ABSTRACT

Although economic aims remain pre-eminent in most education systems, there are signs that the civic dimension is gaining prominence. The subject of citizenship has been introduced or given new momentum in the curricula of many countries (e.g. UK, Australia, Mexico) and large cross-national research projects (most notably Torney-Purta et al. 2001) have been commissioned to gauge progress. There are diverse drivers for the promotion of citizenship in schools. 1 Some governments have been motivated by concerns over cultural ‘dilution’ through migration and processes of globalisation, a lack of social cohesion and an undermining of democratic legitimacy. Yet there has also been impetus from contrasting concerns which cohere around human rights values, such as lack of effective participation in decision making, exclusion of minority groups and the need for reinvigoration of democracy through processes of deliberation.