Equity and Citizenship: Policy and Practice - Essay Example

Equity and Citizenship: Policy and Practice (Education) A Contrast between Citizenship Education and Consumer Education Introduction The focus of this essay is on Citizenship and Consumer education. The aim is to establish a contrast between the two. The essay looks at key points involved in both levels of education and highlights important elements. Education has to do with activities that impart knowledge or skill. Education can refer to any level of formal schooling or training, or can refer to public information more broadly disseminated, e.g. through informal adult education, through the media, through legislation, Government agencies and so on. Citizenship and Consumer education are concerned with providing individuals with knowledge, values, concepts, and information that makes them more sensitive, knowledgeable, productive and useful in a society. Citizenship Education Each person, regardless of age or socio-economic position, belongs to various types of community, both geographical communities which include from local to global, and communities of interest, goals or purpose. Citizenship involves enjoying rights and exercising responsibilities in these various types of community. Citizenship education refers to the use of education for preparing and training individuals to become active and responsible citizens of a country. Citizenship within schools aims to enable people to play an effective role in society by developing skills of communication and enquiry and enhancing participation as well as responsible action. Education for citizenship is important because every society needs people who can contribute effectively, in a variety of ways, to the future health and wellbeing of communities and the environment, locally, nationally and globally. Citizenship is about making informed choices and decisions, and about taking action, individually and as part of collective processes. Being a citizen is, therefore, closely bound up with the multiple roles that individuals have in society, either as producers or consumers of goods and services, or as contributors to economic and cultural development, as well as with various facets of each individual’s personal, social and working life. Active and responsible citizenship is not only concerned with individuals having a sense of belonging, or functioning in communities, but it involves an aspect of corporate or institutional life. In the process of citizenship education, educational institutions, parents, religious organizations, community organizations, and others are all carriers of citizenship. Citizenship education assumes that citizenship is much more than a matter of legal status or political identity, but involves a set of values, interests and involvement as well. Generally, citizenship education aims to achieve not just knowledge impartation of citizenship and civic society, but attempts to bestow a sense of loyalty, commitment, understanding and duty in the lives of the individuals of a nation. “The purpose of citizenship education in schools and colleges is to make secure and to increase the knowledge, skills and values relevant to the nature and practices of participative democracy; also to enhance the awareness of rights and duties, and the sense of responsibilities needed for the development of pupils into active citizens; and in so doing to establish the value to individuals, schools and society of involvement in the local and wider community.” (“Crick Report”, 1996). Beyond these definitions, there is significant variation in belief about what constitutes an effective approach to citizenship education. The relationship between various groups and the governments are part of the on-going debate. There are four major areas of citizenship education that are usually distinguished. They include: - Civil, Political, Socio-economic and Cultural or collective domains. The first three were identified by T. H.Marshall after the Second World War, and the fourth emerged after that. Civil The first element of citizenship education consists of the observance of commonly held goals that are related to democratic conceptions of a society. It inscribes fundamental community values, the limits of governmental decision making in relation to the individual citizen, and the rights of private interest groups and associations. (Bogdanor, 1991). Citizens are supposed to understand and enjoy the rights to which citizenship entitles them and others, and to perform willingly the duties that citizenship requires of them. These rights include freedom of speech, freedom of association and access to information, as well as expression and equality before the law. Rights and duties can and do conflict, but it is also the aim of citizenship education to teach people how to deal with and if possible resolve such conflicts. Political The second element refers to political literacy. It entails an understanding of fundamental political issues that include but go beyond the right to vote. It involves political participation in the broadest sense, and rights and duties with respect to the political system. Socio-economic The third element consists of values. Societal values are more or less common to a given society, and are often described in a constitution, bill of rights, or may be ethical in nature. Social and economic rights include the right to economic well-being, which includes the right to social security, to protection, and to a safe and healthy environment. Social citizenship is concerned with the relationships between individuals in a society. Economic citizenship refers to the activities of an individual towards the labour and consumer market and implies the right to work and to a minimum subsistence level. Cultural or collective The fourth element of citizenship education refers to cultural diversities in the society. Diversity due to openness to other cultures, global migration and increased mobility. Cultural citizenship creates an awareness of a society’s history and cultural heritage. Citizenship education gives individuals the confidence and conviction that they can act with others, claim their rights, have influence and make a difference in their community. It strives to create a society of able, informed and empowered citizens who can understand, utilize and play active roles as citizens who are socially and morally responsible. Consumer Education Consumer education is concerned with helping individuals develop the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and skills needed to make informed and responsible consumer decisions. It benefits the society as a whole by creating informed and more active citizens. Mere factual information about a product, service, or a legal right is not enough for consumers to be truly effective in their selection and use of goods and service. Consumers need more than simply information - they need to be able to use that information. Consumers need to be able to manage their resources efficiently, obtain information about competing products and services, and they need to evaluate one product against another in order to make choices. In the modern societies, the consumer is always faced with a mass variety of goods and services that are products of complex and advanced industrial, agricultural and services technologies. The necessary skills to make rational decisions among competing ends and forces are often beyond the ability of most consumers. Consumer education is essential to provide the skills and knowledge to empower consumers and enable them to use their resources effectively and increase their awareness and impact of their wider role in society. Specifically, consumer education enables individuals to develop the ability to become critical consumers by enabling consumers to judge and make prudent decisions about their financial transactions. It also helps consumers to use scarce resources efficiently and responsibly thus increasing the successes of government development plans. It is not about empowerment just for individual activities, but it is about helping people to develop lifelong skills that will be of use to them. It addresses various issues like ethnic values and poverty eradication, sustainable consumption and social justice. Consumers, who exercise free choice based on knowledge of facts, will be able to make the best use of resources within their disposal such as time, money, knowledge and ability. This is important for us individually and collectively, because the skills we learn, develop or acquire throughout our life, will help us when we are faced with choices, complex products or different price offerings as markets develop, and as competition grows. Given the importance of consuming in todays world, consumer skills are a pre-requisite for active citizenship and full participation within society. Consumer education equips people to: Utilize consumer information and make informed, discerning and responsible consumer choices Be aware of their consumer rights Interpret and analyze consumer information and meet identified gaps develop the confidence and skills to complain effectively and resolve problems seek help and advice when needed understand and manage their personal finances recognize the wider social and economic impact of our consumer decisions Avoid debt and make good use of credit Understand how media/companies try to sell goods and services To compare products and services and enable people discriminate between different goods and services Make complaints and communicate effectively - orally and in writing Efficient usage of products and services bought - for example, how to use efficiently and how to handle waste Manufacturers usually offer consumer education as part of their market strategies, but in countries like the UK it is treated like formal education. As fast changes occur in the economy and in the society, people who have consumer skills will be better equipped to make effective choices and deal with complex consumer issues. Consumer education helps to promote understanding of consumer rights and improves individual confidence and decision making. Decision making by consumers have important personal, social and economic consequences. It encourages people to make value-based decisions at a very personal level in terms of needs and wants. Consumer education prepares us to make effective decisions both now and when we encounter new situations and more complex consumer issues. Consumer education enables people to manage their money, to separate facts from advertising and media make believe, and to understand the consequences of their behaviour. Consumer education can also explore the wider dimensions of consumerism related to social, environmental and political concerns. It can raise literacy level and create feelings of empowerment. A contrast between Citizenship and Consumer Education An examination of citizenship and consumer education reveals that traditionally the roles of "citizen" and "consumer" have been said to be distinct and unrelated. Hence, those interested in the preparation of individuals for citizenship and those concerned with educating people as consumers take it that they were working on quite different problems. The above analysis rests on the belief that our activities as citizens and as consumers represent naturally different domains of human behavior--the political and the economic. Consumer education materials focus largely on content associated with improving student skills in managing personal finances, making decisions and wise choices. Frequently covered topics include the consumer in the economy, family income, management, use of credit, savings and investment, and food purchasing. Citizenship education on the other hand, involves rights, responsibilities and duties associated with individuals or groups such as community, state or nation. Consumer education on the other hand, involves the acquisition of knowledge for the use and consumption of products and services to achieve optimum allocation of resources and satisfaction. The aim of consumer education has been mainly to teach and educate students to act as informed, rational and prudent consumers. Consumption occurs within the context of a market where there is an exchange relationship between buyers and sellers. Consumer behavior also includes activities designed to alter the structure of markets and insure consumer protection through a variety of public and private means. If done effectively, consumer education should help individuals make decisions that are concerned with the wider community instead of focused solely on individual self-interest in a market economy. Consumer education aims to protect the interests of consumers, promote an understanding of the systems and structures within the marketplace, and contribute to society as a whole by creating more active and informed citizens leading to a more even balance of power between the producer and the consumer. Consumer education is more about the private world of the consumer and it affects the nature of the marketplace, locally and globally. Consumer education is economic in nature. citizenship education aims at achieving an increased rate and higher quality of social commitment. It has to do with the public global community and the nation as a whole. It is social and political in nature. Consumer education has traditionally focused upon the role of the consumer and the ways of solving consumer related problems based on the rights and responsibilities of the producer and consumer. Over the years it has moved gradually away from a ‘housekeeping’ approach where value for money and shopping habits were the focus, to more additional roles of aiding prudent decision making, information about products, consumer rights and laws consumer protection. It also includes employment and working conditions, social security, standard of living and education, plus others Citizenship education aims to help us all play a more effective role in society. It comprises, among other things, recognition under the law, movement within the country, public assembly, and ability to participate in government. Conclusion It is clear that there is some way to go before consumers are truly empowered as a force that are confident in themselves and have the ability to make informed and responsible decisions. There is still a lot of consumer education to do to provide consumers with the skills necessary to make the most appropriate consumer decisions for themselves, their families and the wider global community. Confident consumers evolve when they are adequately advised, informed and educated. There are many opportunities for delivering consumer education and a lot of work is already being done. Citizenship education enjoys a greater coverage than consumer education in schools. It is part of most school curriculums. Teachers and instructors interpret the citizenship curriculum in exciting and innovative ways. Citizenship education is a continual and lifelong process that aims to equip individuals with knowledge and skills to participate and affect their society as responsible citizens. Citizenship and consumer education have their differences in terms of context and priorities but they both basically perform educative and enlightenment functions by empowering the individuals of a nation with knowledge and skills for advancement. References Bogdanor, V. (1991). Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Science. Cambridge: Blackwell. Education for citizenship and the teaching of democracy in schools: Final report of the advisory group on citizenship. (1996, September 22). Retrieved April 28, 2006, from http://www.qca.org.uk/downloads/6123_crick_report_1998.pdf National consumer council. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2006, from http://www.ncc.org.uk/policy/topics.htm Citizenship education. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2006 from http://www.mta.ca/faculty/arts/canadian_studies/english/about/multimedia/citizenship/ Consumer and citizenship education today (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2006, from http://www.ciroap.org/ce/doc/citizenship.pdf Hebert, Y. & Sears, A. (n.d). Citizenship education Retrieved April 29, 2006, from http://www.cea-ace.ca/media/en/Citizenship_Education.pdf Read More