ABSTRACT
Active participation is not only central to the citizenship curriculum, it is an essential component of one of the three key aims of the National Curriculum – making ‘a positive contribution to society’ (QCA 2007: 7) cannot be a passive process. In specific relation to the Citizenship National Curriculum, teachers are enjoined to ensure that their pupils are able to take informed and responsible action based on research and investigation, and to analyse the impact of their actions. This is not simply because it is an effective teaching and learning strategy, which it undoubtedly is. As Kolb wrote, ‘Experiential learning . . . offers the foundation for an approach to education and learning as a lifelong process’ (1984: 3) and ‘Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience’ (1984: 38); thus, presenting pupils with opportunities to learn from their experiences will enable them to continue to learn from them as active and responsible (but not necessarily compliant) citizens.
