TY - JOUR
T1 - Constructing the postnational citizen?: Civics and citizenship education in the Australian National Curriculum
AU - Fozdar, Farida
AU - Martin, Catherine
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Recent critiques of citizenship education have identified the need for curricula that cover not only civil, political, social and cultural aspects of political belonging and responsibility, but that orient students to the realities of global engagement and responsibility. Rather than focussing on national values, histories and political procedures, the argument is that active citizenship, cosmopolitan values and identities, social justice, globally responsible behaviours, and critical self-awareness should be the goals of such education. This paper develops a typology of citizenship education, and then examines the ‘Civics and Citizenship’ module of the new Australian National Curriculum to understand what type of citizenship is being promoted through the curriculum and the teaching resources. The research finds that despite some opportunities to engage students’ thinking more globally, and a positive focus on the rights and contributions of Australia’s Indigenous peoples, the main thrust of the curriculum is the promotion and perpetuation of traditional nationalist and proceduralist citizenship, rather than global or cosmopolitan citizenship. Some recommendations for potential improvements are made.
AB - Recent critiques of citizenship education have identified the need for curricula that cover not only civil, political, social and cultural aspects of political belonging and responsibility, but that orient students to the realities of global engagement and responsibility. Rather than focussing on national values, histories and political procedures, the argument is that active citizenship, cosmopolitan values and identities, social justice, globally responsible behaviours, and critical self-awareness should be the goals of such education. This paper develops a typology of citizenship education, and then examines the ‘Civics and Citizenship’ module of the new Australian National Curriculum to understand what type of citizenship is being promoted through the curriculum and the teaching resources. The research finds that despite some opportunities to engage students’ thinking more globally, and a positive focus on the rights and contributions of Australia’s Indigenous peoples, the main thrust of the curriculum is the promotion and perpetuation of traditional nationalist and proceduralist citizenship, rather than global or cosmopolitan citizenship. Some recommendations for potential improvements are made.
U2 - 10.1080/00220272.2020.1727018
DO - 10.1080/00220272.2020.1727018
M3 - Article
VL - 52
SP - 1
EP - 23
JO - Journal of Curriculum Studies
JF - Journal of Curriculum Studies
SN - 0022-0272
IS - 12
ER -