Citizenship education is widely positioned by policy makers as a response to the economic, social, technological and cultural changes that increasingly orientate students within a global world (Suarez-orozco & Qin-hillard, 2004). Citizenships that attempt to come to terms with these shifting orientations such as ‘European citizenship’ and ‘global citizenship’ are relatively new concepts within educational sites that have essentially remained the same in organisation and practice since the creation of mass schooling in the 19th century. This paper critically addresses one policy of citizenship education in Australia and teachers’ response to that policy within the context of history teaching. The policy is that of formal values education, enacted through the framework Values for Australian Schools (DEST, 2005) which was distributed to all schools and promotes nine specific values. My research discusses the ways in which practicing history teachers construct their role and the role of values in the classroom. Underlying commonalities exist internationally in the relationship between history teaching and civic and moral education. Within general debate about the role of education in shaping the values of national citizens, History teaching has also always played a significant role (Arthur, Davies, Wrenn, Hayden, & Kerr, 2001). Recently in the UK (and Australia) political debate about history has resulted in “often more heat than light” (Davies, 2000). History is inevitably value-laden, used to model and critique cultural and political processes. History, like citizenship education has to address a balance between fostering the knowledge of concepts and the skills that enable participation. These complex and contested discourses are interwoven with the subjectivities of the teachers and students involved. The research involved observations of three distinctive Modern History classes, interviews with teachers and students and analysis of supporting materials. These qualitative methods allowed for description of authentic teaching/learning episodes, rich accounts from participants and detailed analysis of the complexities and contestations. This data allows discussion of values education in the context of the classroom and subject, rather than abstracted as merely political ideals. Civic and values education policy in Australia is consistent with trends in Europe and America which have responded to perceived social decline and community fragmentation (Prior 1999; Print, Moroz, & Reynolds, 2001; Ling & Stephenson, 1998; Telhaug, Medias & Aasen, 2004; Nielsen, 2005; Thompson, 2002; Brown, Bereznicki and Zbar, 2003) I utilise Foucauldian concepts of subjectivity and power in a discursive analysis of policy documents, teacher and student interviews and observational data. The focus of analysis is the ways in which teachers articulate and enact personal, professional and policy values in conjunction with their interpretation of the nature and purpose of history teaching. This analysis revealed consistencies in the way teachers articulated their own professional values and aims with a strong orientation towards understanding democratic processes and advocating social justice. Also significant were the tensions between these orientations and the values discourse of the schools and national policy. Comparison between student and teacher experiences also reveal varied interpretations of the purpose and values of the history classroom. From these experiences, there are wider implications for citizenship education policy and understanding the local, national and global demands on specific subjects.

Qualitative research methods, semi-structured interviews, classroom observation, document analysis Foucauldian theory

A discursive analysis of constructions of values in history classrooms. This analysis revealed consistencies in the way teachers articulated their own professional values and aims with a strong orientation towards understanding democratic processes and advocating social justice. Also significant were the tensions between these orientations and the values discourse of the schools and national policy. Comparison between student and teacher experiences also reveal varied interpretations of the purpose and values of the history classroom. This analysis has implications for citizenship education policy and understanding the local, national and global demands on specific subjects.