The risk of neutralizing the political dimension in environmental education through the depoliticization of its thematic objects, its intended learning, and its educational purposes, is a curricular phenomenon identified by recent research in the field. The aim of this article is to develop a conceptual and analytical framework to identify…

The process of teaching and learning is not merely a question of transmitting a received cultural legacy but also of its transformation. Education is inseparable from life and from any socio-political model we wish to build and defend. This implies the impossibility of separating education from politics. Hence we must attempt to provide future…

This article combines the perspective of transnational transfer with contributions from social theory and historical sociology -- specifically the Luhmannian concept of social 'inclusion'. In doing so, this article reconstructs a historical case regarding the conflicting implementation of universal conscription and compulsory schooling in Chile in…

Drawing on two multi-site ethnographic projects in Beijing and Shanghai, we explore how teachers in both public schools and schools for migrant children have responded to state policies that restrict educational opportunities for migrant students. We argue the importance of political context in re-conceptualising empowerment by raising the…

This article compares the English tradition of active citizenship education with the US tradition of service learning. It starts by outlining service learning and noting some of the defining characteristics as well as some of the tensions. It then discusses the model of active citizenship that has been promoted in England's secondary school…

Background: Youth citizenship is now on the international agenda with African countries increasingly interrogating their national perspectives on citizenship and citizenship education. In this emergent field of research, African scholars are beginning to challenge the prevailing (Western) theories of citizenship and democracy. Purpose: The aim of…

The political, cultural and social make-up of Europe is changing fast. A new European identity is under construction, but old contradictions and diversity challenge its contents, forms and boundaries. Migration, the changing role of the nation-state and Europe's regions, the reshaping of politico-administrative and perceptional boundaries, the…

This paper examines the discourses framing citizenship education in Ukraine and Russia from "perestroika" to the present and assesses the role of the Council of Europe in promoting democratic citizenship in both countries. We argue that there is a tension between the discourses of active citizenship, strongly disseminated by…

Citizenship (education) is "de facto" a political and spatial concept and should be considered in local, national, and global contexts. Adopting a spatial and cultural politics perspective and with the dynamic formation of Hong Kong's citizenship education as a case study, this article tries to illustrate the politics at three different…

The Nordic tradition of folkeoplysning (Denmark, Norway) or folkbildning (Sweden) is a form of adult education--"people's enlightenment"--linked to the emergence of democracy. Differing social, political, and cultural emphases attached to "folk"/"people" in various European languages have implications for the role of…

I intend to identify some of the important propositions which issue from fourteen empirical studies on political socialization, and to point to implications for schools and especially civic education programs. I define political socialization as the process of acquiring and changing the culture of one's own political environment. Among the…