Contemporary liberal democracies face complex and disruptive challenges, such as toxic populism, culture wars, political polarization, religious fundamentalism, the climate emergency, global conflicts, and the influence of powerful social media platforms. This is the disconcerting world that young people are growing up in and need support in…

A recent report from the Democracy Project found that "confidence in our governing institutions has been weakening over many years, and key pillars of our democracy, including the rule of law and freedom of the press, are under strain." In the recently published book "The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to…

Purpose: Recent trends in Western civics education have attempted to secure democratic institutions from perceived threats. This paper investigates how political securitisation historically operated within civics textbooks in Australia and Aotearoa, New Zealand. It further evaluates how Maori, Aboriginal and other Indigenous peoples were variably…

In this paper, we discuss core ideas arising from research undertaken in a Leverhulme Trust (IN2016-002) funded international network project. The project examined youth activism, engagement and the development of new civic learning spaces within and across six countries (Australia, Canada, England, Hungary, Lebanon and Singapore). Arising from…

Recent critiques of citizenship education have identified the need for curricula that cover not only civil, political, social and cultural aspects of political belonging and responsibility, but that orient students to the realities of global engagement and responsibility. Rather than focussing on national values, histories and political…

Educating for active and informed citizenship represents a core goal of Australian education and schooling. Owing to a range of factors -- including the contested conceptual nature of citizenship and democracy -- there is reason to question the extent to which this goal is being translated into practice. Similarly, while the Australian Curriculum…

Twenty-first-century teaching prepares students for a globalized existence. The long-established goal of schooling to prepare a responsible citizenry who strive for the benefit of the community must now be extended, assisting students to become global citizens, equipped to deal with global issues. This article investigates how civics and…

The opinions about what characterises a good citizen are diverse, yet survey research usually employs variable-centred analytical strategies to examine people's concepts of good citizenship. The present study builds on a person-centred approach towards good citizenship and validates previously identified types of good citizenship among Australian…

The ambitious project to nationalise the Australian Curriculum has prompted great interest among policymakers, academics and civics teachers in Australian schools. The government-led citizenship education initiative "Discovering Democracy" (1997-2007) comprehensively failed to meet its objectives, most prominently the stated goal of…

In late 2013 a new curriculum for Civics and Citizenship education was published by the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority for use in Australian schools. In line with previous curricular initiatives concerning education for citizenship in Australia a key rationale behind the new subject is the education of "active…

Previous scholarship has outlined possible models of civics education but have neglected to provide frameworks for evaluation of the way such educative programs contribute to ongoing active citizenship amongst the participants. This paper explicates a framework that can be used to analyse how effectively programs are developing active citizenship…

For democratic societies to sustain, it is important to educate young people for active and democratic citizenship. This article examines the long-term yields of temporary civics and citizenship educational policies with respect to student participation at school as a precursor of political participation in adult life. The focus is on the…

In the absence of a dedicated subject for teaching general religious education, the inclusion of Civics and Citizenship education as a new subject within the first Federal Australian Curriculum provides an important opportunity for teaching the religious within Australian schools. The curriculum for Civics and Citizenship requires students to…

Maximal citizenship educators are committed to advancing an approach to citizenship learning with the following staple features: learner-centred; experiential; problem-and action-oriented; racialised, classed and gendered analysis of power; and strengthening the public sphere and democracy. This type of approach to education shares many…

Purpose: This paper compares citizenship education in Singapore and Australia. While discussions have been made about education and neoliberalism, few have explored the direct connections between citizenship education and neoliberalism. Approach: Though a discussion of country contexts, citizenship education policies and curriculum,…