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Citizenship Education and Socioscientific Issues: Implicit Concept of Citizenship in the Curriculum, Views of French Middle School Teachers

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Abstract

The educative goal of citizenship education through science education converges to the declared purpose of the SSI research movement. Socioscientific issues formulated in science education research covering topics as biotechnology, environmental issues, sustainable development, energy choices, have been introduced in French Middle Schools. But citizenship is often not clarified and can be multiple. After having clarified who is the citizen targeted by SSI research movement, the concept of citizen in the French curriculum needs to be clarify. What do these citizens have in common with the citizen that a sociology literature review let see oscillating between obedience and critical thinking has also been investigated. The paper also looks at the teachers’ views and their contribution to citizenship education through socioscientific topics described in the national curriculum. From the analysis, different teachers’ views of citizenship education have been highlighted: a normative citizenship education in connection with civility and rules and an emancipatory citizenship education to develop pupils’ skills such as searching and evaluating information, argumentation and critical thinking in order to enable pupils to build their own argued opinion and to participate to public debates. This last emancipatory view of citizenship education is congruent with the aim of social empowerment within the SSI research movement.

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Notes

  1. Bulletin Officiel, hors série no 5 du 25 août 2005.

  2. In France, physics and chemistry form only one subject matter.

  3. In France, History, Geography and CE form only one subject matter.

  4. What is citizenship? (our translation).

  5. International Journal of Science Education, Research in Science Education, Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, Science Education, Studies in Science Education.

  6. European Science Education Research Association and National Association for Research in Science Teaching.

  7. Hogan (2002), Patronis, Potari and Spiliotopoulou (1999), Jiménez-Aleixandre and Pereiro-Muñoz (2002), Jiménez-Aleixandre (2006).

  8. Bader (2003), Driver et al. (1996), Grace (2009), Kolstø (2000, 2001) and Simonneaux (2003).

  9. Competence 6 du socle commun des connaissances et des competences, Decret du 11 juillet 2006.

  10. Bulletin Officiel, hors série no 5 du 25 août 2005.

  11. Bulletin Officiel special no 6 du 28 août 2008.

  12. In France there is only one kind of middle school and teachers.

  13. IDD are pluri-disciplinary project for grade 7and 8 (2 h per week).

  14. As society.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. STEF, ENS Cachan, Universud Paris, Cachan, France

    Catherine Barrue & Virginie Albe

Authors
  1. Catherine Barrue
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  2. Virginie Albe
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Catherine Barrue.

Appendices

Appendix 1

See Tables 2, 3 and 4.

Table 2 Keywords and associated items of the official text defining the social and civic skills
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Table 3 Keywords and associated items of official text defining the “convergences themes”
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Table 4 Keywords and associated items of official text defining the academic subjects of the “wider scientific field”
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Appendix 2

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Barrue, C., Albe, V. Citizenship Education and Socioscientific Issues: Implicit Concept of Citizenship in the Curriculum, Views of French Middle School Teachers. Sci & Educ 22, 1089–1114 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-012-9571-4

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