The thesis explores the relationship between citizenship education and identity in conflict-affected societies, by comparing the teaching of citizenship across different schools in Northern Ireland and Israel. In both societies, citizenship education addresses issues that are deemed controversial, such as the recent or ongoing conflict, citizenship, racism, and sectarianism. The theoretical framework brings together (neo) Marxist, post-colonialist, and critical pedagogical approaches to citizenship education and identity. Fieldwork was carried out in four different schools (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish-Israeli and Arab-Palestinian), using individual interviews, focus group interviews, observations, and document analysis. The major findings suggest that citizenship education at the policy, school, and classroom level is permeated by an avoidance of controversial issues related to the conflict and identity. In both societies, dominant narratives about the conflict glorify and justify violence, preventing a more critical examination of the conflicts. Additionally, educational policies promote a neoliberal/managerialist culture that censors the critical potential of citizenship education by determining that the priority for schools is academic standards and performativity. This limits teachers' ability to develop students' critical political thinking, to address controversial issues, and to challenge racist and sectarian views. However, the data also point to the employment of transformative forms of citizenship education, which became particularly evident among minorities. The thesis contribution is threefold: first, drawing on a (neo) Marxist and postcolonial theoretical framework facilitates a structural examination of the state of citizenship education through the lens of power relations. Second, the multi-level study shows how processes of avoidance and censoring trickle down from the policy level into schools and into classrooms. Third, since citizenship education is permeated by sidestepping and censoring, it is at risk of reproducing the conflict, structural sectarianism and racism, and socio-economic inequalities. The thesis concludes with the assertion that there is a need to provide teachers and schools with political and institutional support through offering training programmes; guidance and more time during the citizenship lesson to teach about controversial issues related to the conflict and identity. It also points at the need to further research pedagogies of critical teachers, who are able to promote transformative citizenship even in an uncongenial political environment that subtly promotes avoidance and censoring.

In this qualitative study, I examine two elementary-intermediate teachers’ understandings and pedagogical practices of global citizenship education in the Ontario and British Columbia classroom contexts. Key findings reveal contrasting portrayals of global citizenship education that foreground particular themes and practices found in the literature and curriculum guidelines. One teachers’ understandings and goals highlight an environmental global justice angle whereas the other teacher focuses on critical thinking. Three broad themes appeared to underpin their pedagogical practices – child-centred learning, critical thinking, and authentic performance tasks – although each theme is portrayed in distinctive ways. Both teachers identified factors such as the departmental and school culture, a collaborative learning community, and suitable resources as either encouraging or hindering their ability to transform their preferred learning goals into practice. These findings reveal a level of ambiguity and uncertainty regarding the teacher participants’ understandings and practice, which is complicated by varying levels of support.

This thesis explores the extent to which English curriculum, teachers’ literary choices, and a high demographic of Muslim students, influence the way English teachers educate for citizenship, in public and Islamic schools in Ontario. The three aspects this thesis examines are the following: how English teachers conceptualize citizenship education using informed, purposeful, and active citizenship learning expectations; in what ways their practice and literary choices enhance dimensions of citizenship education; and to what extent the English citizenship educator provides an inclusive space for Muslim perspectives. While the study shows that English teachers were successful at infusing purposeful citizenship, the study suggests that a more explicit link is needed in curriculum and in teacher practice, to inculcate informed and active citizenship outcomes in English. This study also implies, that teachers’ specific literary choices coupled with a citizenship education pedagogy, provides a more inclusive space for Muslim hybrid identities in English.

In this qualitative study, I examine two elementary-intermediate teachers’ understandings and pedagogical practices of global citizenship education in the Ontario and British Columbia classroom contexts. Key findings reveal contrasting portrayals of global citizenship education that foreground particular themes and practices found in the literature and curriculum guidelines. One teachers’ understandings and goals highlight an environmental global justice angle whereas the other teacher focuses on critical thinking. Three broad themes appeared to underpin their pedagogical practices – child-centred learning, critical thinking, and authentic performance tasks – although each theme is portrayed in distinctive ways. Both teachers identified factors such as the departmental and school culture, a collaborative learning community, and suitable resources as either encouraging or hindering their ability to transform their preferred learning goals into practice. These findings reveal a level of ambiguity and uncertainty regarding the teacher participants’ understandings and practice, which is complicated by varying levels of support.

This thesis explores the extent to which English curriculum, teachers’ literary choices, and a high demographic of Muslim students, influence the way English teachers educate for citizenship, in public and Islamic schools in Ontario. The three aspects this thesis examines are the following: how English teachers conceptualize citizenship education using informed, purposeful, and active citizenship learning expectations; in what ways their practice and literary choices enhance dimensions of citizenship education; and to what extent the English citizenship educator provides an inclusive space for Muslim perspectives. While the study shows that English teachers were successful at infusing purposeful citizenship, the study suggests that a more explicit link is needed in curriculum and in teacher practice, to inculcate informed and active citizenship outcomes in English. This study also implies, that teachers’ specific literary choices coupled with a citizenship education pedagogy, provides a more inclusive space for Muslim hybrid identities in English.

Syftet med uppsatsen har varit att se vilka värderingar elever har efter genomförd religionskurs och hur dessa stämmer överrens med lärarnas ambitioner. Genom en intervjustudie av elever och lärare har jag fått fram en bild av både värderingarna och ambitionerna. Dessa diskuteras mot bakgrund av läroplanen och kursplanen samt det medborgerliga utbildningsperspektivet, citizenship education. För att förstå elevernas värderingar bättre har jag använt mig av Bourdieus sociologiska teorier, vilket gett mig en bild av att skolan inte kan ta på sig hela ansvaret när det gäller överförandet av samhällets värden.

The analysis of the literature and results of research allow to formulate the following conclusions: the national politics of Lithuania helps to keep to national minorities identity, to be integrated into economic and cultural life of the country. There is a line of the documents regulating the rights of national minorities. Schools of national minorities give enough attention to civic education. It is proved with the analysis of documents of education and the analysis of the contents of education. National minorities of Lithuania have favorable conditions not only for keeping identity, integration into cultural and economic life of the country, but also for civil education of youth. The most effective form of citizenship education is the lesson “Me and the World” (it 59 % of pupils and 56 % of teachers have specified). 49 % of pupils consider that to be the good citizen to them helps conversations with the teacher. During research of understanding by pupils of concept about “the good citizen” we have found out, that the good citizen is that men, who will always protect the country (so 32 % think). 66 % of pupils think, that become the good citizen is important not because of opinion of other people, and for the sake of itself. It specifies strong motivation of pupils to be active citizens in future. It has been found out, that 68 % of teachers have opinion what to teach civic education important from 1 class because all pupils of initial classes should be interested in the... [to full text]

This dissertation examines the role of education in the formation of the Singapore developmental state, through a historical study of education for citizenship in Singapore (1955-2004), in which I explore the interconnections between changes in history, civics and social studies curricula, and the politics of nation-building. Building on existing scholarship on education and state formation, the dissertation goes beyond the conventional notion of seeing education as providing the skilled workforce for the economy, to mapping out cultural and ideological dimensions of the role of education in the developmental state. The story of state formation through citizenship education in Singapore is essentially the history of how Singapore’s developmental state managed crises (imagined, real or engineered), and how changes in history, civics and social studies curricula, served to legitimize the state, through educating and moulding the desired “good citizen” in the interest of nation building. Underpinning these changes has been the state’s use of cultural constructs such as Confucianism and Asian values to shore up its legitimacy. State formation in Singapore has been very successful, as evidenced by its economic prosperity and education has played a key role in this success. However, the “economic growth at all costs” ethos comes, arguably, at a price – the potential loss of zeitgeist, or the loss of the “World-Soul”. Nation building in the sense of fostering a sense of rootedness and belonging to the country in its citizenry – the “World-Soul” – had to be relegated to the backburner in the relentless pursuit of economic development, in order to sustain and legitimize the developmental state. By harnessing the educational sphere for its economic growth objectives through the discourse of crisis, the developmental state gained political legitimacy in the eyes of a citizenry increasingly accustomed to educational mobility and material wealth, even if at the expense of political freedoms.

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This thesis examines whether the introduction of citizenship education in New Zealand would increase the levels of active citizenship of young migrant New Zealanders, using voter turnout as a measure. This research draws attention to an overlooked part of New Zealand political science research by studying young migrant New Zealanders. The theories and topics covered in this research include the notion of citizenship, education, political participation, social capital and multiculturalism. Both surveys and interviews are used to gauge young New Zealanders’ political attitudes and opinions, and their levels of political knowledge, interest, sophistication and socialisation are examined. The findings of this research suggest that citizenship education would not only be beneficial to young migrant New Zealanders but that citizenship education would benefit all young New Zealanders. It is argued that an increase in all young New Zealanders’ levels of political knowledge and interest are likely to have a positive effect on voter turnout levels. It is also argued that the current education curriculum does not explicitly encourage such learning. Using these findings in conjunction with theory, it is recommended that citizenship education is implemented into the New Zealand secondary school curriculum to ensure that New Zealand’s democracy is in good health for the current and future generations.