September 2008
Welcome to Citizenship Teacher and our first newsletter. This newsletter is for anyone who is involved and interested in Citizenship teaching. The aim is to keep you informed and to give you some practical pointers that will be of real value to you in the classroom. Each issue will have a theme. We're starting - of course - with the new curriculum.
In this edition:
This term sees the introduction of the first revision of the Citizenship curriculum. Like much of the rest of the curriculum, it has been reviewed with the help of considerable input from the Citizenship community. Teachers, advisers and representatives of ACT have all been involved.
Every subject's programme of study has an importance statement. It is easy to skate over it because we all tend to look at what we need to do. However, it is well worth spending a few moments reading this section because it sums up clearly what we are all trying to achieve.
Here is a taste.
'Education for citizenship equips young people with the knowledge, skills and understanding to play an effective role in public life. Citizenship encourages them to take an interest in topical and controversial issues and to engage in discussion and debate. Students learn about their rights, responsibilities, duties and freedoms, and about laws, justice and democracy. They learn to take part in decision-making and different forms of action. They play an active role in the life of their schools, neighbourhoods, communities and wider society as active and global citizens.'
The programme of study is now divided into four categories:
These should of course be integrated so students are learning the concepts and processes in the context of the range and content. The section on curriculum opportunities explores opportunities for citizenship across other subjects and in broader school experiences. You will find that all the lessons on Citizenship Teacher have been carefully tagged to show how they match the new programme of study.
The original programme was deliberately written with a light touch to give teachers freedom but, while the intention was good, in practice many people found it difficult to interpret. The new programme still offers much freedom but gives a much clearer direction about the expectations.
Much of the work everyone has been doing fits well into the new programme but there are some additions. One of the key ones is to look at other forms of government and to understand that many people fought for these rights. This is helpful because it helps students to understand the benefits of democratic government, a concept which many just take for granted. Helping young people to realise that they are privileged to have a vote and are able to take part in democratic decision making is clearly a positive move.
Jenny Wales is Citizenship Teacher's editor. She is Chair of Examiners for Edexcel at GCSE and an expert on the way in which active citizenship can best be delivered in classrooms.
How would you respond if a group of students wanted to represent the BNP in a mock election? Or what would you do if a student insists homosexuality is wrong, because their religious book says so?
Controversy is ever-present in public and political life, and so it should be ever-present in our Citizenship teaching. In reality, it rarely is. Partly because the types of controversies described above are not in fact very common in school, and partly because many teachers are not comfortable and confident with controversy.
Last year the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority invited schools to join a Controversial Issues and Values Network. Participating schools were asked to choose a controversial issue that was authentic and actionable; something that genuinely affected the daily life of their school, and something they could take action on. The controversies they chose ranged from racism in the community to concerns about the curriculum.
What the Network found was that schools are in fact relatively uncontroversial places. Values and norms are generally clear and shared, unlike in the world beyond the school gates. Nevertheless, one issue that consistently proved to be controversial was the role of student voice. In some of the Network schools, the focus for the controversy turned out not to be the issue itself, but the involvement of students in leading the response to that issue.
Where controversial issues are discussed in classrooms, they are usually distant issues that do not have a direct bearing on the life of students or the school, for example euthanasia, the monarchy or nuclear power. This is often a good place to start. Discussing a relatively impersonal controversy means there is less at stake. It allows students a safe space to build their thinking and communication skills.
However education, and specifically Citizenship education, is inspired by addressing real issues, with real audiences and real outcomes. So if we want students to be equipped to tackle authentic controversies outside school, they need to begin doing so inside school. They (and we as teachers) need to go beyond the comfort zone.
But before you do this, ask yourself three questions:
Pete Pattison is the National Subject Lead for the New Citizenship Curriculum, ACT
Nationwide, teachers have cast aside suitcases and dusted down briefcases. One cannot help but marvel that it is that time of year again. The city break is forgotten at wet break. The InterRail pass makes way for the out-of-uniform pass. The snorkel-clad figures are replaced by attendance figures.
September is crucially important to Heads of Department. Buzzwords abound. Timetable concerns, seating plans and stationery allocation all really matter. What Heads of Department must steer clear of this September however is being overwhelmed within administrative quicksand. Rather, they should aim for the stars. At what other time of year are pupils and colleagues so mentally alert?
With aiming for the stars in mind, let us embrace the new secondary curriculum with gusto! Its (overdue) emphasis on a vastly improved Citizenship syllabus is a gift. All teachers now have heightened responsibilities within this subject area and so teaching styles will be revolutionised across the UK!
Even the most fleeting perusal of the QCA website leaves us with no doubt - Citizenship is now officially fun, fast-moving, challenging and here to stay! Gone is the ambiguity. The new level descriptors are learner-friendly and (pause for sigh of relief) teacher-friendly. Citizenship's current emergence as a 'real subject' paves the way for a generation of young adults who will laugh in the face of apathy; who will empathise, politicise and rationalise.
Whilst undoubtedly a positive phenomenon, Citizenship's enhanced status is niggling away at thousands of excellent teachers across the country. Many questions arise. Who will write the resources? Will gifted and talented youngsters be stretched? How can time be found to gain specialist knowledge? Will the lessons be up-to-date?
Fortunately, nagging doubts such as these can disappear as quickly as that hard-earned tan! The user-friendly website www.citizenshipteacher.co.uk offers teachers newsletters, whizzy downloads, links to other sites and much much more. Non-specialist and specialist teachers alike will love it because it provides professionals with what they actually want - fantastic resources and thorough lesson plans! The resources are not only regularly updated; they are innovative, powerful and available for different age groups. Furthermore, they are devised by specialist Citizenship teachers who live and breathe the subject.
For September, resources from the website that come highly recommended are [Systems of government] What influences us? [Freedom of speech] Freedom of speech and [The media and public opinion] Reporters' ethics. All of these lessons simultaneously trigger fascinating discussions whilst providing ice-breaking activities for youngsters who did not work together last year. What makes these lessons particularly appealing therefore is their potential application within tutor time. In other words, children can receive bona-fide Citizenship education without the need for discrete lessons and they can get to know their peers better. 'Multiple birds' and 'stone' come to mind!
The old joke went that two words summarise what makes teaching the best job in the world (July and August). As far as the new Citizenship secondary curriculum is concerned, two rather different words sum up what makes school the best place in the world to be. Sharing resources.
Victoria Marston teaches at Humphrey Perkins High School, Loughborough, and is a Citizenship Teacher contributor
ACT was founded in 2002 when Citizenship became statutory in secondary schools in England. We exist to further the aims of Citizenship teaching and learning, championing Citizenship education to all young people. We connect teachers to regional and national networks, offering training, support and advice. Citizenship subject leaders, teachers and co ordinators in nursery schools, primary schools and of course secondary schools can all benefit from ACT membership, as can those involved with Citizenship in HE institutions, LA education offices, youth workers, head teachers, and public services like the police or local government. As such, ACT champions the teaching of Citizenship to all young people.
We offer direct support to classroom practitioners. We connect our members to local and national networks. We also work in co-operation with partners in the educational community, including DCSF and QCA, to ensure practitioners voice is heard in policy making. ACT members are often at the core of working groups and seminars held by such authorities when examining the curriculum. ACT is also involved in projects to develop new teaching resources and CPD materials. We promote the exchange of good practice, skills and resources, enabling our members to become more informed, knowledgeable and confident citizenship teachers. We seek to further citizenship education by promoting networking, liaising with LA advisers for citizenship and rigorously pursue the interests of the subject with policy and decision makers in education.
With the changes in the curriculum from September 2008, the introduction of the 8 level scale for assessment, the new A Level in Citizenship Studies from September 2008 and the full GCSE in Citizenship Studies from September 2009, the subject is clearly going through a step change. Allied to this there are the implications for Citizenship from legislation and police including the Duty to Promote community Cohesion, the Children's Plan and the five outcomes of ECM that put Citizenship in a class of its own; it is a subject in its a own right but also more than a subject. It challenges schools to consider moving towards a concept of citizenship-richness where all members of the community - within and outside the school - are engaged and active participants.
ACT membership guarantees involvement in the debate about the impact of changes in the curriculum and opportunity to get support to prepare the school, students, teachers and the community to exploit the opportunities of citizenship education and meet its challenges.