This paper analyzes global education policy and curricular documents in Singapore and Hong Kong. Using a discursive approach, we characterize curricular aims through various cosmopolitan perspectives. We posit that although touted as Asian global cities, Singapore and Hong Kong are cases where neoliberal and nation-centric educational agendas have…

During the turbulent 2018-19 school year, we researched Hong Kong teachers' perceptions regarding the design and implementation of National Education in schools for students aged 12-17. We seek to make a contribution to understandings of aspects of the cultural, political and social dimensions and contexts relevant to teacher education. 41 civic…

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…

Purpose: The author aims to give an overview of civic education in Hong Kong as well as of Liberal Studies, and to discern the reasons behind the reforms to the curriculum and assessment of Liberal Studies. Approach: The analysis is based on government documents related to the subject's curriculum and assessment, press releases and secondary…

Scholars have long identified fostering democratic citizenship as a primary purpose of public schooling in the United States, as schools should intentionally prepare students with the knowledge and skills needed for active, informed democratic citizenship. In addition, global interconnectedness has reshaped needed civic competencies to participate…

This article reconsiders the literature on civic nationalism and argues that, rather than representing an alternative to ethno-cultural nationalism, it is more accurate to think of the two terms at either end of a continuum. Whilst the fundamental British values (FBVs) are often interpreted through a cultural discourse, which serves to alienate…

Should schools attempt to cultivate patriotism? If so, why? And what conception of patriotism should drive those efforts? Is patriotism essential to preserving national unity, sustaining vigorous commitment to just institutions, or motivating national service? Are the hazards of patriotism so great as to overshadow its potential benefits? Is there…

Over the past few years, the civics curriculum for Israeli high-schools has become the centre of a heated political debate. Following this debate, in May 2016 a revised official textbook was introduced. This paper draws on an in-depth analysis of the revised official textbook, comparing it to the previous official textbook published in 2000. The…

Purpose: The aim of this article is to analyse the concepts of national and European identities through a multidisciplinary lens and to examine empirically how schools develop those identities in adolescents. Method: The study employs data from the "International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016." Correlation and regression…

This paper examines the challenges and possibilities facing democratic citizenship education in China. It starts by taking on the increasing political repression under Xi's regime and how it is marginalizing or silencing democratic discourses. Then it examines the rising economically-driven populist nationalism in China, and how it complicates the…

Global migration, the quest by diverse groups for equality, and the rise of populist nationalism have complicated the development of citizenship and citizenship education in nations around the world. Many racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious groups are denied structural inclusion into their nation-state. Consequently, they do not…

This article reviews the rival trends and competing discourses within the cosmopolitan tradition to formulate a comprehensive educational approach, called 'rooted cosmopolitanism', that is timely, conceptually operational, culturally sensitive, and applicable in local educational settings. After reviewing the existing conceptions of…

The dynamic of how civic education is framed during turbulent periods is illuminated through analysis of three Hong Kong official civic education curriculum guidelines (1985, 1996, 2012). Guidelines are publicly available, officially sanctioned statements of purpose that have particular relevance for education professionals and are used around the…

The Israeli education system is divided and segregated along the lines of nationality and religiosity. While Israeli society and its education system, in particular, have generally been subjected to the influence of globalisation, including universal discourses of citizenship, in many ways it remains highly particularistic and nationalistic. To a…

Belief in the fundamental importance of civic education for democracy has been long-standing. But if educators can agree that schools have an essential role to play in preparing students for informed engagement in civic and political life, they cannot seem to agree on what that means. The very same efforts that are applauded by some are viewed as…