Teaching Citizenship Education in Secondary Schools - Essay Example

Literature review Citizenship has been a sta y National Curriculum at key stages 3 & 4 since September 2002. There has been a degree of flexibility in the way which schools can deliver Citizenship, leaving the logistics of delivery to individual schools. I have become interested in looking at the changes that have taken place in secondary schools within the Barnsley borough because I feel that active Citizenship teaching can have an impact on other areas of the curriculum and methods of teaching Citizenship can be modelled in other subjects, encouraging participation and engagement from pupils that may have become disenchanted with learning within a mainstream school.

The active elements of teaching Citizenship usually engage pupils that are more difficult and if these elements were introduced into other mainstream lessons they could contribute to pupils engaging with learning, leading to less exclusion, less negative incidents improved attendance and improved classroom behaviour. The text of the current literature in Wright’s Teaching citizenship in the Secondary School supports student teachers, NQTs and practitioners in implementing the Citizenship Order in secondary schools - to be introduced in September 2002.

(Wright 2001) Other changes in curriculum plans include providing further support for teachers. Recent efforts have been put forth to provide support for teachers in developing levels of religious and theological literacy, both of individual pupils and the society as a whole. It suggests tasks, activities and further reading designed to enhance the experiences of teachers. (Gearon 2003) Resources are a factor that have been addressed in curriculum guidelines in the past and are a concern for the future.

Tudor’s book is founded on the new curriculum for citizenship and the issues that arise from these changes. The book provides practitioners in secondary schools with the essential tools needed to teach citizenship. Tudor provides an overview of the citizenship order and gives guidance on how to fulfill its three main elements: social and moral responsibility, community involvement, and political literacy. (Tudor 2003) Many of the endeavors of the current literature have been dedicated to providing resources for teaching citizenship in secondary classrooms.

This literature has detailed the change in curriculum and provided resources on how to implement these changes. Community Service Volunteers is known nationally for its high-profile citizenship and community learning schemes, and also provides a support and consultancy service for schools, education authorities and government. Experience is intended to carry CSVs approaches across the education sector. (Potter 2002) The literature is available and current for a resources for most aspects of the citizenship curriculum and teaching methods used for citizenship in English secondary schools.

Becoming a Citizenship School is a natural next step for schools wanting to motivate and equip young people for life in our complex society. (Titus 2001) Case studies are used to illustrate how many schools are already making citizenship an every day experience for young people, (Titus 2001) There is literature that defines what education is for. More specifically, it outlines what the objectives of curricula should encompass and provides resources on how to change current curricula. In one current piece of literature, Brighouse addresses the question of what education is for.

In addition he argues that children share four fundamental interests: the ability to make their own judgments about what values to adopt; acquiring the skills that will enable them to become economically self-sufficient as adults; being exposed to a range of activities and experiences that will enable them to flourish in their personal lives; and developing a sense of justice. (Brighouse 2003) The current literature presents case studies, statistics and actual personal experiences regarding citizenship curriculum.

Some of the literature specifically addresses guidelines that have changed the methods of teaching citizenship in English secondary schools while some of it provides an overview and philosophy regarding what education should encompass. References Brighouse, Harry. (20030 “On Education (Thinking in Action” Taylor & Francis Ltd Gearon, Liam. (2003) “Citizenship Through Secondary Religious Education (Citizenship Education in Secondary Schools” Potter, John. (2002) Active Citizenship in Schools: A Good Practice Guide to Developing a Whole School Policy “ RoutledgeFalmer Titus, Alexander. (2001) “Citizenship Schools: A Practical Guide to Education for Citizenship and Personal Development” Southgate Publishers Tudor, Ruth. (2002) “Practical Resources for Teaching Citizenship in Secondary Classrooms” David Fulton Publishers Ltd Wright, Daniel James. (2001) “Teaching Citizenship in the Secondary School” David Fulton Publishers