ABSTRACT
Citizenship education has been an aim of education since the creation of Pakistan but its conception and practice of have changed with each successive government. This chapter begins by exploring how Pakistani governments have understood the challenges facing Pakistani society and how these understandings have infl uenced policies and approaches to citizenship education in Pakistani schools. In doing this it shows how citizenship education has been conceptualised to serve the particular government’s versions of what it means to be a Pakistani citizen. It also documents the change in policy from an inclusive to a more exclusive conception of citizenship so that citizenship education has become synonymous with Islamic education. It then demonstrates how the structure of schools, the curriculum and the culture and process of schooling serve to promote the exclusivist conception of citizenship and delineate the problems that have arisen. Finally, it suggests education policy and practice to promote a more inclusive, democratic citizenship.
