingstone would advise you to also consult the actual text, as I have drawn and Third 2017: 264). out some points to emphasise them). This leads Livingstone to argue that ‘children must be given the freedom to use the internet and protected from the dangers (1) Young people’s agency associated with it, the balance depending on their capabilities’ We should not apply blanket rules to all young people – we need to (Livingstone 2014: 23). Here the word ‘capabilities’ invokes recognise that they have different skills and capacities which evolve Sen’s capability approach, which stresses that they are not preat different rates. That means adults (including those providing determined but rather can be developed to some extent through digital services) should take children’s own agency seriously and education and through the provision of appropriate support and balance the need to protect young people with their own capacity guidance (Stoecklin and Bonvin 2014). to make decisions (parag.20). We must also recognise that the Livingstone emphasises that even protection rights for children internet affords young people opportunities to engage in child-led on-line must be balanced and realistically limited by children’s activism and to become advocates for human rights. Children can participation rights. Here she notes that the internet is a space use the internet to defend the rights of others, where children can access information, express and to whistle blow where their own rights are their opinions, associate with others and compromised (parag.66). participate in struggles for social justice. The We need to plan corresponding need to protect them from a curriculum that (2) Access exploitation, oppression or manipulation progressively Adults should recognise that children need places responsibilities on the adults, as well as it to have access to a variety of sources of demands a balance for the children themselves. builds children’s information. Public bodies, including schools, In the future, children’s digital rights may well knowledge should ensure they provide free access to be used to limit the freedoms of the big internet about the digital information and they should strive to ensure companies to harvest their data and bombard environment, diverse people and viewpoints are represented them with advertising and exploitative messages and builds their and addressed, taking into consideration (Zuboff 2019). But in the meantime, Livingstone capacities for disability, indigenous cultures, languages etc. warns teachers to tread a careful line between (parag.52). There are implications for search the protection perspective induced by the moral engaging in it. engines, which should not prioritise paid for panic discourse, and the equally fallacious line services (parag.53). There are also implications that young people can take care of themselves for the ways schools and other service providers block or grant because they are digital natives. Rather we need to negotiate with access to information (parag.54). them how to use the internet to ensure they are protected whilst using it for a range of ends. (3) Freedom of expression Children told the UN Committee that they particularly valued General comment No.25 on children’s rights in relation to the ways that access to the digital environment enabled them to the digital environment express themselves, develop their political views and engage with Looking to teachers strike the balance between these two extremes others (parag.58). Any restrictions on that right should therefore be is all very well, but many of us are just as confused by the digital ‘lawful, necessary and proportionate’ and the reasons should be environment as our students. It is useful therefore to be able to communicated to children (parag.59). That means young people turn to expert opinion in such matters, as a way to check in with should be helped to use the internet to express themselves in ways what others think, and to test our own perceptions about what that respect the rights of others. Adults should also take measures is reasonable and what is risky. In this I find the various general to prepare young people for, and protect them from, the aggression comments issued by UN Committee on the Rights of the Child very and surveillance that often follow online participation (parag.60). useful (https://cutt.ly/IETEk23). In essence they take the UNCRC as the starting point and consider what this means in relation to (4) Privacy specific issues, for example education (General Comment No.1), There is a general principle that children’s data should be protected early childhood (No.7), disabilities (No.9), youth justice (No.10), or so that companies cannot exercise unnecessary surveillance and the role of business (No.16). influence. But as the ‘internet of things’ develops we also need These documents may lack legal teeth, but for teachers and other to be aware that children’s toys, and even their learning and play professionals working with children, they represent a distillation of environments will be increasingly connected. Children should expertise and a useful source of guidance. General Comment No.25 Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
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26 | Children’s Rights in the Digital Environment
always be informed when data is being collected about them and governments should regulate these new connected environments as they develop to uphold children’s rights to privacy (parag.74-5). (5) Safeguarding from manipulation The internet offers companies easy access to data which can be compiled into comprehensive profiles, and this information can be used to target and manipulate people, including young people. The general comment calls on governments to prohibit by law attempts to do this for children (parag.42). By extension, we might think it useful for teachers to teach young people about these techniques for neuromarketing, emotional analytics or immersive advertising. This requires some level of basic technical information and some strategies for how we might withhold important personal data when interacting with others online. Several things are already clear, even from this very brief survey of the highlights of the general comments. There are implications for the whole school’s policies and practices, and for individual teachers. One important point to emerge is that protection rights must be balanced with participation rights, but one does not trump the other. Whilst children have a right to have their best interests looked after and to be protected from harm, they simultaneously have rights to seek, receive and impart information (parag.13). This means a blanket precautionary principle, banning all young people from certain information might be mistaken, or counterproductive. It is also evident that children need a curriculum that seriously and comprehensively addresses the knowledge and skills to thrive in the digital environment. This includes critical digital media literacy skills which acknowledge the child as a producer as well as a consumer. As consumers, young people need the skills to find and interpret appropriate sources of information – to help them access their other rights, to health, human rights, and information about the world. They need to know where information comes from, who posts it, and how to critically read it. As producers, we need to build young people’s capacity to create content, collaborate online, participate and socialize with others, and experience civic engagement. Implications for citizenship education Citizenship teachers are ideally placed to address these issues and play a key part in helping schools balance these rights. The
following points are probably the minimum we might do to prepare for the future: 1. Citizenship teachers need up to date and comprehensive knowledge of the digital environment. That will probably require specialist professional development courses to understand the underlying infrastructure and processes at work in the digital environment. But it will also require responsive just-intime information and training to keep us informed about new developments and the proliferating range of apps and platforms that appeal to young people. 2. Schools cannot simply err on the side of safety as a default option if the restrictions could be seen as disproportionate, or if they unjustifiably restrict children’s access to their digital rights. Schools need to have a much more nuanced and informed conversation (within the school and with external partners) to strike the right balance. Schools will also have to consider how children’s capacities evolve over time, and think about flexibility in processes and policies to reflect their growing competence. 3. We need to work with children to build their capacity to engage with these deliberations, so that they are active participants in setting and reviewing the rules. This will ensure they are fully informed of the reasons for decisions. 4. We need to plan a curriculum that progressively builds children’s knowledge about the digital environment, and builds their capacities for engaging in it. 5. Our teaching should embrace the positive experiences of young people in the digital environment. If young people value the internet as a source of ideas, as a platform for collaboration and participation, as a source of pleasure and leisure, then we should find creative ways to harness this potential. 6. Traditional forms of citizenship have tended to be local or national. Our curriculum is still very focused on UK politics, and the opportunities for participation through voting, lobbying, and local participation. The digital environment offers additional sources of identity and opportunities for creative civic engagement. We need to formulate a citizenship education that equips young people for both. It is dangerous to think the internet is the only forum for citizenship – we have seen the limits of online activism time and again. But we need to think about how the citizen of today and the near future can work simultaneously across these different virtual and physical domains of politics. z
References and useful links Livingstone, S. (2014) Children’s digital rights: a priority. Intermedia, 42(4/5), 20-24. Livingstone, S. and Third, A. (2017) Children and young people’s rights in the digital age: An emerging agenda. New Media and Society, 19(5), 657-670. ONS (2019) Exploring the UK’s digital divide. https://cutt.ly/wETGhtn Stoeckelin, D., and Bonvin, J. M. (2014) The capability approach and children’s rights. In C. S. Hart, M. Biggeri, and B. Babic (eds) Agency and Participation in Childhood and Youth: International Applications of the Capability Approach in Schools and Beyond (pp. 63-82). London: Bloomsbury. Third, A., Bellerose, D., Dawkins, U., Keltie, E. and Pihl, K. (2014) Children’s Rights in the Digital Age: A Download from Children Around the World (2nd edn). Melbourne and New York: Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre and UNICEF. Zuboff, S. (2019) The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. London: Profile Books.
Teaching Citizenship
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Alice Siu is Associate Director at the Center for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford University, USA. Email: asiu@stanford.edu
Bringing Deliberative Democracy and Deliberative Polling to Schools and Citizenship Classrooms: A chance for students to experience the participative power of democracy in action Alice Siu Definitions and Context – A Brief Background for Citizenship Educators (by David Kerr) It is helpful in reading this article to provide some brief background and context to the terms Deliberative Democracy and Deliberative Polling as they may be new and unknown to many citizenship educators. They are exciting novel ideas and processes that have great potential to improve how democratic participation is experienced, taught and learnt in society, communities, and, in time, in schools and classrooms. They are designed to boost citizen engagement and involvement in decision-making in democracies. At their heart is a drive to make the process of citizen participation in decision-making, at all levels of society from local to global, more real and impactful and the outcomes more representative and democratic. Deliberative Democracy is founded on putting people at the centre of decision-making in a democracy and providing them with a direct route to participate in decisions that affect them, their communities and broader society. At its core is an emphasis on collective, participative deliberation and dialogue forming the basis for decision-making, not on citizens voting alone. It does not rely on decisions being made by elected representatives (such as MPs acting as proxies for citizens who elected them), as happens in representative democracies, but rather on citizens themselves
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representing their own views and directly influencing the decision-making process and outcomes. Deliberative Polling is an aid to Deliberative Democracy. It takes a representative sample of the population, gives them information on a topic and access to experts on an issue that needs a decision, and time to deliberate about it before coming up with a considered opinion. The results are then taken as an informed guide to how the whole population would respond if they all had a chance to deliberate and decide. In the following article, Alice Liu provides an overview of the work of the Center for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford University in California, USA, particularly around the use of a Deliberative Polling online platform, to promote Deliberative Democracy. She charts the growth of the Center and its activities and focuses on the lessons emerging from its use of its Deliberative Polling platform in the USA as well as in other countries and languages across the world. She ends by considering the exciting possibilities and benefits of bringing the Deliberative Polling platform to schools and classrooms. The Center is keen to engage with citizenship educators in the next phase of its work to see how can experience the participative power of Deliberative Democracy in action for themselves through Deliberative Polling.
Teaching Citizenship
Deliberative Democracy and Deliberative Polling to Schools and Citizenship Classrooms: 28 | Bringing A chance for students to experience the participative power of democracy in action
An Introduction to the Stanford Platform for Online Deliberation The Center for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford University, in collaboration with the Crowdsourced Democracy Team, created the Stanford Platform for Online Deliberation, a deliberation platform with an automated moderator that guides participants through deliberations in small groups, just like a human moderator. Though it may sound futuristic, this platform has been used for Deliberative Polling projects globally for national deliberations, with several hundred participants, in Chile, Canada, and the United States. The platform is available in several languages beyond English, including Japanese, Cantonese, and French. In addition, the platform has been used in high schools for civics and citizenship deliberations, many spearheaded by high school students themselves from the United States to Dubai.
deliberation held, participants have exchanged their contact information and social media handles because they want to stay in touch with each other. This amazing group rapport was built just after several hours of deliberation, whether over the course of a day, weekend, or weeks. The point is that even online, without seeing each other face to face, participants were able to build human connections. In addition to people enjoying the company of others, participants also changed their opinions on policy proposals discussed and, more importantly, started to understand the other side and, in some cases, build empathy. Here’s an example of opinion change after deliberations. From our national US Deliberative Poll held on climate and energy, our Center found that 68 out of 72 substantive policy questions changed after deliberation. With the majority of those changes in the direction of combatting climate change. In particular, when asked about whether the Uses of the Platform US should try to reach Net Zero, the overall and Lessons Learned One of the key sample increased their support from 63 Let’s dive into why our Center created this motivations behind to 75%. Further, when examining the innovative deliberation platform, impact on results by party identification, the results participants and lessons learned. the creation of the showed that among Republicans, the One of the key motivations behind the deliberation platform is support increased from 35 to 55%, among creation of the deliberation platform is our desire to massively Independents 57 to 78% and among our desire to massively scale deliberation scale deliberation Democrats 89 to 91%. to allow for millions of people (whole in order to allow for And, in all our deliberations, our societies) to simultaneously participate millions of people Center asks participants, before and after in small group deliberations with diverse deliberation, a series of questions about others, in respectful and managed (whole societies) how they perceive those that disagree environments. Using our Center’s to simultaneously with them. Do participants think that Deliberative Polling methodology and participate in small others believe some things that aren’t experience as the starting point, our group deliberations true? Or do they respect the viewpoints team designed the deliberation platform with diverse others, of others even though it is different? From that allows for a combination of artificial in respectful our national Canadian Deliberative Poll on intelligence and group decision making foreign policy, our results showed a 19% processes. For example, the platform and managed decrease in agreement with the statement allows participants to form speaking environments. ‘they believe some things that aren’t queues, discuss in small groups with true’. And, agreement for the statement ‘I timed agendas, and allow for equitable respect their point of view even though it is different from mine’ participation. One benefit of being online, as compared to increased from 79 to 85%. being in-person, is the platform is able to frequently nudge Lastly, on empathy. Stemming from our Shaping Our Future participants that have not spoken up in discussions, as the national deliberative event with over 600 young people ages nudges only appear on individual participants’ screens. The 18-29, our Center, in collaboration with the Berggruen Institute platform nudges participants who haven’t spoken for a while and the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University, with various nudges such as ‘what do you think of the last launched a podcast for the deliberative event. In one of the person’s thoughts?’ or ‘would you like to share your opinions interviews, Tyler (names are pseudonyms) shared that during with your group?’. Furthermore, the platform is easy to use a discussion, about economic inequality, one of his group without any downloads, includes offensive language detection, members, Jane, said that ‘people from rural areas are racist’. and real-time analytics. He saw the whole group was taken aback by the comment, but In the last few years, we have held deliberations on the platform he felt the need to share his experience because his mother is around the world, in different languages, and on a variety of from a rural area. He openly admitted that his mother has racist topics from a few groups to several hundred participants views and explained his mother was born and raised in a certain simultaneously. The overwhelming sentiment from participants way, which led her world view to be a certain way. He points out is that the platform is easy to use and facilitates thoughtful and that as he continues to have conversations with this mother, it valuable deliberations. So much so, at the end of almost every Teaching Citizenship
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Alice Siu | 29
conversations are generally discouraged in-person because is changing his mother’s views, albeit slowly. His willingness to people should be focused on the group’s deliberations. And, the share his story, prompted another participant to share that she chat function was just enough distraction to take people away herself is from a rural community and she emphatically says she is from the group. That feature was quickly eliminated. not racist. She continued to share that is it very difficult for her to live in a community that is so different from her, but she also sees What does the future hold? herself as helping others see the other side. Although it is difficult Our Center has great aspirations for our deliberation platform, for her personally, she knows that sharing her views within her especially with the goals of bringing community makes a difference. After this deliberative democracy to scale and whole exchange, Jane comes back to say more importantly, to allow everyone to that she had no idea what it is like living Without actual practice what it means to have thoughtful, in a rural community and began asking a practice of deliberative informed, and respectful discussions. number of questions to better understand. democracy in schools While our aspirations are to reach societies Tyler saw a notable shift in the group, and at large, our Center has been working in his words, he ‘saw that empathy was and classrooms, it with non-profit foundations like Close Up building in the group’. It is through these is hard for students Foundation and high schools directly to exchanges that people begin to understand to imagine what foster civic and citizenship programmes others and what their lives are like. democracy could be that can bring our platform to scale in From quantitative to qualitative results, like. By bringing our schools and classrooms. Without actual our Center is able to show that our platform deliberation platform practice of deliberative democracy in provides a deliberative environment for schools and classrooms, it is hard for participants to have thoughtful, informed, inside the classroom, students to imagine what democracy and respectful deliberations. And, getting the platform can could be like. By bringing our deliberation to this point of success, does not come demonstrate how platform inside the classroom, the without lessons learned. Our Center has to have thoughtful platform can demonstrate how to have been running deliberations online since deliberations even with thoughtful deliberations even with others the early 2000s. The projects started with others that they may that they may disagree with. However, voice only, with very basic features and we recognize that we will need to work later on, with greater connectivity, moved disagree with. with teachers, particularly of civics and to video-based platforms several years citizenship, to better understand how we ago and now to our own deliberation can fully utilize our deliberative platform in practice with groups platform. Our Center learned early on that deliberation online of children and young people and get their collective opinions should try as much as possible to mimic deliberation in-person. and input on issues in their lives, communities and wider One example was whether to include a chat function among society that matter to them and where their voices can have a participants. In the early years, the platform had a chat function real impact on decisions being made. If you would like to give that enabled participants to message each other. What seemed our deliberation platform a try, please reach out to our Center. like a reasonable feature then (and may to some people still now) We want to make a difference and we know it starts one school, turns out to be a distraction at best. Having the chat function classroom and teacher at a time. z is like having side conversations in in-person discussions. Side
References and useful links
https://cdd.stanford.edu/online-deliberation-platform/
You can read more about deliberative polling here:
Berggruen Institute https://www.berggruen.org/
https://cdd.stanford.edu/what-is-deliberative-polling/ The Center for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford University
Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University https://haas. stanford.edu/
https://cdd.stanford.edu/
Shaping Our Future podcast
Crowdsourced Democracy Team https://voxpopuli.stanford.edu/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/voices-of-shaping-ourfuture/id1559657279
Stanford Platform for Online Deliberation
Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
Close Up Foundation https://closeup.org/ Teaching Citizenship
30 |
David Kerr is Head of ITT at the University of Reading, Consultant Director of Education at Young Citizens and Co-editor of ACT’s Journal.
Getting Started with Digital Citizenship – Introducing ACT’s new Scheme of Work David Kerr I am hoping that this section has convinced you of the urgency of addressing Digital Citizenship as part of your citizenship teaching. If you want to make a start, help is at hand in the form of a new Scheme of Work (SoW) on Digital Citizenship, devised by ACT and available online at the Oak Teacher Hub at: https://cutt.ly/WRQB6Z7. Why was the Scheme of Work produced? Liz Moorse (ACT’s Chief Executive) and Zoe Baker (ACT’s Head of Education and Professional Development) helped to devise this scheme of work with three expert Citizenship teachers. The team recognised there was a need to move beyond eSafety to look at digital democracy and an opportunity to align this with the GCSE Citizenship Studies specifications, particularly around ‘citizen participation in democracy and society’.
political engagement. It has case studies on E-petitions, freedom of information requests (FOIs) and online consultations. Lesson Four: How well has digital democracy worked in other countries? It looks at how different digital technologies can be used to develop democracy in the UK. It has case studies on Taiwan and Estonia. Lesson Five: Should MPs be allowed to vote electronically? It examines the impact of the Covid19 pandemic on voting in Parliament and considers whether the House of Commons should retain digital voting. Lesson Six: How can social media be used to (Digital Citizenship increase political participation? It investigates is) ‘The ability how social media is currently used to increase of citizens to political participation. It has case studies of social media use by political parties as well make critical use as looking at Marcus Rashford’s school meals of information campaign and the activities of Cambridge technology and Analytica.
What does is cover? The Scheme of Work comprises 6 lessons which address different aspects of the SoW’s overarching question: Can Digital Democracy increase Political Participation? Lesson One: What is Digital Citizenship? It explores what rights we have as digital citizens, what responsibilities come with those rights and what change digital citizenship is the internet to making to our democracy and has supporting participate actively How can it be used? case studies concerning online petitions and in communities The Scheme of Work is set out in a user-friendly campaigns and E-voting. It defines digital and flexible style for teachers and pupils alike citizenship as: and in democracy.’ and has the feel of lessons and activities you ‘The ability of citizens to make critical use can take easily straight to the classroom. Each of information technology and the internet to lesson contains a supporting quiz to get things going and/or round participate actively in communities and in democracy.’ things off, videos to bring the topics to life and downloadable Lesson Two: Can voter engagement be improved through PowerPoints to support the lesson structure and activities. They digital participation? It examines electronic voting and considers can also be used as a complete SoW or broken into separate whether it provides more opportunities for people to take part in lessons and standalone activities to go alongside other materials democracy or is more restrictive. you may already have access to. Lesson Three: Can political engagement be increased using ACT would like to hear feedback on how these activities worked digital media? It considers how more people can become involved in your classrooms, and is happy to share any other resources you in political matters using a digital platform and explores benefits have developed to explore digital citizenship. z and concerns regarding the increasing use of digital media within Teaching Citizenship
www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
David Kerr | 31
Year 9 Citizenship lessons Can digital democracy increase political participation?
Intent Statement: This unit of work designed for Year 9 will provide pupils with the opportunity to explore the theme of digital citizenship and digital democracy through the citizenship curriculum. These six lessons enable pupils to develop a detailed knowledge of the topic and how this links to Citizenship concepts.
Pupils will explore the what digital citizenship means, how digital technology is supporting political participation of citizens and changing the way democracy works both here in the UK and in other countries around the world. For example how technology was used in Parliament during the Covid pandemic to enable meetings, debates and votes to take place.
Throughout the lessons pupils will be given the opportunity to develop their skills of assessing sources and weighing up arguments, as well as extension tasks to enable development of active citizenship.
Access to more resources, expert CPD and a strong support network for teachers of Citizenship.
Join ACT here
By the end of the unit pupils will be confident with the topic and be able to put forward a persuasive case for their viewpoint using the detailed knowledge they have gained.
Digital Citizenship in the curriculum: The National Curriculum for Citizenship and GCSE Specifications provide an ideal framework for teaching about political participation, digital citizenship, and digital democracy. Through Citizenship concepts including democracy, parliament and rights, pupils can analyze aspects of the topics to build their knowledge and understanding of how the development of digital technologies can bring benefits to democracy and citizens, whilst also recognising some of the challenges, harms and risks that can occur for example when data is misused.
The six lesson in this unit can be found at https://www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk/resource/150-citizenshiplessons-years-7-11
GCSE Citizenship Studies requires students to study: ● opportunities and barriers to citizen participation in democracy ● how digital democracy, social media and other measures are being developed as a means to improve voter engagement and the political participation of citizens.
Teaching Citizenship
Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
Teaching Citizenship participation? Pupils investigate the process of electronic voting and explore whether there are more opportunities for people to take part in democracy using a case study on digital voting from Estonia to consider how different people may find
explore the concept of digital citizenship. What
rights do we have as digital citizens? What
responsibilities come with those rights and what
change is digital citizenship making to our
democracy?
voting.
parties' use of social media are included to identify
disadvantages of methods used within these case
and electronic Estonia. Advantages and
studies are considered as part of this; virtual Taiwan
By the end of this unit students will be able to: ● explain key ideas and terms confidently including digital citizenship, political participation and digital democracy ● put forward a persuasive case for their viewpoint using the detailed knowledge they have gained to justify their arguments.
relation to right to privacy.
society.
if the House of Commons should retain digital
school meals campaign. Examples of political
develop digital democracy in the UK. Two case
considered in relation to different groups within
impact the pandemic had on voting. It then explores
of case studies including Marcus Rashford's free
how different digital technologies can be used to
the potentially harmful impact of social media in
voted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the
increase political participation. It considers a range
other countries? In this lesson, we will consider
studies are evaluated and their application in the UK
House of Commons. We will examine how MPs
explore how social media is currently used to
4. How well has digital democracy worked in
study of Cambridge Analytica is used to investigate
In this lesson, we will consider how MPs vote in the
political participation? In this lesson, we will
digital media within political engagement.
and any concerns regarding the increasing use of
using a digital platform. We will explore the benefits
people can become involved in political matters
media? In this lesson, we will consider how more
3. Can political engagement be increased using digital
how social media can be an effective tool. The case
5. Should MPs be allowed to vote electronically?
6. How can social media be used to increase
engaged.
this helps them to become more politically
2.Can voter engagement be improved with digital
1.What is digital citizenship? In this lesson, we will
Can digital democracy increase political participation? - lesson overview
32 | Theme 2: Digital citizenship
www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
David Kerr | 33
Citizenship Year 9
Lesson 6 - How can social media be used to increase political participation?
Unit key question: Can digital democracy increase political participation?
Lesson 5 - Should MPs be allowed to vote electronically?
● Describe how citizens can use social media to participate in politics ● Explain how political parties use social media to engage with voters ● Evaluate how data can be used and misused during elections and right to privacy
Lesson 1 - What is digital citizenship?
Lesson 4 - How well has digital democracy worked in other countries?
● Describe how MPs vote (prior to Covid) ● Explain how the Covid pandemic change parliamentary voting processes for MPs ● Assess to what extent the new ways of voting digitally should continue
Political participation, social media, news, opinion, social media campaign, right to privacy
Lesson 3 - Can political participation be increased through digital media?
● Describe digital democracy ● Explain what digital democracy looks like in the UK ● Contrast what is happening with Taiwan and Estonia ● Assess to what extent approaches from other parts of the world might work in the UK
MP, one member one vote, lobbies, aye and nay, teller, Speaker, digital division
Lesson 2 - Can voter engagement be improved through digital participation?
Digital democracy, digital campaign, select committee, e-petition
● Describe how voting works ● Explain digital participation ● Investigate what voter engagement is and how it can be improved through evoting
Democracy, digital media, online, petition, freedom of information, consultation
1. Recap political participation 2. Mindmap uses of social media 3. Case study: free school meals 4. Knowledge check 5. Video - examples of how political parties and the government use social media to inform/influence citizens 6. Case study: data protection harmful or good? 1. 2.
1. Introduce parliamentary voting process and impact of Covid pandemic 2. Activity to weigh up the implications of digital voting in parliament 3. Making the case - prepare a persuasive speech and justify your viewpoint
● slides with lesson ● video recording of lesson ● quiz
political engagement
4. Essay – how to improve
Tiering of questions in the lesson Scenarios to probe different levels of critical thinking
Using modelling strategies to enable all students to access the learning.
●slides with lesson ●video recording of lesson ●quiz
Group working to take advantage of different student skills.
Recapping key ideas Task feedback
●slides with lesson ●video recording of lesson ●quiz
3. 4. 5.
● slides with lesson ● video recording of lesson ● quiz
Use of questions and thinking points Model responses
freedom of information, online consultations with citizens
Model responses with self assessment criteria
Recapping key ideas Keywords Teacher questioning and feedback
Recap digital democracy in the UK and key terms Mindmap methods of digital democracy and how digital technologies can be used Case study - Virtual Taiwan Case study - Electronic Estonia Extended answer: impact of digital democracy on citizens around the world 1. Time machine activity - to deepen critical thinking 2. Weighing up the pros and cons of approaches to using digital media to increase participation
● Describe digital rights ● Explain digital democracy ● Investigate how digital technologies are changing democracy
Voting, digital participation, democracy, elections, polling, political dis/engagement 1. 2. 3. 4.
5.
How does voting work?- video Key vocabulary quiz Citizen participation in democracy & dis/engagement Exploration of barriers to voter participation and ways to overcome these - card sort E-democracy case study Estonia building evidence based arguments activity.
Case studies and and scaffolding of responses
Self assessment criteria for making a case and justifying a position
3. Case studies: online petitions,
● Describe and explain online petitions, freedom of information and online consultations with citizens ● Weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of digital engagement and justify viewpoint
Digital citizenship, democracy, internet, digital rights
1. Digital citizen quick-fire discussion 2. Digital rights card sort and matching activity 3. Digital democracy defining key terms 4. Digital democracy case studies on e-voting 5. Retrieval practice
Questioning throughout, self assessment recall of knowledge.
Brainstorm responses Model answers/feedback
●slides with lesson ●video recording of lesson ●quiz
Investigate digital democracy in India, Germany or Brazil.
Recapping ideas Keywords Teacher questioning and feedback.
●slides with lesson ●video recording of lesson ●quiz
Write to the Media Literacy APPG to express views on using digital media to increase political engagement and MPs’ roles.
Teaching Citizenship
Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
Lessons
Learning Objectives Key Words
Activities Resources
Differen tiation AfL Take away task
34 | Theme 3: Sustainable citizenship
Introduction to Sustainability and the Citizenship Curriculum theme Sera Shortland include the opportunity to participate actively in community 021 is an important year, not just volunteering, as well as other forms of responsible activity’. because ACT is 20 years old, but also (Department for Education, 2013). 2021 marks the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference (COP26), Framing climate change and sustainability around one of the held in Glasgow. Governments and other citizenship core concepts (democracy and government, fairness stakeholders from across the world are and justice, rights and responsibilities) will ensure that citizenship meeting to discuss and consider how to tackle learning is taking place and provide a more political and justiceclimate change. With a global focus on the climate based lens which may elevate conversations with young people. crisis, comes a renewed call for education to In order to be effective changemakers, young people need to promote climate action and sustainability. Many understand how action on all levels can provide opportunities for teachers are keen to engage students in these people to come together and work together in very positive and issues but might not know how to plan for learning. effective ways. If young people are to influence policy making, they Over the next few pages, we hope to offer some ideas need to understand where power lies, how laws are made, who the and will explore why the citizenship classroom is an key decision makers are how and they can affect ideal vehicle for deliberation with change in the most effective way. Education young people around sustainability. around democratic processes and systems Indeed, teaching and learning about "With a global become crucial. Individual action is important, climate change and sustainability focus on the but the solution to the current climate crisis will can be introduced easily into the climate crisis, only be achieved through government action citizenship curriculum and linked comes a renewed and so young people need the knowledge to the programme of study. For example, by and understanding of how policy is made and exploring the Sustainable Development Goals call for education influenced in order to drive change. This is the and debating government reactions to the Paris to promote critical role that education and education for Climate Accords, teaching can incorporate: climate action and sustainable citizenship can play, helping young • ‘ local, regional and international sustainability." people to understand that action can be taken governance and the United Kingdom’s on many levels, through business, the scientific relations with the rest of Europe, the community and NGOs and that they themselves Commonwealth, the United Nations and the can be a part of the global movement for change. You can learn wider world’ more about this debate from reading Katy Wheeler’s article. Katy •E xamining government policy, how laws are made and is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Essex University and is Trustee challenged and the role of Parliament may contribute to for the charity, Sustainability and Environmental Education (SEED). understanding ‘the legal system in the UK, different She provides background about ESD and will share some top tips sources of law and how the law helps society deal with for engaging young people around sustainability education. complex problems’ The ‘Sustainability in the Citizenship Classroom’ article coming • L ooking at the action of changemakers and organising up later in this theme presents a new series of lessons around an active citizenship project will contribute towards citizenship and sustainability, created for the ACT and Parliament understanding ‘the different ways in which a citizen can Education and Engagement Sustainable Citizenship Conference. contribute to the improvement of his or her community, to Teaching Citizenship
www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
Sera Shortland, Head of Citizenship at New College Leicester and ACT Ambassador
Image courtesy of Callum Shaw from Unsplash
many ways to combat this and build more critical climate thinkers, These can be downloaded from the ACT website and within just revisit Teaching Citizenship edition 51 for excellent advice on the mini scheme of learning (created by ACT Ambassadors), curriculum building and the REVIEW technique young people will learn more about issues (Blachford and Joy, 2019). In the same way as around sustainability as well as debate a building skills to question sources, young people current Education Bill proposed by the Right "We need to should also understand that our knowledge of Honourable Lord Knight of Weymouth. In the encourage young the climate crisis and the responses to it is often debate lesson, students with hear contributions people to talk and framed around western ideology. Awa Ndiaye, made at the second reading debate and think deeply about an internationally acclaimed spoken word will weigh up arguments for and against the climate change, activist makes this point through her poetry. introduction of his Bill made by several peers. In this issue we explore some of her thinking The citizenship classroom should facilitating the and are honoured to publish her new work always offer diverse opinion and a range of conversation, ‘In our bones…’ a fresh and rich resource that perspectives, especially as climate change and helping them can help young people look at climate change action dominates current media discourse and to become differently, question ideology and sharpen young people are bombarded with information sustainability and critical thinking skills. generated by the myriad of social media climate scholars, Citizenship should always be topical and platforms available to them. The citizenship relevant, if one of the goals for citizenship classroom should challenge and counter thinkers and education is to help young people explore their misinformation and conspiracy theories to help change makers. views on matters that concern them, we need young people navigate through the information to encourage young people to talk and think they need to make informed choices and deeply about climate change, facilitating the conversation, helping action. Young people need the skills to recognise claims that are them to become sustainability and climate scholars, thinkers and unscientific or those that might seek to create alarm and anxiety change makers. z through deliberate use of exaggerated emotive language. There are
References Blachford, H & Joy, B. (2019). Media Literacy: Theory to Practice. Teaching Citizenship, 51, 43–47. Department for Education (2013), Citizenship programmes of study: key stages 3 and 4 https://cutt.ly/hRjQNvY
Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
Teaching Citizenship
36 | Theme 3: Sustainable citizenship
In Our Bones Awa Ndiaye Awa Ndiaye weaves the threads of her formal education and work in climate change with her art, which reflects her many interests, including climate justice. In this article Awa emphasises the need to decolonise our imagination and our understanding of climate change and climate justice. Citizenship education should challenge the mainstream, young people need skills to think critically and have access to knowledge from a range of perspectives, that enrich their understanding and thinking. Awa’s work does just that, providing a rich resource to use in the citizenship classroom in a number of ways, her poetry is creative and thought provoking, questions could be raised around our ideas of climate change, where these come from, how climate change and exploitation are linked, how policy, actions and voice around climate change seem to be framed in western thought, often without regard to the most vulnerable voices, those at most risk from climate change. Teachers are provided here with an opportunity to explore Awa’s work as sources that students might come across in exams, unpicking messages within each poem, identifying potential areas of agreement or conflict, comparing them with political opinion / voting records on Climate Change. Awa’s work provides the stimulus to ask deeper questions at individual, community, national, social and political levels. For Awa, “Her words are her gift to the world” (www.humanitei.art).
Unfortunately, humans are bad for the environment. We have had such a profound impact on the Earth that we have disrupted some of the natural processes that affect our prospect of survival on the planet. We are on the brink of a Sixth Mass Extinction: [a] time where several dozens of species are going extinct every day. To make matters worse, […] we are pushing entire ecosystems to collapse. Nonetheless, we still recklessly emit greenhouse gas emissions, and have yet to make sufficient progress to slow down climate change.
change is not a new, isolated event in modern history. We must tie it back to two processes. First, climate change connects to the centuries-long threads of exploitation and extraction weaved together by colonialism to create, over time, the fossil-fuel-intensive economy as we know it. Second, climate change links to a process that is less visible. More insidious. Perhaps, even more damaging. Over the past few centuries, one particular way of understanding the world and our place within it has attempted to eliminate all others. One single story about what it means One single story to be human. It’s the story that there is ‘us’ and Humans are just bad for the environment. then, there is the rest of ‘nature’. The promise about what it that we can engineer our way out of any I have heard this said so matter-of-the-factly means to be planetary boundaries. The belief that humans and so repetitively that sometimes, it almost human. It’s the are entitled to the Earth and everything on— sounds true. And so, the only option we are story that there is even in—it. But this story, is also one of erasure. left with seems to be to try to ‘do less harm’. As ‘us’ and then, there Of people, and culture, and knowledge and, individuals, we make efforts to become more is the rest stories that have been decimated under the ‘eco-friendly’. And collectively, we strive to silent watch of ‘history’. And perhaps, it is also reduce our negative impact on the planet, in an of ‘nature’. a story of forgetting. Of blindly watching the attempt to slow down climate change. But how memory of nurturing deep relationship and did we get here in the first place? How did our reciprocity with one another and with the more-than-human, fade. options become so narrow? Is the best we can hope for to merely But maybe we have never forgotten altogether. Maybe that slow down climate change? memory still lives within us… To answer these questions, we first need to realise that climate Teaching Citizenship
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Awa Ndiaye, Spoken Word Poet
In your bones… And mine… Is a kind of knowing… The kind that is so deeply anchored in our core that it cannot be uprooted. In our bones… Is the kind of knowing that taught our elders: Ku xamatul fi nga jemm, dellu fa nga joge When you don’t know where you are going, you go back where you came from. But our bones know. And they still long to go back. Our bones know even when Our feet have lost their sense of taste and smell When our hands no longer remember how to softly kiss a seed and tightly tuck it under its blanket Our mouth cannot dance to the rhythm of gratitude Even when our blood thinks it can flow against the current of Life When our eyes no longer know to write love letters to the sky Our mind is dizzy from trying to run away from its shadow Our heart forgot how to feel satiated so it keeps gobbling up illusions of difference Even when we don’t remember where we are going Or even who we are And our fingers are crying while holding the shattered pieces of ourself And our tongue tries to comfort them by rewriting our story: This is who we’ve always been It whispers Even then… Even when all our eyes know are a world of fragments Even then… Our bones know. They know the delicious smell of dirt and its aftertaste in the mouth They know who we are And where we came from and that it’s where we are going Our bones long to take us back to the dirt where it all started To the place where we are whole again Where we realise the world was never broken. But we, were just looking at it through a broken self To the place where we remember our essence is the same as the humus of all Life To the place where we know how to receive the gift of life. And give thanks. And pass it on to others. That knowing lives in my bones... And yours.
(Poem by Awa Ndiaye: published for the first time in this journal) Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
Teaching Citizenship
38 | In Our Bones
Undeniably, human-induced climate change is threatening natural processes our species relies on for survival. It is also affecting other forms of life on Earth, pushing many to extinction. However, at its core, the story that Humans are just bad for the environment is a mutation of the very story that holds the deep roots of climate change. It erases the humanity of those who have lived, and still live, in harmony and reciprocity with ‘nature’. Moreover, it erases our alternatives to imagine and work towards a different future. If humans are, by nature, bad for ‘nature’, how can we possibly aspire to a future of co-flourishing with the rest of Life? With this story, our options barely go beyond doing ‘less harm’ and hoping to slow
down climate change. Yet, it might feel better to hold on to the story that this is who we’ve always been. Easier than holding the shattered pieces of ourselves. When we tell ourselves that this is really who we are, maybe it is less painful to look at the current state of the world. Less tragic to think about climate change. Maybe there is less to grieve for. Although letting go of this single story of what it means to be human can be daunting, this will allow us to nurture other stories, including ones where we do not merely slow down climate change. Stories where we can work towards reconciliation with ourselves, with one another and, with the rest of Life. z
'Root Connection' Maya Adams is a multi-media artist who explores different modes of being in a world whose physical and social climate is rapidly changing. She is interested in exploring possible futures and their intersections with ecological grief, climate justice, and liminality. Teaching Citizenship
www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
Katy Wheeler, Senior Lecturer, Sociology, University of Essex, Sustainability and Environmental Education Charity Trustee.
Education for Sustainability and Consumer Citizenship Katy Wheeler In this article Katy provides background about Education for Sustainability and presents some of her own research in this area and key findings. Katy’s investigations through content analysis and interviewing organisations have led her to find out just what young people are taught about the environment and the types of educational resources that are shaping their perspectives. It is clear from her research that citizenship education has a critical place in not only helping to develop deeper understanding, but also in extending the conversations around sustainability and the climate emergency. Katy extends her commentary to include some examples of how teachers can engage young people further and how we can all avoid “imaginations that are ‘thick’ at the level of individual action, and ‘thinner’ at the level of community, national and international actions.”
educating young people with the skills and competencies ord Jim Knight’s Bill to change the Education Act to enable them to survive and thrive on a planet with finite so the national curriculum makes provision for resources is crucial. Education for sustainability became a key sustainable citizenship education is currently policy agenda following the UN’s decade of making its way through the House ESD (2005-2014) but teaching young people of Lords, following its first reading to care for the environment has much longer in May 2021. The goal of this Bill "Educating young roots in Environmental Education (EE). is to ensure that all pupils are The shift from EE to ESD was controversial given access to an education that people with because it was felt by some that sustaining ‘instils an ethos and ability to care the skills and the economy conflicted with sustaining the for oneself, others and the natural competencies to environment (see Kopnina, 2012; Stevenson environment, for present and future enable them to et al, 2012). Nevertheless, ESD and EE co-exist generations’. Making education for survive and thrive and share critical pedagogical roots, inspired sustainability a right for all young on a planet with by Paulo Freire (Freire, 2004; Gadotti, 2008). people is in keeping with UNESCOs Following the agreement of the Sustainable support and advocacy for Education finite resources is Development Goals in 2015, much ESD for Sustainable Development (ESD) crucial" has coalesced around the 17 goals which over the past 20 years and growing all nations should be working towards to societal demand for action on the transform our lives (including targets for environment and climate crisis in the wake of climate action, responsible consumption and production, youth climate strikes and the upcoming COP26. But England has reducing inequalities, ending poverty and hunger). ESD therefore been slow to follow in the footsteps of their Scottish, Northern has a very broad agenda, as the UNESCO definition attests: Irish and Welsh counterparts where ESD is already embedded ‘ESD empowers learners to take informed decisions and within the curriculum. responsible actions for environmental integrity, economic viability and a just society, for present and future generations, What is ESD? while respecting cultural diversity.’ (UNESCO, 2021) Following the government’s declaration of an environment There are many opportunities to draw together global and climate emergency and targets for net-zero emissions, Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
Teaching Citizenship
40 | Education for Sustainability and Consumer Citizenship
Image courtesy of Markus Spiske from Unsplash
educational resources (aimed at Key stage 2) created by a range citizenship education, development education and of different organisations. I am a sociologist of consumption and environmental education under the banner of ESD. Planning my interest in this project evolved after observing how frequently curriculum that offers opportunities for ESD involves educating organisational strategies appeal to young people as consumers for key sustainability competences, which include critical when considering societal challenges like unfair trade, obesity and thinking skills, systems thinking, collaboration, problem waste. Research into sustainable and ethical consumption has solving (see UNESCO, 2017: p10 for definitions of the eight historically paid little attention to young people or educational competencies). Many of these competencies will be areas initiatives. Conversely, research into ESD and EE are thriving fields that citizenship educators are already familiar with and have of academic research. I thought there was an opportunity to bridge developed teaching activities around – in other words, you may these two fields. I received a small amount of funding from British already be delivering ESD without naming it as such. Academy to (1) conduct a content analysis of a range educational Although there is growing awareness of the importance of resources and (2) interview organisations who ESD, the UK government have not included develop such resources and organisations requirements for the English curriculum to with a sustainability education remit. Whilst include provision (as noted above England "Research into conducting this research, I started working with is an outlier in this regard). That is not to say sustainable the charity, Sustainability and Environmental that ESD has not been happening in schools and ethical Education (SEEd) – a key partner in the Our across the country, but this has been left to consumption has Shared World Coalition who have been the discretion of teachers in England. Without historically paid instrumental in lobbying for the change to the centralised resource, the development of Education Act that Knight’s Bill is demanding. educational materials in this area has largely little attention to I sampled resources produced by ten been driven by not-for-profit organisations, young people" organisations including, Tesco, EDF Energy, and this was the observation that piqued my Scottish & Welsh government, UN World’s interest in this area. Largest Lesson, Oxfam, Fairtrade Foundation (FTF), Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Eco Schools (UK and Scotland), Researching ESD and consumer-citizenship and WWF, and analysed 155 resources (including lesson I have spent the past few years exploring how young people plans, videos and games). These organisations represented are taught about environment and sustainability through Teaching Citizenship
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Katy Wheeler | 41
Top tips I thought it would be useful to close this article with some ‘top tips’ for finding and using sustainability resources, as well as engaging young people around sustainability. Tip #1 Use quality checked resources How to find good resources: If you do a Google search for ‘sustainability educational resources’, you will likely feel quite overwhelmed by the number of resources that can be found. Some advice from the practitioners I spoke with was to look for organisations who have a remit around sustainability education and are providing a quality-checked hub for a range of resources produced by different organisations. Examples of such hubs would be SEEd, Eco-Schools, Global Dimension or HWB Wales. Tip #2 Use resources critically Do encourage critical engagement with these resources: Because many resources are developed within their organisational settings, they share a similar ‘blind spot’ in terms of not being able to critique the mission or goals of their own organisation. Many of the resources that I looked at were very good for starting a conversation, but there would be possibilities to look beyond the resources by asking students to search for gaps or missing information. Use this as an opportunity to develop critical thinking skills and get students asking who has made this resource, what has been included, what has been omitted and why do they think this is? Tip #3 Make curriculum connections Connect ESD to existing curriculum and school priorities: Participants in my research project acknowledged the challenges of adding yet another task onto already overloaded teachers. There are guides available to help you to connect existing curriculum requirements with the SDGs, with case studies of how this has been achieved in practice (see Education Scotland, 2014; LfSS, 2021; NAEE, 2019). Student engagement with sustainability can increase motivation for learning and there is some growing evidence that it increases attainment (Higgins & Christie, 2016). Sustainability initiatives can be tied to other goals that schools already have a remit around, like employability and resource savings. The student-led action clubs, like those supported by resources from organisations Eco Schools, WWF and FTF are full of opportunities for students to develop transferrable skills (e.g. running meetings, planning events, public speaking) which may form part of a portfolio of other employability actions/careers advice. Tip #4 Make it real Behavioural change initiatives actions around resource efficiency within schools can save schools a lot of money. Indeed, a representative from EDF Energy told me about a school who had halved their energy bill through involvement in Eco-School activities and their ‘switch off’ campaign.
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Tip #5 Move beyond individual consumer education Beware of reducing action to consumer choice alone: As my analysis revealed, consumer and household actions are amongst the most popular actions encouraged through sustainability education resources. When it comes to acting on sustainability and environment, it is tempting to fall back on a range of individual actions as ‘solutions’. Our imaginations are ‘thick’ at the level of individual action, whereas they are much ‘thinner’ at the level of community, national and international actions. Telling young people to shop differently, turn off appliances and use sustainable forms of transport are amongst the repertoire of actions that are possible and the reason they are given so much attention is because it is easy for us to become quite disengaged if problems are perceived as too huge or far removed that we have no power to change things. But focusing on individual consumer action alone is equally problematic for two key reasons. First, research from sustainable consumption scholars tells us that consumption is a complex and meaningful process (Evans, 2014; Middlemiss, 2018; Wheeler, 2012). The ways we shop and the practices we engage in daily are often things we are deeply committed to and are shaped by a range of socio-economic and material circumstances. Focusing on individual consumer change ignores that consumer practice varies between social groups and the role consumption plays in identity formation and social cohesion. The things we buy and the ways we choose to live our lives communicate who we are to ourselves and others. Behavioural change initiatives which suggest individualistic solutions have some success with some individuals because they speak to their existing commitments and priorities, but they can exclude others. Interventions that work on an organisational level (school procurement for example) will have more success because they do not rely on individuals making choices. Therefore, I’d recommend having a fuller discussion about consumption with your students than individual consumer choice. For example, ask them what shopping/stuff means to them, how consumption is shaped by family habits and systems of provision within their town/country, and what role different organisations (both public and private) ought to play in intervening in this area? Second, if the goal of ESD is to develop critical thinking and systems thinking skills, then concentrating on individual consumer actions without exploring the power and responsibility that other parties have is at odds with this goal. Questions of corporate power and government regulation in local, national and international spaces must be part of the conversation. The climate crisis is a complex challenge that requires actions at all levels of society from people and institutions operating at different geographical scales within interdependent webs of influence. But this learning point cannot be supported if educational messages in resources always come back to individuals turning off the lights and buying different brands of food.
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42 | Education for Sustainability and Consumer Citizenship
labelling organisations (FTF and MSC, n=39), offered learning public, private and not-for-profit sectors and were working in opportunities for all areas of eco-literacy – technical (44%), the arenas of both ESD and EE. I wanted to learn how these critical (38%) and cultural (18%). organisations presented the sustainability crisis; who was As might be expected, many of the resources lacked portrayed as responsible for this crisis and who was tasked a discussion of responsibility for the with the remit for enacting societal change; sustainability and climate crisis and what active learning tasks students were presented the solution to the challenge in encouraged to take part in; and what was the "Many of these terms of changes to everyday consumer hoped-for outcome of engaging with these competencies choices, such as shopping for different learning resources. will be areas brands of goods, turning off lights and All resources were categorised according that citizenship adopting active forms of transport. Young to the form of eco-literacy they promoted people were not always asked to engage with drawing on a typology used by Huckle (2013) educators are the complexity of issues which leaves it to – these were technical eco-literacy, where already familiar teachers to draw out these dimensions. understanding of environmental challenges with and have That is not to say that these resources are is explored through scientific technologies developed teaching not useful for starting a conversation and and behavioural change; cultural ecoactivities around" can be used to develop more active forms of literacy, where the ways different cultures engagement amongst students. For example, understand and interact with nature are resources provided by Eco-Schools, FTF and explored, and critical eco-literacy, where WWF encouraged the formation of eco-clubs which can offer sustainable development is understood in the context of the an alternative space for young people to develop citizenship political economy of society and alternative democratic forms skills and stainability competencies. Whole School/Institution of citizenship. Most resources developed technical eco-literacy Approaches to sustainability education are recognised (66%), followed by critical eco-literacy (24%) and cultural as amongst the most effective ways of embedding eco-literacy (10%). Importantly this varied by organisation sustainability into the curriculum and school environment. type with the private company resources (n=32) developing (LfSS, 2021, SEEd, 2021) z technical eco-literacy in all but one resource, whereas the
References Education Scotland (2014) Conversations about Sustainability, https://cutt.ly/KRj73BP Evans, D. M. (2014). Food waste. London: Bloomsbury. Freire, P. (2004). Pedagogy of Indignation. London & New York: Routledge. Gadotti, M. (2008). Education for Sustainability: A Critical Contribution to the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Green Theory & Praxis Journal, 4(1), 15–64. Higgins, P. & Christie, B. (2016), Briefing 1 Learning for Sustainability and attainment in schools, https://cutt.ly/2Rj76fG Huckle, J. (2013). Eco-schooling and sustainability citizenship: Exploring issues raised by corporate sponsorship. Curriculum Journal, 24(2), 206–223. Kopnina, H. (2012). Education for sustainable development (ESD): The turn away from “environment” in environmental education? Environmental Education Research, 18(5), 699–717. Learning for Sustainability Scotland (LfSS) (2021) #ThisisLfS – Inspiration & Insights for a Whole Setting Approach to Learning for Sustainability, https://cutt.ly/lRj5rtJ Middlemiss, L. (2018). Sustainable Consumption: Key Issues. London: Routledge. National Association of Environmental Education (NAEE) (2019), Environment Education and Sustainable Development Goals: Exploring curriculum opportunities in primary and secondary schools, https://cutt.ly/dRj5oWU Sustainability and Environmental Education (2021) Whole Institution Approaches, https://cutt.ly/fRj5hNv Stevenson, R. B., Brody, M., Dillon, J., & Wals, A. (2012). International Handbook of Research on Environmental Education, London: Routledge. UNESCO (2017) Education for Sustainable Development Goals: learning objectives, https://cutt.ly/GRj5xks UNESCO (2021) What is Education for Sustainable Development, https://cutt.ly/VRj5b9v Wheeler, K. (2012). Fair Trade and the Citizen-Consumer: Shopping for Justice. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Teaching Citizenship
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Tess Corcoran, Teach the Future Campaign Coordinator.
The Importance of Climate Education and Youth Action Tess Corcoran Tess gives her insights from working with Teach the Future, a campaigning organisation led by secondary and tertiary education students that seeks to improve education on the climate emergency and ecological crisis in the UK. In this article she explains why teaching about the climate emergency is so pressing, how young people can get involved and why teachers could learn more about eco-anxiety.
a purely scientific issue. The scientific framing of the climate each the Future have talked to a lot of students emergency waters down the climate crisis to simply climate about climate education, asking questions about change, therefore dodging any discussions of social justice both what they have experienced, and what they and other important issues connected to the climate crisis. envision. Unsurprisingly, the answers we received The climate crisis is an intersectional issue, and this should be were not hopeful. Very few people have received explored in schools. Students should be exploring connections a significant amount of climate education in between colonialism and the climate crisis, climate migration school, meaning the majority of people who have and other social justice aspects of the climate crisis. Framing learned about the climate emergency in detail have the climate crisis scientifically neglects the people that it will done their own research outside the classroom. cause the most harm to. Students need to be taught about the climate Another reason we need comprehensive climate education emergency regardless of their subject options. One is that it will help students to deal with ecoof the biggest problems we see anxiety - a problem often talked about in the with climate education is that it Climate Justice movement. Most people who is siloed into specific subjects, The climate crisis have thought a lot about the climate crisis with the vast majority of climate is an intersectional have experienced strong emotions fueled by education in Geography and issue, and this the crisis, whether that is described as fear, Science. This restriction of should be explored anxiety, or something else, it is difficult to climate education causes two in schools. process and difficult to get rid of. In the subject main problems. of climate education, the conversation of Firstly, it means students who don’t take eco-anxiety can be explored in two lights: scientific subjects do not learn about the Will climate education cause climate anxiety, and how climate climate emergency. The climate emergency is an issue that will education can help those who suffer from eco-anxiety. On the affect every single aspect of life, and every single workforce, in first point, it is inevitable that with increased awareness of the some way. This means that by keeping climate education siloed climate emergency will come climate and eco-anxiety. So yes, into scientific subjects, people who take other subjects will not better climate education will lead to more climate anxiety, but be prepared to enter their workforce. For example, engineering this is no reason to stop teaching about it. A problem doesn’t students need to know how to use eco-friendly equipment, and go away if it is ignored, it gets worse and worse to the point that politics students need to know how different politicians are it can no longer be ignored. Students are already suffering from reacting to climate action. The purpose of school is to prepare eco-anxiety, and climate education should be used to tackle students to enter the workforce and to prepare them for adult this, rather than ignoring the problem entirely. life. If students don’t know about the climate emergency and The second point, of how climate education can help how it will affect their work, their education is not suitable and students to deal with their eco-anxiety is the more important is not meeting its purpose. discussion to have. As said above, knowledge about the Secondly, only exploring the climate emergency in scientific climate crisis can lead to eco-anxiety, however, action on the subjects creates the illusion that the climate emergency is Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
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44 | The Importance of Climate Education and Youth Action
Image courtesy of Markus Spiske from Unsplash
know that not only is the balance not there, but the scales are climate emergency can, and does, reduce eco-anxiety. I have missing entirely. seen this in my own experiences and in the experiences of This is why it’s so important that young people are involved in others in the climate movement - since becoming active in campaigning for climate education. The youth climate activism, we have experienced little voice is essential in any climate movement, to no eco-anxiety. If students are taught but climate education is one that it is entirely about climate action that is taking place, The youth voice unacceptable to exclude young people from. how to get involved, and what the solutions is essential in any We have experienced the education system, are in their subjects, they will know how to climate movement, and we know, from recent experience, that deal with their fear through action. climate education is not good enough. We Dealing with climate anxiety in students but climate will not accept politicians who have not been should also be part of what teachers learn. education is one near a school in 30 years telling us the state If teachers also aren’t aware of the problems that it is entirely of climate education, because they simply and solutions, and of climate anxiety being unacceptable to do not know. Education needs to be shaped a problem in students, they can’t help exclude young around the people who will experience it and students who are dealing with it. Students people from. benefit from it. If students say they need to and teachers need to know the reality of the learn about something which will affect their climate crisis, as well as how to deal with the futures, they should be given the opportunity fear that comes with that knowledge. It is a to learn about it. Climate change is an essential part of our difficult balance to get right, but it is something that needs to futures, so to not teach us about it is not acceptable and needs happen, and young people who have done their own research to change. z on the climate crisis, and who have experienced climate anxiety, Teaching Citizenship
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Sera Shortland, Head of Citizenship at New College Leicester and ACT Ambassador
Sustainability in the Citizenship Classroom Sera Shortland In this article, the role of sustainability within the citizenship classroom is considered as a new bill makes its way through the House of Lords. Proposed by the Right Honourable Sir Jim Knight, the Education (Environment and Sustainable Citizenship) Bill seeks to place learning about climate change and sustainability within the citizenship programme of study. Inspired by the Bill, ACT Ambassadors have written a new series of lessons to show how teachers could frame this learning and ensure that core citizenship knowledge and concepts are at the heart of lesson planning.
n November 2021, ACT and the UK Parliament Education and Engagement team collaborated in a CPD conference called ‘Climate Crisis: Does Citizenship education hold the key?’ During this conference, people from the citizenship community and further afield came together to explore how to address environmental and climate change issues through citizenship education. This brief article will demonstrate one resource created for this conference. When citizenship was introduced in 2002, it included: ‘the wider issues and challenges of global interdependence and responsibility, including sustainable development and Local Agenda 21’ within its programme of study. This requirement was removed under the revised National Curriculum of 2014. Within the current citizenship programme of study, there is no requirement to teach about climate change and sustainability and it has also been removed from KS4 learning. However, as we all know, young people are invested in and care about their future, this issue is pressing and it is a relevant political issue. This year, in response to the call for action on Climate Change being driven by The Paris Agreement 2015 (a legally binding international treaty on climate change), world leaders will meet at COP26 to discuss the action taken so far in order to mitigate some of the impacts of climate change on communities and the planet. This year also sees a renewed call for learning about sustainability and for this issue to be included in the citizenship curriculum. The proposer of the Education (Environment and Sustainable Citizenship) Private Members’ Bill is the Right Honourable Lord Knight of Weymouth, who has called for a curriculum that “not only Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
teaches young people about climate change and its consequences” (as happens in the fact and process driven curriculums of science and geography) but a curriculum that “teaches young people how they can do something with their knowledge of climate change”(Knight, 2021). As citizenship educators and experts, we recognise this language! He goes on to say “too many acquire a smattering of knowledge with little connection to the societal, environmental and economic implications of that knowledge. Knowledge without skills and agency is not only inadequate, it can be destructive” (Knight, 2021). The problem is that without space in the curriculum, any learning around climate change often leaves out climate thinking, deliberation and action. This is where the citizenship classroom can facilitate valuable real-world learning. There are many ways that teachers can and do engage young people with climate change and the concept of sustainability, indeed there are a raft of resources out there, just look at the COP26 website and read the contributions in this journal from Awa Ndiaye, Katy Wheeler and Tess Corcoran for further inspiration. There are growing movements for change that can enthuse young people to participate in local-global issues, such as, Teach the Future, Green New Deal, Kids Against Plastic and of course Greta Thunberg’s own School Strike for Climate. The citizenship classroom can take learning much further to support young people to really understand this issue and how it affects different communities. Through citizenship young people can talk critically about policy and law making and learn about individuals and organisations that are working to combat climate change, they have opportunities to explore actions that might inspire them into action and influence policy makers. Sustainability and climate change can be taught easily through the citizenship curriculum to enhance political literacy and increase knowledge through any of citizenship’s core concepts of fairness and Justice, democracy and government, rights and equalities. Teaching Citizenship
46 | Sustainability in the Citizenship Classroom
Statutory NC Citizenship requirements (taken from ACT) Knowledge and concepts
Skills
Experiences (Action)
Democracy and Government
Researching and interrogating evidence, thinking critically
Classroom and wider school
Rights and Equalities
Fairness and Justice
Debating political questions, presenting arguments and evaluating viewpoints Taking informed action
As one example, ACT Ambassadors have put together a series of lessons to show how you could teach this subject at KS3. All resources are available on the ACT website and they were written as a case study in support of Jim Knights’ Education Bill on sustainable citizenship. These resources can be used to enhance citizenship knowledge, skills and action and also be used as a case study to
In the community
In public and democratic life
teach students about the processes of law-making. Of course, if the resources inspire young people to take positive action in their local communities and engage with policy makers and government, even better! In planning the series of lessons, the first thing to do was think about where gaps in student knowledge might lie:
Building through the Curriculum: What needs to be covered, where are the gaps? What do the key terms “Sustainability” and ‘Sustainable Development’ mean? What is democracy? How does policy influence environmental justice?
Why is the UK hosting COP26?
How are laws created? How can they be shaped and challenged?
Does sustainability and climate change matter? What are our rights in relation to this issue?
Sustainability: Essential knowledge questions How can I get involved? What solutions exist to tackle climate change?
What actions can people take to address climate change? What is climate justice? What is a Private Members Bill? How are they proposed? What is the Education and Sustainable Citizenship Bill? Why is Lord Knight proposing this Bill now? What is COP26?
How can we sequence this knowledge for deep learning? After that we developed a coherent plan of learning to help students understand some of the issues behind this topic but more Teaching Citizenship
importantly how they can get their voices heard and contribute to the discussion and decision making around climate change. www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
Sera Shortland | 47
Lesson 2 - What laws exist to protect the environment?
Upper KS3-KS4 Lesson 1 - How sustainable is our future? ● ● ● ●
Lesson 4 - How are bills debated in Parliament?
can raise awareness.
● Consider how social media
● Understand about the work of young people taking action on sustainability. ● Understand the principles of a persuasive writing and write to a changemaker.
Lesson 5 - Taking Action on Sustainability.
How can we take responsible action on sustainability and climate change? Lesson 3 - What is a Private Member’s Bill? ● Consider the connection between policy and the sustainable development goals
Private Members Bill
● Explain the purpose of a
House of Lords in lawmaking
● describe the role of the
Activist; Campaign; Coalition; Stigma; Persuasive; Digital participation
highlights sustainability.
● Plan a campaign that
Private members' bills; Ballot; Act of Parliament; Carbon Emissions; Carbon Neutral; Bill
1. Recall and retrieve Sustainability. 2. Investigate Young Activists through videos and discussion. 3. Write a letter to a changemaker. 4. Initiate a campaign that focuses on sustainability.
● Demonstrate how a Bill becomes Law ● Describe what a critical citizen is and why it is important ● Analyse arguments for and against the Bill ● Justify your opinion concerning the Sustainable Citizenship Bill
MP; Life/ Hereditary Peer; Lords Spiritual; Legislature; National government; Policies; Parliament
1. Memory Challenge, Bill stages 2. Using critical thinking skills: Where do I stand? 3. Peer Role Play: using video, recreate some of the arguments 4. Debate it: Students debate in the style of a second reading. 5. Where do I stand now? Have opinions changed after scrutinising the evidence?
Describe the meaning of green crime. Develop an understanding of a range of green crimes. Evaluate some of the laws and punishments applicable to green crime Consider how to take action to hold people to account for green crimes.
1. 5 minute challenge: Use key words to create best sentence. 2. The importance of law making. 3. Commons and Lords: video 4. Memory Challenge: Private Members Bills 5. Meeting Lord Knight 6. Summarise learning using key ideas: Knowledge, influence, policy, change
● Video clips ● Role play cards ● Template for scrutinising the
Sentence starters. Provide project examples. Stretch & challenge - allow wider variety of project and autonomy.
● Describe the meaning of sustainability ● Explain what the SDGs are and how they affect us ● Investigate what other changemakers have achieved and to take action to address issues of sustainability ourselves.
Advice on how to write a letter on the Bill Template for answering video questions.
Using modelling and scaffolding strategies to enable all students to access the learning.
Create letter assessment criteria. Use peer feedback to edit letter drafts.
● SDG sort card double-sided printable.
information sheets.
● Sustainability changemakers
Green Crime; Deforestation; Wildlife Crime; Pollution
Case studies of Green Crime Presentation including video
Using modelling and scaffolding strategies to enable all students to access the learning.
Questioning throughout, opportunities for peer assessment of presentations, self assessment recall of knowledge.
Research local environmental issues or campaigns that might benefit from awareness raising or support.
Sustainability; Sustainable Development Goals; United Nations; Inequality; Impact
Dual coding, glossary of key terms, tiering of questions in the lesson
Recapping ideas through using keywords, memory retrieval challenge, lots of teacher questioning and feedback.
To consider how you could make a difference and take positive action
Activities Resources
5.
4.
3.
1. 2.
Group working to take advantage of different student skills. Write examples of possible pledges to start thinking.
Feedback mini presentations using criteria; letter writing criteria for takeaway task.
Discuss at home and record: Is our future sustainable as we are now? Could it be more sustainable?
1. Sustainability in the news quick-fire discussion. 2. Sustainability brain-dump. 3. Sustainable Development Goals sort cards and global statistic discussion. 4. COP26 introduction. 5. Change makers investigation.
Brain-dump responses. Reflection on the SDG discussion - question students about their understanding as groups discuss.
What’s in the News? Find a news story that tells of a local, national or global environmental legal battle.
Green crime video – pollution What is Green Crime? Read, summarise, present, discuss. Who has the power to hold those accused of green crimes to account. Examples of court cases - do punishments fit the crime? Action – lobbying your MP, council or ministers.
Pay it forward action pledge world’s largest lesson. Climate Changemakers - Worlds Largest Lesson
● Embedded activist videos ● Case study worksheet ● Formal letter scaffold
Differen tiation
arguments
AfL
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Lessons
Learning Objectives Key Words
Take away task
48 | Sustainability in the Citizenship Classroom
Thinking more about my Hello again, last lesson you found out more about the Bill... Environment and Sustainable Citizenship Bill that I am
proposing. If this Private Members Bill is successful, it will change what you learn about within citizenship lessons. For example, you will learn more about being prepared to live and work in a zero carbon economy, how to ensure resources are sustained and you will learn about how to create effective change. This Bill is now in your hands, will you vote to move the Bill onto the Committee Stage or vote the Bill out?
Q: What skills would you need when voting about an issue? What skills do you need to argue a point? Activity: Talk with the person next to you and give your views on this question. You will feedback your partner’s response, so you also need to listen carefully!
I created the lessons on parliament and legislation which specifically focus on the concept of Democracy and Government. We are looking at law-making and want to show students just how laws are made, what a Private Members Bill is, how they are debated, how they affect them and how they could influence law makers. Linking climate action through SDGs and through a lens of democracy and government also helps to move beyond understanding cause and consequences, and thinking about individual actions and solutions. In these lessons’ students learn how to use legal reasoning, how to challenge and support a real-life Education Bill, and what they can do if they want to influence legislation. If students are to understand what a Private Members Bill is and how to debate one, there is clearly a lot of information building that is needed to get to those points. Initially students start off with a rudimentary introduction to the importance of laws and the role of parliament before moving to focus on the House of Lords. Students are immersed in Jim Knight’s Bill, they dissect it before considering their own arguments for and against the bill. These activities promote agency and action, students Teaching Citizenship
should now understand that they have the power to influence decision makers, so they just need some examples of how they go about that, indeed the key learning moments for students are around an interview with Lord Knight. Here they actually see a Lord talking (perhaps for the first time) and so questions can be developed around students’ perceptions, does Jim look like a Lord they imagined? Listening and examining key ideas of why a Bill is introduced and what they can do, also breaks down barriers that some students may have around the accessibility of politicians. Here is someone, who is actually trying to bring in a new law and you can access what they say and do something about it. Most importantly through the interviews Jim says how to bring about change. A Lord, telling young people that they can do something to affect change, that is very powerful and gives young people a sense of agency. There are also lots of ideas including a mock letter to an MP asking them to support the Education Bill should teachers want to use this with classes. And links to local and global actions which could inspire new action projects in school. All this research supports information gathering, helping students to really be informed about the issue. www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
Sera Shortland | 49
Then students move onto debating the Education Bill and hold their own parallel second reading debate. It is a lesson designed to sharpen their critical thinking, their legal thinking as it will help students find agreement on matters of policy, even when
they might disagree on why the policy should be implemented. By being exposed to other perspectives, people become more open to other points of view. So, this lesson takes them through each of the stages of a second reading debate, so that they can really get an
A Second Reading Debate Model: What happens? 1. Lord Speaker announces the Bill
2. Proposer opens the debate, setting out the principles of the Bill
3. Contributions to the debate are given from both supporting and opposing members
5. Proposer sums up arguments and asks the Chair to move the Bill to the next stage “ I beg to move that this Bill be committed to a Committee of the whole House”
6.Speaker puts the question to the House “ The question is that this Bill be committed to the Committee of the whole House”
7. Speaker puts the vote to the House“ As many as are of that opinion say content, on the contrary say not content.” The members will shout out ‘content’ or ‘not content’ to indicate whether they want the Bill to progress to the next stage.
4. Opposition sums up arguments
A Second Reading Debate Model: The next stage... 1. Lord Speaker announces the Bill
2. Proposer opens the debate, setting out the principles of the Bill
3. Contributions to the debate are given from both supporting and opposing members
Activity 1: Listen to an argument for and against. Scrutinise the evidence and think like a critical citizen, then write down the most persuasive arguments. Activity 2: Peer Role Play: Use the information cards to practice a debate.
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For: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat)
Against: Baroness Fox of Buckley (Nonaffiliated)
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50 | Sustainability in the Citizenship Classroom
understanding of the process, and the different views. Also, they are naturally learning the rules of debating, they can see convention in action through Lords and Baronesses, this debate could have got very heated and yet they witness how people respond to each other, professionally, respectfully, even though it is clear that there is complete disagreement to what people are saying at times. Students learn how the argument not the person is shut down. At each stage they complete different activities to build confidence, from commenting, taking part in role play and
Environment and sustainability allows us to highlight a range of the key concepts contained within the National Curriculum and GCSE Citizenship Studies Specifications Further examples of these will be demonstrated through the lessons.
United Nations
Economics
Citizenship Concepts Citizenship allows pupils to explore contemporary issues using subject specific concepts. By doing this we are able to illustrate to pupils something that can seem very abstract, successfully.
creating their own contributions to the debate which leads into having a whole class debate.This lesson culminates in a vote on whether the Bill should be passed onto the committee stage and a consideration of student’s initial positions concerning the Bill. The learning impact from this unit of learning can be profound as students become Information gathers; develop their knowledge, language and legal reasoning; think about counter-arguments; learn the conventions of debating – all skills that will support them to be real active citizens. z
UK will develop a 'green economy', using technology and innovation to develop sustainable businesses and jobs
Countries will be held to account by international law. The UN convened COP26 and created the SDG’s
Role of NGO’s
Influencing those in power and protecting those affected by the climate crisis such as flood refugees.
Climate Migration
Considering push-pull factors and how climate migrating has become a human rights issue.
Active Citizenship
Learning how to research, plan, carry out, analyse and evaluate action means greater impact can be sustained.
Rights
Human Rights are intrinsic to the success of a sustainable future.
Environment and Sustainability in Citizenship Education
Law
The laws that we have in place to protect the environment; how these are formed and developed through parliamentary process.
Media Literacy
UK and the wider world
Understanding connections between partner countries, our membership of the UN and our responsibilities.
Justice
Climate justice is the concept that frames climate change as a political and equality issue, ensuring justice for all stakeholders
Voting and Elections
Enabling pupils to understand election processes, manifestoes and PPB’s will allow them to make informed decisions.
The ability for pupils to be able to distinguish between facts and fiction will help them to make informed decisions on sustainability.
More information: You can follow the progress of the Bill in Parliament here: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2874 The webpage includes links to the Hansard record of debates and videos of speeches. For more information on the conference and the teaching resources visit: www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk/resources
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Hans Svennevig, Subject Leader PGCE Citizenship UCL Institute of Education, Council Member/Trustee and Co-Editor Teaching Citizenship Journal
Our Responsibilities for Peace Education for the Next Generation Hans Svennevig In this piece Hans argues that we all need to think differently about how we frame peace for the next generation. He also considers some of the resources and techniques for developing skills and knowledge in this area. He considers peace education as part of citizenship education and discusses how this is being included in teacher education. Most of all Hans asks a moment of your time. I am going to do something a little different at the start of this article. I am going to ask you the reader for your time. This is a bold move, as we all are short of time and we want to read and get through things as quickly as possible. I ask that if you are reading this, and have no time, come back to it later. I do not ask this lightly – you may indeed read the whole piece and feel that I have missed something out – I am sure I have. But I ask this of you so that you can explore the elements of peace education
that I am discussing. These ideas were originally developed for a conference setting, where we had the possibility of dialogue, but, as you cannot immediately ask me any questions (you are welcome to write to me), I want to pose some questions to you. I would like you to spend some time – maybe a minute or so to consider and reflect on each question before moving on to the next. The power of silence in our busy and chaotic lives brings with it a form of inner reflection, inner peace.
In peace education, how can we teach young people about: P Drone warfare? P The impact of COVID on structural inequalities? P The consequences of warfare due to the climate emergency? P Increased militarisation and securitisation in nation states in Asia, Europe and the Americas? P Escalating conflict in places like Palestine/Israel, Northern Ireland and Myanmar? P Continued turmoil in nations such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Mozambique and Cameroon? When thinking about those questions and about our responsibilities we may feel that the urgency compels us to talk and consider what will happen if we don’t do something, anything. It may compel us to consider the very big problems, Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
continuing global arms race, including the P The increased proliferation of nuclear weapons? P Countering violent extremism? P Social injustices? P Violent knife/gun crime in the streets? messaging leading to increases in P Divisive ‘othering’? P The large displacement of people around the world and their treatment? which in turn may make us and others feel very small and hopeless and focus on the worrying thoughts. It may lead us to think these are all really too overwhelming to do much about, that we are in fact hopeless to make a difference. Teaching Citizenship
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justice, human rights and democracy I’ve worked to intersect Thank you, reader, for thinking through these questions and peace education into the curriculum to ensure that these new giving them some real pause and reflection. When considering teachers are appropriately trained to teach such elements these very hard-hitting questions, you may have started to effectively. As we know citizenship education is often contested think about all the problems and complications in the world, in the UK and England as much as it is throughout other nations the challenges we all face in our various nations related to and so at the IOE we enable Citizenship teachers to have a full authoritarian governments, the creeping securitisation of the breadth of the notion of citizenship education in England as state, the limiting of freedoms and so on. To me when I wrote first conceptualised by Crick and added to over time by various those questions and thought about my role at UCL, Senate changes in the national curriculum, as well as the rich work of House, kept coming to mind. Senate House was the inspiration individuals and groups such as Ajegbo, Starkey, Jerome, Kerr, for the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s 1984. The Ministry Osler, Hantzopoulous, Bajaj, Hess, ACT, Young Citizens, the of Truth speaks to me of the doom and gloom of what might Politics Project, Parliament Education Service, the list goes on happen, and often creepingly seems to be happening, or the and on. consequence of doing nothing. As Professor Hugh Starkey notes citizenship education is The Norwegian sociologist and founder of peace and about ‘learning to live together’ and this is a key element of peace conflict studies Johan Galtung says “the view that one cannot education. Citizenship education in the English context is about meaningfully work for both absence of personal violence and our rights as democratic active citizens and it is about exploring for social justice can also be seen as essentially pessimistic these rights in the classroom, peace education and positive as some sort of intellectual and moral capitulationism” (1969: peace is clearly an essential component of these. We work to 186). The next generation has enough doom to experience develop student teachers’ knowledge of the curriculum, but by watching the news, yes they need to be informed but they also the skills that they will come to develop are often more informed than we, through in their own students – to participate and their connections to social media – and an lead active citizenship, transformative peace education many of us never had. I am going to do education, sustainability education, human I pose that our responsibility to them is to rights, and political democratic organising. provide hope in a world of hopelessness to something different At the Institute of Education we are also provide the skills that the next generation at the start… I am working with colleagues to increase peace can use to make an impact, to consider going to ask you education more widely among students and and understand the world around them, the reader for staff wherever they may be found. to be accepting and encouraging, kind and I ask you to look back at those questions compassionate, to build transformative your time. that we reflected upon earlier again. How relationships with the big questions, to can you as a citizenship educator or as a consider notions of peace education in all non-specialist educator of any other subject subjects and themes, and to be empowered specialism reframe the answers? To empower and enrich our through their agency to build a better tomorrow with small students no matter their age? How can you give actionable steps – to build empathy and to lead the way. As you develop hope to the next generation? teaching materials for big questions like those that I have posed So let’s think about how we pose the answers, how we share think about how to reframe the discussions. Think about your and frame the discussion, how we can pose these with positive responsibilities to move beyond the glaringly obvious problems local, national and international actions that have led to we face – let’s talk more about the solutions and provide an change, that have led to peaceful resistance and campaigning opportunity for hope, for learning about what can be, and often for human rights and peace perspectives, that have led to is being, done. the skills and knowledge that we can bring about to resolve It is our role to reframe how we engage with young people, these complex themes. I ask you to ponder how can we bridge and how we talk to them, the expectations we have of them as negative and positive peace, inner, interpersonal and wider citizens of our communities, the skills they possess to help us world peace? to be better. This is how we can start working toward notions I suggest that we can start to do this through empathy. Through of what Galtung described as two types of peace, negative celebrating and recognising difference. Through educational (absence of personal violence) and positive peace (absence of resources such as Fly Kites not Drones inspired by Afghan Peace structural violence). It is our responsibility to do so. Volunteers, or resources from CND Peace Education, or QPSWs In my own work at UCL Institute of Education I have the Razor Wire and Olive Branches or celebrating the success of privilege and opportunity to educate the next generation of the ban on nuclear weapons (a huge success). We can consider Citizenship teachers with strong Citizenship subject knowledge these notions of peace when using resources from ACT on the and Citizenship pedagogic skills. As well as the various Deliberative Classroom or Building Resilience project or the curriculum requirements of the PGCE, and principles of social Teaching Citizenship
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Hans Svennevig | 53
Image courtesy of Donovan Rouse from Unsplash
range of ideas and materials in the Teaching Citizenship journal, for example on Protest Songs or Critical Media Literacy (see Issue 51). We can build peace when we consider the role of race, LGBTQ+ rights and decolonising the curriculum through schools and university reading lists to incorporate wider voices. We can use resources from the Peace Education Network (such as Teach Peace Primary or the soon to come Teach Peace Secondary), The Black Curriculum, Diversity Role Models, CitizensUK, Protection Approaches, The Refugee Council, the Peoples History Museum, and The Migration Museum. We can utilise Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
the voices of film makers like Leon Oldstrong and films such as www.fairtrademovie.co.uk or social influencers that tear down the walls of othering to explore what unites us, food, travel near and far. We can use the voices of students themselves like pupil power set up by Aliyah York or the work of the Hamilton Academy #OurVoiceYourChoice students. Why is peace education part of citizenship education? Because for citizenship educators the list of possibilities to improve the lives of our young people, and give them the skills to live and make hopeful change in a complicated world are endless. Teaching Citizenship
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Let us also think about our own everyday language and how we can work to change that, to be hopeful and inspiring, recognising the hard work needed but enabling us all to work towards tangible small, medium and long term impacts. Let’s think about resources and skills that we can use to promote inclusive opportunities. Let’s talk about how movements build and grow over time and how small steps lead to positive action. Let’s empower young people to know that small things can and do make a difference. That they really do make a difference. Just look at the Friday climate strikes and the attention we now have on that issue if you don’t believe me. Let’s empower agency, that is our responsibility to the next generation. We owe it to them to give them the skills to make change, and then help them to make the change. As I draw to the end of this article I thank you the reader for that time you gave me at the start, and I hope that what I have written about has given you a few ideas, has made you feel a bit more hopeful about how things are, and has reminded you that you can and do galvanise young people to lead us forward. You might feel that I am being overly positive, I too am human and see how things are all around, but with the privilege that I clearly have I need to do
all I can to work towards hope. I just want to remind you of what all of this is about, it’s about our universal human rights wherever or whoever we are. It’s about our rights to peace. And let’s not forget the enormous hope and hard work that went into creating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights after war and how countless young and old people have benefitted over the years from that work. We must continue our responsibilities to the next generation to enable them to continue that work, to strengthen it. As QCEA’s 2018 report indicates we need to move away from just good intentions; we need to continue to raise awareness and build secure peace education learning opportunities that everyone can access regardless of background, identity or citizenship status… as we are all citizens, and so we need to make sure that these places of peace education are conflict-sensitive. There is work to do, but let’s be proud and hopeful of that work to inspire others and enable the next generation to lead. Because none of us are free, and safe from incivility or structural violence until we all are, we as individuals only have dignity when we all have dignity.
This article is a modified version of my keynote talk at the ‘The Possibilities of Peace Education: Evidence and Opportunities’ QCEA online conference from Brussels, Belgium on 21st May 2021. When I developed this for the conference these resources inspired me:
Watch
https://cutt.ly/MRpnZRr (this is free to download).
Listen
Lessons from Lockdown by Breslin: https://cutt.ly/7RpnXZt QCEAs 2018 Report: https://cutt.ly/NRpnVNV
#OurVoiceYourChoice students from Hamilton Academy Leicester talking about the power of citizenship education https://cutt.ly/vRpmwqB
Maria Hantzopoulos & Monisha Bajaj; Education for Peace and Human Rights https://cutt.ly/eRpmt7p Amit Puni’s Podcast on Citizenship education: https://citizenshippodcast.podbean.com/
Read
Violence, Peace and Peace Research by Galtung: www.jstor.org/stable/422690 Educating for Peace and Human Rights by Hantzopoulos & Bajaj: https://cutt.ly/dRpnFow (Anna Liddle writes a great review for this edition of the journal). Children’s Rights Education in Diverse Classrooms: Pedagogy, Principles and Practice by Starkey & Jerome: https://cutt.ly/kRpnJnk (I have written a review in this journal). The Prevent Duty in Education, Impact, Enactment and Implications, edited by Busher & Jerome: Teaching Citizenship
Engage
Association for Citizenship Teaching: www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk includes journals; the Building Resilience Project: https://cutt.ly/qRpnMFJ; The Deliberative Classroom Project: https://cutt.ly/hRpn8FU Young Citizens: www.youngcitizens.org Peace Education Network Organisations: https://peace-education.org.uk/about-us includes Teach Peace Resource & range of resources from different organisations.
Do
Spend moments of time to engage with practical ideas of small, medium and long term change that young people can do to inspire themselves and others and have meaningful real impact & therefore bring hope! We all need time to be creative and to replenish our minds – carve out the time for you to do that. z www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
Hugh Starkey is Professor of Citizenship and Human Rights Education at UCL Institute of Education, University College London.
Opportunities and threats In the next two articles we hear from Maddie Spink an Early Career Citizenship Teacher and Professor Hugh Starkey a renowned academic in citizenship education. They share their unique perspectives on the last 20 years of citizenship education, and their hopes for the future. Reading these gives a really strong insight to all practitioners within citizenship education about the challenges that led to the formation of the subject and the possibilities for the future.
Taking the long view Hugh Starkey
prejudice within British and other societies. However, schools itizenship is a feeling, status and practice. and local authorities attempting to counter racism at that time It is essentially about living together and experienced hostility from sections of the press and conservative working to transform society towards think tanks. What would have been Curriculum Guidance 9 greater democracy and social justice. It is prepared by the formally constituted task force on multicultural a curriculum space shared by educational education was never published. In other words, citizenship was movements for human rights, political literacy, launched with little recognition that human rights and racial sustainable development, peace and equalities. equality are sites of political struggle where Implementing this synthesis tensions in schools and wider communities of politics, philosophy, are to be expected. Curriculum development sociology, law and international Whilst noting includes supporting teachers of Citizenship relations is an adventure in that Crick avoids to explore difficult issues. This requires very curriculum development. I identify clear statements of values and principles from three periods of Citizenship in racism, school and education service leaders. England, analysing opportunities a substantial The report of a cross-party commission and significant and severe threats barrier to convened by the Speaker of the House of now and in the future. citizenship, we Commons, Encouraging Citizenship (1990) 1992 saw Citizenship being was influential in ensuring that Citizenship implemented as a crossargued was offered in the new national curriculum. curricular subject in the new that his framework Citizenship as a new area of study was national curriculum. A skeleton based on political promoted by, amongst others, the Citizenship framework was provided in literacy Foundation (1990), associated with the Law the National Curriculum Council’s Curriculum Society; the University of Leicester’s Centre for Guidance 8 (1990). Its tentative tone proposes can include Citizenship Studies in Education (1991) and studies of duties, responsibilities and rights, addressing racism the Institute for Citizenship (1992). Citizenship in that order. In the context of the ending of and promoting developments were informally coordinated the Cold War and an international impetus human rights. by the Education in Human Rights Network to democratisation, the guidance names set up in 1987 inspired by the Council of the Universal Declaration and the European Europe’s vision of education for democratic Convention on Human Rights as well as the citizenship / human rights education. It was an uphill struggle recently ratified UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as since cross curricular themes have little purchase and, indeed, possible rather than essential knowledge for citizens. the 1995 five-year review of the national curriculum dispensed Curriculum Guidance 8 also situates Britain as a multicultural with them. society and invites study of the origins and effects of racial Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
Teaching Citizenship
56 | Citizenship education in changing contexts: opportunities and threats
and inclusion in education (2005). The 20-year period that ACT is celebrating had its foundations The Labour government response to the 2005 London in the election of a Labour government in 1997. Constitutionally terrorist bombings included an educational dimension. A highly significant changes were introduced, including devolution, a politicised debate on Britishness and British values had been peace settlement in Northern Ireland, the Human Rights Act, the launched by Gordon Brown in 2006 and the Department for Race Relations (Amendment) Act and the Every Child Matters Education and Skills set up a curriculum review Diversity and policy that could have been associated with the Convention on Citizenship chaired by Keith Ajegbo (2007). The review proposed the Rights of the Child, but wasn’t. At a global level, the reaction a new strand of Citizenship called Identity and Diversity: Living to the destruction of New York’s World Trade Centre in September Together in the UK. It had a five-year implementation period. 2001 was to have lasting effects across the world. This was the The review noted that many schools had not developed an context in which Citizenship was launched as a statutory element equality policy as required by the Race Relations Amendment of the national curriculum. The new Citizenship was strongly Act and that Ofsted had failed to hold schools accountable. influenced by the political philosopher, Bernard Crick, who The five-year implementation period for Ajegbo was brought chaired the advisory group on Education for Citizenship and the to a premature close by the 2010 election Teaching of Democracy in Schools. He brought resulting in a coalition government wedded to to bear his previous work on political literacy neoliberal reforms including academisation. and found a ready audience for his pledge to We developed a This policy weakened local authorities and transform the national political culture, taken theory and practice undermined the principle of a national to mean enhanced formal participation in of education for curriculum that includes Citizenship. The voting by young people. discriminatory Prevent agenda for the At the University of Leicester, from 2001, I cosmopolitan surveillance particularly of Muslim students led the new PGCE course for Citizenship, one citizenship was accompanied by a requirement for schools of four accredited nationally. Working with firmly based in to promote ‘fundamental British values’ (FBV). Professor Audrey Osler, director of the Centre understandings of Citizenship offers depth of engagement with for Citizenship Studies in Education we human rights as the values that underpin welcomed the Crick report and the obligation human rights and the UK’s public life, but it was side-lined. By on schools to offer Citizenship. Nonetheless, child rights. defining the promotion of FBVs as a statutory we engaged with Crick in a dialogue that obligation to ensure Spiritual Moral Social and he called Friendly Arguments where we Cultural development, the Department for Education returned to challenged what we perceived as a somewhat colonial and the discredited cross-curricular approach. national tone to the report. Whilst noting that Crick avoids The weakening of the national curriculum, however, provides racism, a substantial barrier to citizenship, we argued that his renewed opportunities for creative curriculum development. framework based on political literacy can include addressing Currently, democratic values and human rights are threatened racism and promoting human rights. in the UK and in many contexts in Europe and across the world We set up a research project in Leicester where we worked where they have been traduced by authoritarian populist with children in primary and secondary schools to explore leaders. Teachers of Citizenship will keep struggling to their sense of citizenship and community. We found that the foreground a vision of inclusive societies where diverse citizens young people had or were developing: a strong identification are committed to each other and to social justice. We can learn with their local neighbourhood and city; recognition of our with our politically aware students who campaign for Black common humanity and a sense of solidarity with others; and Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion. We can use narratives ability to make connections. Education that simply referenced of successful campaigns and encourage the development a national, UK, citizenship felt inappropriate for children of any of decolonial counternarratives. In short, our role is to keep background living in mixed communities with ties of family, alive the utopian vision of freedom, justice and peace in the friendship and heritage across the world. We developed a world that is our heritage through the Universal Declaration of theory and practice of education for cosmopolitan citizenship Human Rights and to encourage our students to aspire to be firmly based in understandings of human rights and child rights. transformative citizens. z We expanded this in a book Changing Citizenship: democracy Teaching Citizenship
www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
Maddie Spink, Teacher of Sociology and PSHCE and ACT Council Member
20 Years of Citizenship Education Maddie Spink
A
students taking GCSEs. s a new teacher, my perspective I include this information because it is the reality, not to on citizenship education is still be pessimistic or downhearted. As citizenship teachers, or being shaped; by my experiences teachers who champion citizenship in another role, we go into in the classroom, by my colleagues schools with our eyes open. Making the case for high quality and subject community, and by comprehensive citizenship education is exactly what we have inspiring academics such as Professor signed up for, precisely because we know that it is worth arguing Hugh Starkey. I am conscious when for (and you couldn’t get a more passionate group of teachers to presenting an honest and critical review make the argument!). that I only represent one (developing) Citizenship is still a young, establishing subject, which is both perspective among many. But I do share, daunting and exciting. The 20 years since its implementation have with many passionate citizenship teachers, seen challenges, but also massive strides forward. The 20 year a commitment to championing the subject anniversary of the subject can be a moment for reflection and as essential both for students and for ensuring planning for the future. the strength and depth of our democracy. Citizenship education is valuable because The future of citizenship education it breaks down the walls between the school It’s up to all of us invested in citizenship education to build and the community. It develops in students a joint vision for the future. What will citizenship education the skills to be an engaged member of society, look like in another 20 years? What world will citizenship whether this is through developing media literacy, education be preparing students for in 2041? By what understanding the law or participating in a mock election. mechanisms, national and local, will we have ensured that In my very limited time teaching, I have seen transformative all young people have a right to comprehensive high-quality citizenship education that gives young people the experience of citizenship education? being citizens in the classroom, with students I’d like to offer one vision, and argue that acting as representatives of media outlets Citizenship the priorities for citizenship education need to covering the London riots, analysing videos of be set by the context that we will be teaching court proceedings, and even holding their own education is in. The sixth Intergovernmental Panel on security council. However, not every young valuable because Climate Change report published in August person currently has the same access to these it breaks down 2021 indicated that by 2041 there are likely empowering experiences. the walls between to be increased levels of dramatic weather Citizenship has been held back from events as seen in the recent Greek fires and fulfilling its potential from both the top the school and German floods, there may be large-scale down and the bottom up. Politically, I feel the community. migration across the world and widespread that citizenship education has not been It develops in destabilisation of our current way of life and prioritised since it was implemented, and students the skills political system. The political response to this has been stripped down by successive instability in many countries has already been governments, with active citizenship reduced to be an engaged to turn to authoritarianism. and the curriculum limited, despite evidence member of society Citizenship’s next steps as a subject need of its impact in studies such as the work to be set by building for this future. We are of the Citizenship Education Longitudinal lucky to have the first 20 years of citizenship education to Study 2001-2010. On a local level, whole school communities build upon. Teaching for the emergency situation that we are are unaware of the statutory provision to teach citizenship. The in will require the tools that citizenship education brings, and consequence of this is that teaching is often patchy, delivered which are taught daily by our community. Listening, empathy in tutor time, drop down days, or combined as PSHCE. A-Level and valuing others are not light or soft skills, they are hard Citizenship was scrapped in 2018, and although in the same skills to learn, difficult to employ and complicated to teach. year there were rises (and continue to be rises) in the take up Citizenship education has also always recognised the value of of Citizenship at GCSE this is still very low when compared to all Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
Teaching Citizenship
58 | 20 Years of Citizenship Education both being rooted in the local community and acting with a global perspective. We can be proud, as established teachers with 20 years’ experience, or as new teachers just starting that journey, to
be part of something so essential. A part of the citizenship teacher’s role is necessarily to make the case for the subject, because when something is important there’s no choice but to fight for it. z Brisbane School Strike (flickr)
Sources include: Banks, J. A. (2008). Diversity, Group Identity and Citizenship Education in a Global Age. Educational Researcher, 37(3), 129-139. Crick, B. (2000). Friendly Arguments. In B. Crick (Ed.), Essays on Citizenship. London: Continuum. Jerome, L. (2012). England’s Citizenship Education Experiment: State, School and Student Perspectives. London: Continuum. Osler, A. (2008). Citizenship education and the Ajegbo report: re-imagining a cosmopolitan nation. London Review of Education, 6(1), 9 - 23. Osler, A., & Starkey, H. (2003). Learning for Cosmopolitan Citizenship: theoretical debates and young people’s experiences. Educational Review, 55(3), 243-254. Osler, A., & Starkey, H. (2005). Changing citizenship: democracy and inclusion in education. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Osler, A., & Starkey, H. (2018). Extending the theory and practice of education for cosmopolitan citizenship. Educational Review, 70(1), 31-40. Starkey, H. (2018). Fundamental British Values and citizenship education: tensions between national and global perspectives. Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography, 1-14. Starkey, H. (2021). Classroom counternarratives as transformative multicultural citizenship education. Multicultural Education Review, 1-16. Tomlinson, S. (1993). The Multicultural Task Group: the group that never was. In A. King & M. Reiss (Eds.), The multicultural dimension of the national curriculum. London: Falmer.
Teaching Citizenship
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Lee Jerome, Associate Professor in Education at Middlesex University & Council Member, Co-editor Teaching Citizenship Journal
Review | 59
We Have A Dream by Mya-Rose Craig ISBN-13: 9781913520205 By Lee Jerome
I
t would be difficult to think about contemporary youth citizenship without acknowledging the significance of the School Strike for the Climate movement. Whilst some activists find out about the marches through social media and the internet, many more find out through direct contacts in school and it is also common for participants to recruit others through their peer networks. This suggests ‘the emergence of a new generation of climate activists’ and a distinctive youth-led movement (Wahlström et al. 2019: 4) with schools playing a key role. Whilst the message of the activists is framed clearly within a commitment to universal rights to a positive future, like many adult-led groups, it has also been criticised for being a ‘white green movement’ (McKnight, 2020). For this reason, teachers might want to move beyond the iconic role model of Greta, and to incorporate greater diversity in their treatment of the issue. And this is where Mya-Rose Craig’s new book comes into its own. She has collated 30 mini-biographies of indigenous people and people of colour who each provide inspirational stories of young people acting to protect the planet. Each activist gets just a page, which makes this a remarkably quick read. It also means, as one flips through the pages, that one builds a cumulative picture of a movement of people, each bringing their own cultural identities, passions and strengths to the movement. Whilst I was often left wanting to know more about each person, I was also reassured by the end that the collection overall provides a great breadth of examples. We have young men and women, living and working in the global North and South, doing work on individual projects or within huge movements. Some of them are moved by the global scale of the crisis, but others are moved by the very local manifestations of the climate catastrophe, for example Litokne Kabua from the Marshall Islands was moved by the bleaching of the coral reefs, and David Esteban from Colombia was displaced by a drinks corporation draining his local river. But even where these activists start with a deeply personal concern they all connect with others through their activism, whether that’s through becoming a journalist to amplify indigenous voices (Erisvan Bone de Sousa Silva from Brazil established Midia Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
India), establishing local branches of Extension Rebellion (Naila Sebbahi in Belgium), or joining the UN Secretary General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change (Archana Soreng from the Kharia tribe in India). Not only does this little book illustrate the diversity of this global movement of young activists, and thereby offer us some more role models, it also builds up a picture of a diverse and vibrant global movement undertaking a huge array of activities at local, national, regional and global levels. This is a great resource for case studies of people, places, movements and organisations. But more than that it fuels hope – something we all need as we think about developing teaching approaches that match the bewildering scale of the challenges facing us. z References McKnight, H. (2020), ‘The Oceans are Rising and So Are We’: Exploring Utopian Discourses in the School Strike For Climate Movement, Brief Encounters, 4 (1), 48–63. Wahlström, M., Kocyba, P., De Vydt, M. and de Moor, J. (eds) (2019), Protest for a future: Composition, mobilization and motives of the participants in Fridays For Future climate protests on 15 March, 2019 in 13 European cities, https://cutt.ly/gWYQ404 Teaching Citizenship
60 | Review
Anna Liddle, Associate Lecturer, University of York and Research Fellow at University of Leeds
Educating for Peace and Human Rights: An Introduction by Maria Hantzopoulos and Monisha Bajaj ISBN: 9781474233712 By Anna Liddle
H
antzopoulos and Bajaj’s new book ‘Educating for Peace and Human Rights’ launches a series on the theme to be published by Bloomsbury and sets out a foundation of the fields and how they are interrelated. First of all, it is important to note the wording of the title. This is a book about education for peace and human rights, rather than just about, and focusses on the transformative potential of the approaches. Throughout the book, the metaphor of a tree is used to explore the necessity and possibilities of peace and human rights education. At the beginning, the reader is introduced to the concept of a problem tree. The example provided was created by young researchers regarding the New York school system: the roots of the tree outlining issues, such as disempowerment; the trunk highlighting what feeds the symptoms, such as the humiliation of young people; the branches being more specific, such as security and control; and the leaves as examples, such as access to toilets. Hantzopoulos and Bajaj then flip this tree to create a ‘possibility tree’ to envisage a culture of peace and human rights. Here the roots include concepts such as equity and planetary stewardship, the trunk features social inclusion and education, and the branches contain examples such as sustainable infrastructure and education reform. educators. For one, the trees of problem and possibility The main part of the book provides a foundation to the can be used in lessons to help understanding in the fields of both peace and human rights roots of societal problems but also as a education and gives rich examples of way to look ahead and find solutions. both in practice. Later in the book, the Additionally, when wider community This is a book value of bringing the two fields together issues are discussed in the book, I about education for is convincingly argued, and a third tree is suggest that this can also be applied to peace and human introduced: a banyan tree with its roots the classroom where issues of power and rights, rather than combined. The authors add social justice agency always feature. education to the other two, to create a This book has the rare quality of being just about, and strong trunk of ‘liberatory education’. They accessible and applicable to academics, focusses on the suggest that dignity and agency ‘form students, teachers and other practitioners transformative part of the same soil which nourishes the alike. A particularly welcome feature is the potential of the related fields’ (p. 96). annotated bibliography at the end which approaches. Although this book does not offer gives the reader an overview of related step-by-step instructions on how to be literature in the field to guide future reading. a peace or human rights educator in I highly recommend this book to teachers the UK classroom or how to insert these topics into the who want to further understand their role as an educator for curriculum, it has much relevance to us as citizenship peace education within citizenship education. z
Teaching Citizenship
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Hans Svennevig, Subject Leader PGCE Citizenship, ACT Council Member & Trustee, Co-Editor Teaching Citizenship
Review | 61
Children’s Rights Education in Diverse Classrooms: Pedagogy, Principles and Practice by Lee Jerome and Hugh Starkey ISBN-13: 9781913520205 By Hans Svennevig
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would like to declare my connections here to the authors. I have worked with and learned from Dr. Lee Jerome and Professor Hugh Starkey for a number of years, hence when I write this review you may feel that I have a conflict of interest, especially when I say that this book is a masterpiece in bringing together a wide range of sources and literature around Children’s Rights Education. Still I urge you to read it if you can. I had the pleasure of reading this before it was published and so reading it again for this review enabled me to better connect it to our PGCE Citizenship student teachers at the Institute of Education as it is essential on their reading list. My biggest criticism I have of the book is not the content but that it is very expensive to purchase. I would wish that it was more accessible to audiences that do not have academic access as it would really help to enrich educators’ appreciation and delivery of Children’s Rights in the diverse classrooms the authors write about. This book very much explores the literature and experience of educators in the context of Children’s Rights. It is an accessible read for teachers and not just academics, drawing the reader in from the beginning. I love how it starts off with Grange Hill the children’s TV series to frame the book as professional development for educators in order to see ‘children as citizens’ (pg. 3). The book then introduces the reader to the development and history of human rights education and the case for human rights for children and the education of these rights. The sequence of the book is logical, and adds to its readability. There are numerous examples of further reading and educational organisations that have examples of how to develop CRE in the classroom like those from UNICEF, the book gives clear guides for how schools, and places of learning including initial teacher education can develop and improve their CRE. Most of all it does what it aims to do – and that is to have a comprehensive textbook about the topic, something that prior to it has been missing from shelves. I particularly liked that the book dealt with complicated themes in our current world challenging ‘pitfalls’ (page 157) that can occur when teaching about CRE for example failing to think about the local and only focussing on Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
the international or when children are not educated to understand the impact that they have on structures of inequality placed on other children or perpetuating the fallacy that rights come only when responsibilities are met, something I spend enormous amounts of time trying to counteract. The book also demonstrates the importance of remembering respectful but adult led ‘behaviour for learning’ principles (pg. 170) which can often be naïvely misplaced, and considers how structure is vital to learning and impact. The last chapters consider what the book started with, ‘children as citizens’, and thinks about how to have meaningful children’s rights and enable children and young people to effectively deal with climate strikes, mental health experiences, COVID-19, youth campaigning (including for events such as Black Lives Matter) and their lives in digital worlds. This book is very much about making CRE real, and what teachers can do to ensure that children are part of their communities inside and outside of the classroom. z Teaching Citizenship
62 | Spotlight on ACT Memories
Spotlight on ACT Memories Curator: Hans Svennevig, ACT Council Member. Each edition of the journal we ask a council member to share the spotlight and reflect on the experiences that they have had and gain from being part of council. This time in this very special 20th anniversary edition of the journal we wanted to share some memories from a variety of ACT Council members. Following on from Professor Hugh Starkey and Maddie Spink earlier, next edition we will ask council members to share their hopes and dreams for the next 20 years of ACT Council. It was such a privilege to curate these memories and it is always an honour to work with all of ACT Council, Ambassadors and staff, incredibly talented exceptional people who contribute such a huge amount to citizenship education.
Coming out of a brilliant ACT conference in London and literally bumping into Sir Bernard Crick, I was so embarrassed I insisted on carrying his suitcase for him all the way back to St Pancras. Small talk along the journey was a series of questions on how citizenship was going in schools. Sera Shortland ACT Ambassador & Council Member
I often still feel like the nervous newly qualified teacher walking in to an ACT conference circa 2004 and listening to greats like – Liz Moorse, David Kerr, Chris Waller and many others! A few weeks ago while talking to student reps I talked about how citizenship education becomes part of everything you do. One of them asked me – was it even at your wedding? You know something special has happened when you can say yes it was. ACT is like a professional family – and so of course they were invited. Hans Svennevig, ACT Council Member & Co-editor of Teaching Citizenship
In 2011 I took over as editor of ACT’s journal and our first theme was ‘Clicktivism: how digital activism could revolutionise your classroom’. Helen Blachford wrote about the power of using mobile phones in school - controversial and ahead of her time! Lee Jerome, ACT Council Member & Co-editor of Teaching Citizenship
When I first attended an ACT event I realised I had found my people! It was so amazing to be surrounded by people who cared about Citizenship as much as I did and wanted to talk about how the subject could be developed and engaged with teacher development as well not just how to improve exams. Zoe Baker, Head of Education and Professional Development
Teaching Citizenship
www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
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Hans Svennevig, ACT Council Member.
At ACT National Conference in Manchester, I’d just been nominated as a member of Council so feeling pretty pleased with myself until Chris Waller, asked me whether I would deliver a workshop on ‘teaching about migration’ as a speaker had just pulled out with 30 minutes to spare. I nervously agreed... went to the allocated room, made some hurried notes and waited for my audience to arrive. First through the door were Sir Bernard Crick and David Kerr... the rest is a blur. Apparently (according to Bernard anyway) it went well. Karl Sweeney, ACT Council Member, Former Chair
I think my favourite ACT memory will always be our visit to the USA exploring Media Literacy in so many different contexts across three amazing cities; Washington, New York and Boston. It was a brilliant experience to make links across the world and learn from a diverse range of educationalists, I cannot thank ACT enough for this opportunity and how it assisted my teaching and understanding of why young people must learn how to critically question the media effectively.
Our 2018 National conference was to mark 20 years of progress since the Crick Report. We had planned it over months with ACT Council and the London Mayor’s team to be held at City Hall. It was a rare, beautiful sunny July day and England had got through to the quarter finals of the World Cup - this never happens! All that work on the conference, would it be a disaster, would anyone turn up! Of course, the teachers came and it was a fantastic day (with a few gathered around laptops to see England progress to the next stage). Liz Moorse, ACT Chief Executive
Emily Owen, ACT Council Member
I went to my first ACT Conference in 2010 - at the final session I happened to sit next to Lee Jerome who mentioned that there was an opportunity to join ACT Council. I’d felt really welcome at the Conference and I’d found a group of people who felt like me about the importance of Citizenship education! I’ve not looked back since. I have the real pleasure of calling these people my friends and together we continue the fight for high quality citizenship education for all young people. I can honestly say that attending that conference was life changing and I’m grateful for all the adventures ACT has given! Helen Blachford, Chair of ACT Council, ACT Ambassador
I was there when ACT was created. Bernard Crick took everyone by surprise at the end of a Citizenship launch conference that spoke of ACT when he decided that we should nominate the Committee, Chair and Professional Officer at the end of the Conference through volunteers and a show of hands. The thing that has always defined ACT is its collegiality and can-do spirit. It has always been driven by a very committed band of volunteers, a number of whom have supported ACT through its whole journey, adding other talented people along the way, particularly from practising teachers and teacher educators. This has enabled ACT to grow, adapt and survive during tough periods when Citizenship has not been as high on the policy and practice agenda to ensure it remains relevant and up to date. It is great to see ACT in its current Renaissance phase putting down the strong and permanent routes that were envisaged when it was first set up 20 years ago. David Kerr, ACT Council Member & Co-Editor of Teaching Citizenship Journal
If you would like to join ACT, or get involved with writing for the journal, or join our teaching ambassadors to help us develop our next 20 years and beyond, just get in touch. We would love to welcome you! Autumn 2021 | Issue 54
Teaching Citizenship
ACTive Citizenship Award Scheme Get Planning, Take Action and Measure Impact Acknowledge and celebrate the positive difference your pupils are making in their communities through their active citizenship projects. Sign up today and receive a toolkit of resources to support and empower pupils to become changemakers, who lead action on real issues they are concerned about.
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All participating pupils will receive an award.
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teachingcitizenship.org.uk/active-citizenship-award-scheme