CONCEPTO EN INGLÉS: "CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION"

There are two very different kinds of Citizenship education.

The first is education intended to prepare noncitizens to become legally and socially accepted as citizens. Secondly, there is Citizenship Education that is taught in schools, as an academic subject similar to politics or sociology.

Citizenship Education for new citizens

Education intended to prepare noncitizens to become legally and social accepted as citizens is carried out by a variety of governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGO).

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the [United States], government programs prepared immigrants to take citizenship exams or qualify for citizenship. Many corporations, most prominently Ford, offered similar programs to their employees and families of their employees. In addition, various charities also provided this service.

In the United Kingdom in 2002, David Blunkett introduced a series of proposals where immigrants would take a US-style "Citizenship Exam" and swear a pledge of allegiance before they could be granted British nationality. Before being given a passport, applicants must read Life in the United Kingdom (a book preparing immigrants for the test) and sit a 45-minute test on British society, history and culture.

Citizenship Studies in schools

England

In 2002 Citizenship was introduced as a compulsory subject as part of the English National Curriculum, following the recommendations of the Crick Report in 1998.[1] Rather than providing education for those who are applying to become British Citizens, it is taught to pupils aged 7-16 years old in English maintained schools.

The Citizenship Education Curriculum is based on four "strands" which are Social and Moral responsibility, Political literacy, community involvement and Identity and Diversity. This covers a wide range of topics including politics and government, the legal system, the media, multiculturalism, equal opportunities, human rights and global issues. The Citizenship curriculum also promotes skills of enquiry and communication and aims to develop student's participation and responsible action. Such elements of "active citizenship" require students to make practical use of their Citizenship knowledge. For example, after learning about diversity and prejudice, students would engage in a project to combat racism in their school or local community. Examples of active Citizenship projects include starting recycling programmes in schools, setting up peer counselling to help deal with bullying and running fair trade cafes.

A short-course GCSE in "Citizenship Studies" is taken by many 14-16 year-old students. All exam boards currently offering this course include a coursework requirement where students produce a report on an active citizenship project they have taken part in. A full course GCSE is being developed and is expected to be available in September 2009.[2] There is also an AS level in Citizenship Studies. This currently has no active element. However an "extended project" is being piloted by AQA, whereby students work independently on an active Citizenship project. An A level in Citizenship Education is also being developed.

In October 2005, the House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee began an inquiry into Citizenship Education, which reported in March 2007.[3] They took written and oral evidence from a wide range of organisations including the Department of Education and Skills, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the Learning and Skills Network, OfSTED, the Association of Citizenship Teachers (ACT), the Citizenship Foundation and the Hansard Society.

The Committee concluded that "It is too early to say with any degree of confidence whether citizenship education is producing the wide range of impacts originally hoped for. Initial evidence from small-scale studies and the experience of individual institutions is promising but on its own not enough...The imperative now is to ensure that patchiness [in the provision of citizenship teaching] is not allowed to remain, that high quality provision becomes the norm, and that progress is accelerated. This will require action from those on the ground, but also needs strong support from the DfES and Ministers."

Republic of Ireland

Citizenship studies was introduced as a compulsory subject in the 1990s in the Republic of Ireland. It is known as CSPE (Civic, Social and Political Education) and is taught to 12-16 year olds. In 2009 it is expected that an additional subject currently under the working title 'Society and Politics' will be offered as a subject to students between 16-18 years of age in high schools in the Republic of Ireland.

France

In France citizenship education is known as ECJS (education civique, juridique et sociale).

Spain

In Spain a recent law introduced EpC (Educación para la Ciudadanía).