ABSTRACT
A powerful force that has shaped education for a long time is that of nationalism and the imperative to teach towards and for the nation. Schools, called into service by the nation-state, have operationalised nationalist sentiment through curricula, policies, and practices. In our efforts to foster meaningful inclusions and a democratic sensibility for our students, such nationalising efforts pose challenges, reinscribing a particular view of who “we” are that undermine what is possible beyond the national imagination. The challenges of this are real and shape curriculum and efforts to imagine even a more globally oriented form of citizenship. Without considering fully how nationalism and the nation continue to critically shape citizenship, efforts at democratic citizenship will be plagued by a nationalist need for particular identities as “ours,” one that in Australia is still largely defined by a legacy of white settler identity. In this chapter, I take up these ideas critically, arguing that the nation and nationalism operate powerfully in ideas of citizenship and need to be considered more fully in our efforts to be critical citizenship educators.
