Educating for an Inclusive Democracy: critical citizenship literacy

National Education as a ‘Civics’ Literacy in a Globalized World: The challenges facing education in Singapore

“…From time to time this can degenerate into a level of flag-waving that Billig (1995) has labeled ''banal nationalism''. What most of these agendas seem to be built upon is an unproblematic notion of identity and the belief that there either is, or can only be, one identity, even though the academic literature is replete with counter arguments (see Davidson, 1994;Dudley et al, 1999). Hence, contemporary research in sociology and social psychology seems to suggest that this is a flawed assumption.…”

Preparing elementary readers to be critical intercultural citizens through literacy education

“…Within our study, intercultural citizenship education is to develop an intercultural citizen who is critically conscious and active in envisioning an intercultural society that is more justice-oriented for all (Johnson & Morris, 2010; Veugelers, 2007; Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). As Dudley et al (1999) pointed out, active forms of citizenship were often associated with ‘critical thinking’ and explicit connections had not been made with critical intercultural citizenship in the past.…”

“…Even at the college level, students are taught that being a good citizen means participating in elections, obeying the law, paying taxes, and pledging allegiance to the flag expressing patriotism. Previous literature on citizenship education has been aligned with civic education, which is concerned with how to be a good citizen within the existing system (Dudley, Robinson & Taylor, 1999; El-Haj, 2009). Raising questions about this approach, Ladson-Billings (2005) summarized the weaknesses of citizenship education for students in America as follows: lack of meaningful content, lack of focus on citizen rights, lack of critical thinking and problem solving, passive learning, control by teachers and obedience from students, prejudiced and superficial textbook content, and instructional activities limited to passages in textbooks.…”

“…Quite a few scholars attend to critical citizenship education which focuses on collective action addressing questions of identity and belonging (Abowitz & Harnish, 2006; Bosniak, 2006; El-Haj, 2007; Guilherme, 2002; Houghton, 2012; Johnson & Morris, 2010; Soysal, 1998). In addition, Dudley, Robinson, and Taylor (1999) introduced critical citizenship literacy and suggested ways to teach critical citizenship literacy; through exploration of dilemmas and democratic practice, students are able to deconstruct culturally and historically situated conceptions. They also suggested a pedagogically appropriate curriculum for secondary and primary school students to draw their attention to the issue of difference as a public matter, and help them recognize the plurality of their identities.…”

“…The ideas of critical citizenship education mentioned above have been implemented in this study to teach intercultural citizenship in EFL educational setting. In this study, critical citizenship literacy is defined as ‘a set of capabilities which equip an individual to be an active citizen; that is, a social agent, able to negotiate the terms and practices of citizenship’ (Dudley et al, 1999, p. 436). More specifically, this study addressed how the teacher pedagogy for EFL elementary learners in Korea helped them to become intercultural citizens who can be more caring for others.…”