ABSTRACT
The central ideas and practices of citizenship are controversial and contested so it comes
as no surprise that citizenship education is the subject of fierce debate. When you teach
citizenship education you will, of course, need to be alert to many complex ideas and issues
from several academic disciplines and policy contexts and lived experience. But you will not
be treading on unfamiliar territory. Although, to state the obvious, citizenship education
in its current form is relatively new, teaching and learning about contemporary society
to develop understanding, encourage action and reflection on action and to explore and
promote democratic dispositions has a very long and respectable history. It is also something
that in one way is very easy to define. I agree with the authors of the most recent version
(i.e. to be implemented from September 2014) of the National Curriculum for Citizenship in
England: ‘A high-quality citizenship education helps to provide pupils with knowledge, skills
and understanding to prepare them to play a full and active part in society’. There is nothing
that I would wish to see as complicated or controversial about that.
