Session Information
23 SES 01 D, Focusing on Citizenship
Paper Session
Time:
2009-09-28
09:15-10:45
Room:
HG, HS 21
Chair:
Anne Larson
Contribution
The paper presents the results of an empirical study that investigates the interactions between students and teachers in Citizenship Education classes in an urban secondary school.
The European Commission and the European Council have recognised Citizenship Education as one of the pillars of the European educational reality of 21st century. The subject was introduced as part of the statutory curriculum for English secondary schools in 2002.
The design of the study is drawn from symbolic interactionism and critical discourse analysis while its philosophical roots lie in the grounds of intersubjectivity. The study adopts the interactionist view of the social reality as a construction through human interaction. It focuses on the perceptions that the interacting parties hold about themselves, about each other and about the conditions in which this interaction takes place.
Teachers and students in this study suggested that their interaction is guided by a set of expectations which are attached to their roles and over which they feel that they have little control. The participants’ perceptions towards those sets of expectations formulate what is presented in this study as ‘invisible audience’ which monitors the interaction between students and teachers. The participants feel that the invisible presence of this audience prevents them from developing a sense of ownership towards these roles. The participants perceive this lack of control over their institutional roles as the most difficult and least satisfying aspect of schooling. The study argues that regardless of their declared scepticism, teachers and students seem to actively support the expectations of the ‘invisible audience’ and to conform to them when they interact with each other. As the study argues, this is a result of a process of foucauldian subjectivation (Foucault, 1992) which allows this interaction to function as a process of conformist (re)construction of roles.
The participants in the study agree that a consequence of the above is a lack of humanity in their roles and lack of flexibility in the negotiations that their interactions accommodate. However, humanity, flexibility, and ownership are considered by scholars (Osler & Starkey, 2005), policy makers (QCA, 1998) and the participants of this study as essential elements of democratic Citizenship Education. In this context, the participants in this study recognise a conflict of expectations in the introduction of the Citizenship Education curriculum as part of the statutory curriculum for English secondary schools and perceive it as a cause of significant stress to the school community.
Method
This is a case study of a secondary comprehensive school. The collection of the data followed a schedule and techniques similar to the ones applied in ethnomethodological studies. The fieldwork lasted for a total period of 72 days, spread over a period of six months. During this time whole school activities and citizenship classes were observed and semi-structured interviews of students and staff were undertaken. Data were also drawn from diary field notes and from observations and open discussions that followed role-play activities in which students were engaged.
Expected Outcomes
The study reveals that the introduction of Citizenship Education curriculum in English secondary schools has been a cause of stress and frustration for the school community. The study argues that the reasons for this lie in the conflict between the school’s discourse and the discourse supported by Citizenship Education. More particularly it claims that the discourse of modern comprehensive schooling which is guided by the notion of performativity, it supports and it is supported by a fragmented school population which does not operate as a community. Under these conditions, the future of Citizenship Education could be guided by a choice between operating as a ‘secondary’ subject in the school curriculum or seeking a higher status by offering its support to the notion of performativity, opting for an exam-orientated implementation and links to employment.
References
Foucault, M. (1992) The Use of Pleasure. Volume 2 of The History of Sexuality. London: Penguin. Osler, A. & Starkey, H. (2005) Changing Citizenship. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (Q.C.A.) (1998) Education for Citizenship and the Teaching of Democracy in Schools. London, Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (The Crick report).
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