Citizenship

Citizenship in the secondary curriculum

Secondary age girls working in the artroom
Three teenage pupils looking at a globe

Education for citizenship assumes a new significance post-14 when young people confront many of the issues associated with independent living. Many of the issues they face in respect of further study, finding a job, leaving home, managing their money, understanding the law and relating to people in authority demand wider knowledge and understanding of contemporary issues and decision-making processes. Young adults need to be able to combine that knowledge and understanding with a wide range of skills, competences and values in order to be able to negotiate the barriers to satisfying and responsible participation in society.

Subject organisation, subject choice post-14 and the pressures of certification make the progressive development of the full range of citizenship capabilities challenging to organise. However, A Curriculum for Excellence calls for all subjects to be more explicit about their contributin to the key purposes of the curriculum.

A range of strategies are appropriate:

  • Encouragement to subject departments to develop their contribution to education for citizenship.

  • Examination, through curriculum audit, of how far various combinations of core and optional subjects can provide an adequate basis for developing knowledge and understanding related to citizenship. This might indicate a need for curriculum inserts in order to enrich subjects where such opportunities are perceived, or for the school to undertake cross-curricular activities outwith the subject curriculum. Several HMIE publications can be useful when carrying out this audit. See also LTS's audit materials (see link below).

  • Using the expertise of staff in areas such as modern studies, science or ICT, and where possible expertise outwith the school, to contribute to parts of courses typically taken by all students.

  • Development of whole-school citizenship activities, for example an international link, which involve most departments in the school.

  • Closer examination of the way in which community involvement activities and local investigations can enhance not only young people's skills and develop their values and creativity, but also reinforce and develop their knowledge and understanding of social and political processes.

For further information, see our secondary audit materials and support for secondary subject teachers. You can also find ideas for projects to try with your students in our secondary case studies and more general ideas in our pages of themed resources.