ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the development of civic identity through education is a social achievement. There is considerable educational and psychological research showing that civic engagement is fostered in formal and informal education. Civic engagement refers to interest, values, beliefs, skills, knowledge and action in matters within the community and the political system and beyond the immediate self, friends and family. The chapter considers the role of social interaction in fostering civic social identity formation in the classroom. The promotion of social harmony and inclusion are important components of civic engagement, and in another line of research, we have been considering how these components can be fostered through educational interventions. The chapter considers the evidence in relation to: small-group learning exercises, large-group learning, evidence in relation to global citizenship of international development and post-conflict reconstruction, as well as domestic citizenship regarding standing up to prejudice and discrimination in everyday social interaction.
