Options for developing European strategies on citizenship education

Abstract

This article explores the tools and strategic options for policymaking of two European intergovernmental organisations in the area of citizenship education. The first section analyses the policy tools used to date, whereas the second section presents current global, political and education-specific challenges in the field. The third section investigates options for how the two organisations might develop their policymaking in future years with a view to formulating recommendations to enable these organisations to make the best use of the policy tools and resources at their disposal. Overall, the article suggests that both the Council of Europe and the European Union are facing significant legal and resource restraints – to a greater extent where the Council of Europe is concerned and to a somewhat lesser extent for the European Union – that limit their capacity to shape and enforce citizenship education policymaking at national levels. Both institutions therefore rely heavily on informational and, to some extent, financial and organisational tools to influence policymaking. Finally, the paper presents a set of clear and actionable goals for improving the power and impact of the informational and organizational policy tools at the disposal of both institutions.

The Challenge of Radicalization and Extremism

“…Our regression models show that the effect of immigrant background decreases continuously with every analytic step. Immigrant background is therefore better perceived as a proximal indicator covering various influences that often -978-90-04-52565-8 Downloaded from Brill.com02/13/2023 02:13:50AM via free access occur in the aftermath of immigration, like, for example, experiences of discrimination and a strong emphasis on group identities within the political discourse (Abs, 2021).…”

“…Based on discourse occurring at national levels, European intergovernmental organizations have formulated integrative definitions of both democratic citizenship and citizenship education (Abs, 2021). The frequently used definition by the European Union (EU) follows closely the idea of socialization within a democratic society.…”

Citizenship-as-knowledge: How perspectives from Bildung-centred Didaktik can contribute to European Citizenship Education beyond competence

“…Regarding wider efforts to promote CE as a priority in the development of transnational educational politics in Europe (Abs, 2021), we believe that it is essential that these efforts are built on a theory of knowledge that can sustain them as they are translated into teaching and learning. Otherwise, it is not easy to see how they can have an impact beyond the qualification and socialisation of young people into the existing social fabric.…”

“…Since the end of the 1990s, a renewed interest in the field of citizenship education (CE) has developed, spurring a process of comprehensive policy development in Europe, both nationally and on the supranational level. Because polarisation, alienation and the decreased acceptance of political authority seem to represent persistent challenges to the political order, the hopes are that education can increase political participation and strengthen social integration (Abs, 2021). Following policy initiatives by the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe (CoE), CE is now placed ‘at the top of educational agendas’ (Joris et al 2021: 2).…”

The End-Purpose of Teaching Social Sciences and the Curricular Inclusion of Social Problems

“…The core concept of education for citizenship is called active citizenship, understood as social participation based on mutual respect and non-violence, in accordance with human rights and democratic principles (Abs 2021). More than two decades have passed since the Council of Europe included, within the framework of the well-known Lisbon Strategy, the promotion of the concept of active citizenship and the learning of values and democratic participation as educational objectives.…”