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House of Commons Department of Information Services Palace of Westminster London SW1A 0AA T: 020 7219 3635 F: 020 7219 4285 E: [email protected]
Rt Hon Michael Gove MP Secretary of State for Education Sanctuary Buildings Great Smith Street London SW1P 3BT Email: [email protected] Your ref: 2011/0075530POSoS Our ref: 05.12
18 June 2012
‘Civics’ within the National Curriculum I am writing to you in my role of Chairman of the House of Commons Speaker’s Advisory Council on Public Engagement. We have been appointed to provide the Speaker with independent advice about what the House needs to do to convince the public that it is really relevant to them. We are staunchly apolitical and have senior experience in business, education, marketing, law, media and technology. For democracy to thrive, a country’s citizens need to have an understanding of the local and national institutions that support it. They need to understand how representatives are elected, how laws are passed and the checks and balances that exist. They should also understand how they themselves may have their voices heard and how they might make a difference should they wish to get involved. This body of knowledge presently forms part of the Citizenship curriculum and is often termed ‘Civics’. Given that there is evidence of the disengagement of young people from politics and politicians it seems to us particularly important that they gain this knowledge.
We understand with some alarm that Civics may not be included in the compulsory part of the secondary curriculum that will be announced within the next few months.
We believe Civics to be as important a part of the National Curriculum as Mathematics, English and Science, though clearly not requiring equal time and resources. While we understand that it is possible that the status of citizenship education in the curriculum might be changed we believe strongly that this aspect of civics should not be optional. Research (see attached) has shown that a high civic knowledge score was found to be a strong predictor of positive pupil outcomes, including voting in future elections and support for democratic values. This is recognised in the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education accepted by 47 Council of Europe member states in May 2010: “Member states should include education for democratic, citizenship and human rights education in the curricula for formal education at pre-primary, primary and secondary school level.” We are pleased the current government demonstrated its commitment to civic education through becoming a signatory to the Charter in May 2010.
Our democracy is an essential part of the fabric of our nation and one that we can be proud to have exported elsewhere. But our democracy needs to be nurtured – we cannot take it for granted. Other developed nations have clearly understood this. It would surely be unacceptable for us to relinquish our present good standing among developed nations in our treatment of teaching about democracy, its processes and institutions. We acknowledge that if we are to include Civics in the National Curriculum there may be some practical problems for schools to surmount, including the issue of who exactly should teach the subject. This indeed provides another reason for the subject being compulsory – we believe that many schools would not teach Civics if they have a choice, not because they don’t think it important but because they find it hard to do. But this is a practical problem that other developed nation are addressing, so surely we can too. I would be grateful for a meeting with you as I’m keen that we better understand your intentions so that we can help your officials come to a workable solution. I know that staff in Parliament, as well as other interested organisations, would be happy to work with your officials further to refine the content of a Civics curriculum. You will recall that you had an exchange of correspondence with the Leader of the House on this subject following a meeting hosted by Mr Speaker and involving senior Select Committee Chairs and other Members of Parliament. This meeting reviewed a range of ideas for improving the ways in which the House engages with the public. Members of all the main parties present at that meeting responded positively to our conclusion that educating young people is the critical long term investment needed to reconnect Parliament with the public and to ensure a healthy future for our participatory democracy. I am copying this letter to the Leader of the House since it may be that he too would wish to join us when we meet. I attach a short research briefing, which includes some international comparisons and evidence of outcomes, which we have also given to your officials.
Prof Jonathan Drori CBE Chairman House of Commons Speaker’s Advisory Council on Public Engagement Email: [email protected] c/o John Pullinger Librarian and Director General, Information Services House of Commons 020 7219 3635 [email protected] Copies to: Leader of the House of Commons [[email protected]] Speaker of the House of Commons [[email protected]]
House of Commons Department of Information Services Palace of Westminster London SW1A 0AA T: 020 7219 3635 F: 020 7219 4285 E: [email protected]
To: Marc Cavey, Curriculum Review Team From: The Speaker’s Advisory Council on Public Engagement, House of Commons Date: June 2012 CIVIC EDUCATION: AN OVERVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE AND IMPACT BACKGROUND Citizenship education has been a statutory foundation subject in the National Curriculum in England since 2002. The current review of the National Curriculum is considering the future status of all subjects. To assist this process, this paper provides a brief overview of the status and impact of civic and citizenship education in other European countries and Western democracies. CIVIC AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION: INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE
• Most European countries and western democracies provide civic education in some form; England was one of the last countries in Western Europe to introduce it (2002). Content and approaches vary but increasingly link the acquisition of knowledge with the development of skills and active participation
• 38 countries (including England) took part in IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2009
o National contexts survey explored approaches to citizenship education, curriculum and content/delivery; England one of 15 countries reporting civic and citizenship education as having a high policy priority. In 18 of the 38 countries, civic/citizenship education is reported as compulsory for all study programmes and school types; in most of these it can also be integrated into other subjects and as a cross‐curricular approach. In 32 countries, civic/citizenship education is integrated into several subjects. 28 countries also reported provision through assemblies/special events, 28 through extra‐curricular activities, and 29 through classroom experience and ethos
o In terms of content, all 38 countries place emphasis on processes underpinning knowledge and understanding of civics and citizenship; 35 place ‘some’ or ‘major’ emphasis on parliamentary and government systems, 36 on voting and elections1
• Knowledge of political and democratic institutions at different levels of
governance is a consistent feature of civic education:
1 See table at end of document for comprehensive overview
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o Statements of Learning for Civics and Citizenship in Australia (designed for use by federal curriculum developers) include: “an understanding of, and commitment to, Australia’s democratic system of government, law and civic life”
o Norwegian curriculum includes requirement to: “discuss political institutions in Norway and compare them to institutions in other countries” (lower secondary); “give examples of and discuss democracy as a system of government; give examples of political influence and the division of power in Norway and how to use digital channels to exercise democracy” (upper secondary)
o In Germany, Sozialkunde (civics education) is included in the curricula
of all German Lander as a subject in its own right and as a cross‐curricular subject, and is statutory throughout compulsory schooling. Measures were taken in 2009 to strengthen civics education in primary and secondary school; civics includes: “the structural and institutional aspects of a democratic society at the local, regional and national level”
• Recommendation on Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic
Citizenship and Human Rights Education accepted by 47 Council of Europe member states May 2010 (including current UK government): “Member states should include education for democratic, citizenship and human rights education in the curricula for formal education at pre‐primary, primary and secondary school level”
• European Commission Eurydice paper, Citizenship Education at School in Europe, 2005 (Eurydice European Unit) – citizenship education a part of the curriculum in all European countries and at three levels of primary, compulsory and upper secondary education; political literacy (including knowledge of political/democratic institutions) a consistent feature
• European Commission Eurydice paper, Citizenship Education in Europe, 2012 – 20 countries treat citizenship as a compulsory separate subject (3 more than in 2005); where not a separate subject is embedded into the curriculum of other countries; England one of just 2 countries (with Slovakia) that offers the opportunity to train prospective teachers as specialists in civic education
THE IMPACT OF CIVIC EDUCATION: KNOWLEDGE AND PARTICIPATION IEA Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2009
• 140,000 Grade 8 (or equivalent – approx age 14) students participated from over 5,300 schools in 38 countries; having a high civic knowledge score was found to be a strong predictor of positive pupil outcomes in terms of:
o Voting in future elections o Support for democratic values o Gender equality o Equal rights for ethnic minority and immigrant groups o Interest in social and political issues
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• Three proficiency levels identified (international average below level 1:
15.7%; England 12.7%): o Level 1: engagement with fundamental principles/broad concepts
that underpin civic and citizenship institutions, systems and concepts as well as an understanding of the interconnectedness of civic and civil institutions and relevant operational processes (international average 26%; England 22.2%)
o Level 2: knowledge and understanding of main civic and citizenship institutions, systems and concepts as well as an understanding of the interconnectedness of civic and civil institutions and relevant operational processes (international average 30.5%; England 30.8%)
o Level 3: application of knowledge and understanding to evaluate or justify policies, practices and behaviours based on students’ understanding of civics and citizenship (international average 27.8%; England 34.3%)
Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study (CELS) 2010
• Final report of the CELS study – assessing impact of citizenship education 2001‐2010; following cohort from Yr 7 onwards (24,353 pupils from 169 schools)
• Trust in social and civil institutions consistently high; distrust in politicians increased with age (33% reported not trusting politicians “at all” – up from 20% when in Yr 7)
• Positive attitudes and intentions toward civic and political participation more likely when reporting high levels of “received citizenship” (“a lot” of citizenship education); this further enhanced if citizenship:
o Delivered in discrete timetabled slot of 45+ mins per week o Developed by teachers delivering citizenship curriculum rather than
PSHE coordinators o Formally examined o Delivered regularly and consistently
• Citizenship education can have positive impact on young people’s sense of efficacy – extent to which feel able to influence government, school, family
• Impact of citizenship education on citizenship outcomes waned over time; supports notion that citizenship education needs to be provided throughout length of schooling, including post‐16
• Political literacy strand a consistent concern throughout study – 1/5 teachers 2008 reported being “not at all” confident teaching about political literacy, political institutions or the economy; pupils find it difficult to see relevance of politics
Citizens in Transition 2012
• 18‐25 yr olds in England (1055), Wales (391), Scotland (426); study of civic engagement and participation in transition from adolescence to early adulthood (building upon CELS)
• Gaps in civic knowledge especially in relation to economic issues and basic political institutions
• High levels of trust in friends, family, school, workplace; low levels of trust in government and politicians
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• General interest in politics and voting but difficulty in understanding political issues
Hansard Society Audit of Political Engagement 2012 • 42% of population ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ interested in politics (fall of 16% since
2011) • Perceived knowledge of politics (“a fair amount”) fallen to 44%; 4% claim to
know “a great deal”; 15% “nothing at all” • 48% certain to vote (fall of 10%); 16% absolutely certain not to • 36% claim to know “a fair amount” about the UK Parliament; a further 4%
feel they know “a great deal” about it • Knowledge levels about Parliament have remained stable over time but have
grown among 18‐24 year olds; increase from 17% to 31% (since 2004) – impact of citizenship education in curriculum plus Parliament’s education programme?
• People with no interest at all in politics more than three times likely to claim to know “nothing at all” about it (55% compared with 15% overall)
• 66% acknowledge crucial role of Parliament in democratic system; 49% agree the issues Parliament debates are relevant to their lives; 30% agree that Parliament encourages public involvement in politics.
REFERENCES (RESEARCH REPORTS):
• Eurydice Studies: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/thematic_studies_en.php
• Hansard Society (2012). Audit of Political Engagement 9: The 2012 Report: Part One. London: Hansard Society (http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/blogs/press_releases/archive/2012/04/25/audit‐of‐political‐engagement‐9‐part‐one.aspx)
• Keating A, Kerr D, Benton T, Mundy E and Lopes J (2010). Citizenship
education in England 2001‐2010: young people’s practices and prospects for the future: the eighth and final report from the Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study (CELS). London: DfE (https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DFE‐RR059.pdf)
• (Schulz W, Ainley J, Fraillon J, Kerr D & Losito B (2009). ICCS 2009
International Report: Civic knowledge, attitudes, and engagement among lower‐secondary school students in 38 countries. Amsterdam: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (http://www.theewc.org/uploads/files/ICCS_2009_International_Report.pdf)
• Sturman L, Rowe N, Sainsbury M, Wheater R and Kerr D (2012). Citizens in
Transition in England, Wales and Scotland: Young citizens at 18‐25. Slough: NFER (http://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/CIVT02/CIVT02.pdf)
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