In light of socio-political dynamics at play in contemporary Thailand, higher education (HE) is becoming an important site for citizenship learning. This article interrogates priorities and practices of civic/citizenship education in Thai universities. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with leadership in five public universities…

Teachers play a crucial role in the political socialization of adolescents. Using Q-Methodology, we explored high school teachers' conceptions of good citizenship in post-genocide Rwanda. Teachers ranked 50 statements, describing a 'good citizen', on a 9-column grid, anchored by 'least important citizenship behaviour' and 'most important…

Studies show adults' attitudes towards citizenship to be related to their educational level. It has been claimed that higher educated people more often possess 'good' citizenship values. However, only limited insight exists into how differences in citizenship attitudes between adolescents from various educational tracks develop over time. In this…

This study uses a comparative case study design to examine youth (ages 13-20) opinions toward compulsory voting across five democratic countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and the United States. Youth responses toward compulsory voting demonstrate how youth come to learn about citizen rights and responsibilities with varied understandings…

Towards the end of the 19th century there was a revival of the struggle for democracy throughout the world. The formation of Australia as a federation embodied this commitment, a commitment subsequently abandoned. The impetus for public education in Australia came from its commitment to democracy, inspired by the British Idealists. If the people…

The hope that young people would accept and quickly learn Western ideas and democratic principles rather than just economic and technological achievements occupied a key place in the conceptions of the liberal and democratic parties in Russia. The possibilities of the modernization of Russian society and its economy were associated directly with…

State, citizen, and corporate readings of a multifarious "Chineseness" fundamentally shape the space where East and West clash in post-Mao China. This dialectic represents a citizen's working-through a crisis of agency and a nation's negotiation of its role within a global economy. Given that China's subaltern literacies operate within…

In this article we present insights from research which has sought to deepen understanding of the ways in which young people (aged 13-21) learn democratic citizenship through their participation in a range of different formal and informal practices and communities. Based on the research, we suggest that such understanding should focus on the…

This article examines recent UK government policy and proposals relating to immigration and citizenship, and the ways in which these policies are presented as means of securing allegiance and integration. From 1997, the incoming Labour government emphasized the importance of informed, active citizenship and social justice. From 2001, the emphasis…

We raise questions about young people's participation in light of findings from a project ("Democracy through Citizenship") funded by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Limited, and managed by the Institute for Citizenship. Following a six-month feasibility study the project took place over a three-year period in one local authority in the…

The present study shed light on the continuing debate among students of political socialisation regarding the effects of civic education on the upholding of democratic attitudes. Our major conclusion is that civic education, in and of itself, has only minor effects on democratic attitudes of pupils. Furthermore, among pupils who attended civic…

The 19th-century emergence of a centralized, state-controlled school system helped stabilize government and legitimize a state model during a revolutionary period in French history. The centralized model assisted national integration goals by fabricating a symbolic public space. This ambitious political construction may be coming apart. (Contains…

Care and education for young children is often understood primarily as a commodity to be provided in the marketplace, or as a kind of factory to produce human capital. But institutions for children and young people can also serve a very different role. They can be understood as forums for democratic political practice. This is a choice that we, as…

States that political education must represent the relationship between three entities: human being (liberty), citizenship (equality), and membership (unity). Analyzes Erich Weniger's theory of political education with respect to its peculiarities and its significance for a general theory of democracy. Relates Weniger's concept to fundamental…

A central aspect of education has always been the passing on of norms and values. This task is not fulfilled if pupils only learn the meaning of established norms and values. It is also about making pupils believe in them and to act according to them. Thus, teaching is also a kind of political socialization. The values taught change historically…