Abstract
This chapter addresses questions about young people as citizens, citizenship, Citizenship Education and political education in relation to political participation. It first identifies the various definitions of citizenship and the main theories of citizenship. The chapter goes on to trace the history of lobbying for ‘civics education’, attempts to bring about greater ‘political literacy’ and the promotion of ‘active citizenship’ in British schools, in an effort to create ‘good citizens’ who vote. The chapter then documents the introduction of Citizenship Education by the Labour government in 2002. Last, it identifies and analyses criticisms levelled at Citizenship Education, including the lack of funding and governmental commitment, the normative and prescriptive nature of the school curriculum and the political will to change young people rather than change politics.
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Pickard, S. (2019). Young People, Citizenship and Citizenship Education. In: Politics, Protest and Young People. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57788-7_5
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