In 2002 the delivery of Citizenship Education, at Key Stages Three and Four, became compulsory in English Schools. The National Curriculum Order (QCA, 1999), which defined the nature of this new subject, drew heavily on the report by the Advisory Group on Education for Citizenship and the Teaching of Democracy (The Crick Report) (QCA, 1998). This thesis examines Crick’s model of citizenship education and the way that it is perceived by citizenship coordinators, those teachers most directly responsible for its delivery. The research methodology involved two major components; a literature based analysis of Crick’s model and semi structured interviews with ten citizenship coordinators. My findings relate to four key research questions. What underlying principles and philosophies exist regarding the purpose of citizenship education in a Liberal Democracy? Which principles and philosophies did the Crick Report adopt and how are these reflected in the National Curriculum subject of ‘Citizenship Education’? What do citizenship coordinators perceive as the purpose of Citizenship Education, and to what extent is their approach influenced by theory and policy issues? And finally, Could a greater understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of Citizenship Education among citizenship coordinators, improve its provision? With regard to the first two questions I argue that Crick established a sensible compromise position between competing conservative and progressive interpretations of the subject’s purpose. With regard to the third, the interviews with citizenship coordinators indicate that whilst all showed progressive intentions for the subject the majority (80%) showed a lack of consistency in their approach, often demonstrating a much more conservative approach than they intended. I suggest that the reason for this is a combination of two factors; a lack of conceptual understanding and the impact of various policy pressures. Finally, addressing the fourth question, I argue that a clear understanding of the subject’s philosophical underpinnings could have a positive impact on the problem, and make recommendations about how this may be achieve through adjustments to both government policy and schools’ training programmes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:646783 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | O'Sullivan, William F. |
| Contributors | Fryman, Jenny ; Scott-baumann, Alison |
| Publisher | University of Gloucestershire |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://eprints.glos.ac.uk/2130/ |
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