This thesis focuses on how social studies textbooks, authorized for use in Canadian classrooms, portray our changing world. Preparing young people for citizenship in a world that is becoming increasingly interdependent requires presenting them with a way of thinking about the world that allows for consideration of alternative perspectives. The textbook, as a major vehicle for transmitting knowledge, can play an important role in that process. Although the volume of textual accounts of world interdependence is expanding, it is contended that the themes and images presented to students tend to reinforce unilateral rather than multilateral interpretations of reality. A framework of analysis is developed to determine if the textbooks employ either a multilateral thematic or unilateral thematic approach to the study of world interdependence. A multilateral approach encourages the exploration of different points of view on important world issues whereas a unilateral approach tends to focus on a particular interpretation of the same issues or events. This framework employs four rubrics suited to the analysis of the transmission of knowledge, description, explanation, prediction and prescription, to guide a series of analytical questions designed to determine if textbooks present unilateral or multilateral themes. Six significant world issue areas are evaluated in fourteen social studies textbooks. The issue areas profiled are: food supply issues, population issues, environmental issues, peace and security issues, human rights issues and economic Issues. The findings of this study indicate that the four dimensions of the framework are not adequately addressed in the selected textbooks. Twenty-two of the twenty-eight profiles studied tend to support a unilateral thematic rather than a multilateral thematic portrayal of how the world works. Preparing students for citizenship in a global age requires providing them with access to a body of knowledge that helps them to acquire a more integrated understanding of their world in order to make informed decisions and judgements about pressing global concerns. That goal is impeded when there is a propensity for textbooks to provide a particular viewpoint rather than a variety of viewpoints on important world Issues. Although this study is exploratory in nature, its findings present considerations for social studies educators when choosing to adopt particular textual materials for instructional purposes. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

The constitutional division of powers in Canada assigns no authority to the federal state in the area of education. In spite of this, the Canadian state has used its constitutional authority to act in the national interest to justify substantial activity in public education at all levels. One area of particular interest to the state is the education of Canadian citizens. This thesis examines state policy in citizenship education between 1947 and 1982. It focuses on the Department of the Secretary of State, particularly the Canadian Citizenship Branch, and addresses three questions: 1) What conception of citizenship formed the basis for state policy in citizenship education? 2) How did the state formulate citizenship education policy? and 3) What means did the federal state use to implement citizenship education policy given that education is an area of provincial jurisdiction? Throughout this period the state was preoccupied with questions of national unity and therefore the focus of its policy in citizenship education was the construction and propagation of a national ideal in which all Canadians could find their identity as citizens. The policy was consistent with an elitist conception of citizenship in that it excluded most Canadians from the process of constructing the national identity and relegated citizen participation to largely apolitical voluntary activities. Although the Department of the Secretary of State was rhetorically committed to scientific policy making, the process was driven not by social science research but by attempts to secure and extend bureaucratic territory in relation to both other government departments and voluntary organizations working in the citizenship sector. In the complex interplay among the interested parties the Department was sometimes a leader and sometimes a follower in the policy making process. State citizenship education policy was implemented through official agreements with the provinces as well as more direct means which bypassed provincial authorities. Bilingualism in Education programs are the best example of the former, while training programs for teachers, the production and dissemination of materials, and attempts to use voluntary organizations as surrogates for the state are examples of the latter. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The purpose of this study is to determine whether students in Texas high schools are receiving adequate citizenship education, to see what factors are responsible for the present situation, and finally to search for possible improvements in civic education and possible solutions for specific problems.

After many years of teaching experience in a school where good citizenship prevailed among the students, it has been rather surprising recently to find that standards of conduct formerly observed are being disregarded. It has been noted that this is a rather general situation throughout the city and in other localities and not existing in just one school. The object of this study was to seek some of the causes back of the records of poor citizenship among pupils and make some definite plans for improvement. / Typescript. / "August, 1949." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts under Plan II." / Advisor: W. Edwards, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-43).

The purpose of this study is to make an investigation of the practices of a selected number of schools in teaching citizenship to determine if these schools are following democratic procedures in their methods of teaching. The evaluation is based upon criteria derived from a study of recent literature in the field of education.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The aim of this study was to explore how the newly acquired democratic dispensation in South Africa has affected the lives of secondary school learners. A literature review was undertaken on democracy, democratic citizenship and democratic government. An empirical investigation using a qualitative phenomenological approach examined the situation of secondary school learners using the various agencies of citizenship, namely the family, peer groups, the school and the community. Data was gathered by focus group interviews. It emerged from the examination of the collected data that democratic citizenship has improved the situation of secondary school learners regarding their interpersonal relationships with their families, peer groups, school-mates and other members of the community at large. However, the findings indicated that the democratic dispensation has not yet had a significant impact on the situation of secondary school learners at school and in their communities. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Philosophy of Education)

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Critical thinking and critical citizenship are generally considered to be desirable outcomes of the educational process as they enable students to make thoughtful choices. Citizenship Education does not currently form a separate part of the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), but is rather one of the main objectives and principles that shape the whole curriculum. In this research study, students took part in a project where the aim was to promote critical thinking and critical citizenship through the investigation of contemporary South African artworks. The purpose of the research was to firstly establish how students’ participation in the project affected their ability to think critically about Post-1994 South African art and the issues it conveys. Secondly the aim was to establish how effective the teaching strategies employed were in facilitating critical thinking and critical citizenship. An interpretative approach was followed in this case study. The nature of this research is predominantly qualitative, but is used in conjunction with quantitative methods to measure the increase of critical thinking applied. During the base-line assessment, students’ initial critical thinking skills were measured through the analysis of previously unseen images. Their ability to critically analyse artworks was assessed by utilising the Artful Citizenship Visual/Critical Literacy Scoring Rubric compiled by Rawlinson et al (2007). In the post-project assessment, the same visual examples and rubric were used, to detect possible changes in the students’ ability to apply critical thinking. Main themes and sub-themes were identified during the project. The main themes were knowledge, power and identity. The subthemes were meaningful knowledge, citing of evidence, experience, multiple opinions, exclusion of voices, power versus rights, binary oppositions and self in relation to other. With these themes, I aimed to unpack and explain the differences that occurred in the results from the pre- and post-project assessment. The findings of the post-project assessment showed a 39% improvement of critical thinking applied subsequent to the project. The teaching strategies followed during this project proved to be effective as the ability of the students to think critically was positively affected. The research indicated that activities which exposed students to multiple perspectives were conducive to the development of critical thinking. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kritiese denke en kritiese burgerskap word beskou as gunstige uitkomste van die opvoedingsproses omrede dit studente toerus om deurdagte besluite te neem. Burgerskapopvoeding vorm nie deel van die Nasionale Kurrikulum Verklaring (NKV) nie, maar is eerder een van die hoofdoelwitte en beginsels wat die hele kurrikulum uitmaak. In hierdie navorsingstudie het studente deelgeneem aan ‘n projek wat kontemporêre Suid-Afrikaanse kunswerke ondersoek. Die projek het beoog om daardeur kritiese denke en kritiese burgerskap aan te moedig. Die doel van hierdie navorsing was eerstens om te wys hoe studente se deelname in hierdie projek hulle vaardigheid beïnvloed om krities te dink oor Post-1994 Suid-Afrikaanse kunswerke, asook die kwessies wat dit kommunikeer. Dit was verder die doelwit om te wys hoe effektief die geïmplimenteerde onderrigstrategiӫe was in die fasilitering van kritiese denke en kritiese burgerskap. ‘n Interpreterende benadering is gevolg in hierdie gevallestudie. Die navorsing is oorwegend kwalitatief, maar word in kombinasie met kwantitatiewe metodes gebruik om die verbetering in aanwending van kritiese denke te bepaal. Gedurende die grondlynassessering is die studente se aanvanklike kritiese denkvaardighede bevestig deur die analise van onbekende kunswerke. Hulle vaardigheid om kunswerke krities te analiseer is gemeet deur middel van die Vaardige Burgerskap Visuele / Kritiese Geletterdheid-Telling-Rubriek saamgestel deur Rawlinson et al (2007). Dieselfde visuele voorbeelde en rubriek was gebruik in ‘n na-projekassessering om moontlike veranderinge in die studente se kritiese denke te bespeur. Hooftemas en subtemas was geïdentifiseer gedurende die projek. Die hooftemas is kennis, mag, en identiteit. Die subtemas is betekenisvolle kennis, ervaring, verwysing na bewyse, meervuldige opinies, uitsluiting van stemme, mag teenoor regte, binêre opposisies en die self in verhouding tot ander. Met hierdie temas het ek gepoog om die verskil in die resultate tussen die grondlyn- en na-projekassessering te verstaan en te verduidelik. Die bevindinge toon ‘n 39% verbetering in die aanwending van kritiese denke na afloop van die projek. Die onderrigstrategiӫe wat aangewend is in hierdie projek was effektief omrede die vaardigheid van die studente om krities te dink positief beïnvloed was. Die navorsing het aangedui dat aktiwiteite wat die studente blootstel aan meervuldige perspektiewe, bydra tot die ontwikkeling van kritiese denke.

This study was conducted to measure the effects of classroom instruction entitled Citizenship curriculum Training on high school discipline. Data for this study were collected and analyzed for fifty-eight ninth-grade students who had been referred to the principal's office three or more times the semester prior to the experimental treatment. An experimental group of twenty-nine students received citizenship curriculum instruction. The control group of twenty-nine students received only the school's traditional curriculum during second period class. Two teachers presented the citizenship curriculum training which included instructional units on beliefs, attitudes, emotions, anger, decision-making, communications, confrontation, positive attention, stress, peer pressure, authority figures, getting along in school, and the society game. Data were collected relative to grade-point average, absences, discipline referrals, and attitude toward high school as measured by the Remitters High School Attitude Scale. T-tests for correlated samples and analysis of covariance examined the effects of the Citizenship Curriculum Training on the four variables measured. The .05 level of significance was used to test the four hypotheses. The results of the study indicate that Citizenship Curriculum Training does not improve the students' gradepoint averages, absentee rate, lower the number of discipline referrals, and does not improve students' attitude as measured by the Remitters High School Attitude Scale. It is recommended that similar studies be conducted to address the problems of grade-point average, number of discipline referrals to the office, high absentee rate, and attitudes toward high school by teaching discipline students in small classes with a curriculum that aims at improving these specific problems. Future studies should collect the posttest data the first grading period following the experimental treatment to test for immediate results.

Enduring misconceptions exist regarding the value of learning history. Many history teachers are engaged in lecture- and recitation-based forms of instruction that seem to be at odds with the goal of helping students to develop skills and dispositions important for democratic citizenship. This study asked whether history teachers’ most ubiquitous core teaching practice, the explanation of historical content, had the potential to support civic ends. The study analyzed transcriptions of 43 classroom observations and interviews of ten U.S. history teachers. Findings pointed to five forms of historical explanation that have the potential to make explanation meaningful for preparing students for democratic citizenship. Findings also revealed factors that influenced teachers to make decisions to explain historical content in particular ways. The study has implications for improving teacher education and professional development with the goal of helping history teachers to make explanation meaningful and contributory toward their students’ preparation for democratic citizenship.