Introduction to the Education for Citizenship framework paper
Schools and other educational establishments have a central part to play in educating young people for life as active and responsible members of their communities. They share this role with families and others, and must work in partnership with them to provide young people with learning opportunities that contribute to their development as citizens.
Education for citizenship should empower young people to participate thoughtfully and responsibly in community and civic life.
The advent of the Scottish Parliament has encouraged a fresh focus on the importance of people living in Scotland being able to understand and participate in democratic processes. If greater national autonomy is to be matched by an enhanced sense of social and political responsibility in the population, young people need opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will allow them to take that responsibility. This is recognised in the national priorities for education whose status is established in the Standards in Scotland's Schools, etc. Act 2000. Schools are encouraged to 'work with parents to teach pupils respect for self and one another and their interdependence with other members of their neighbourhood and society and to teach them the duties and responsibilities of citizenship in a democratic society'. In this sense education for citizenship should empower young people to participate thoughtfully and responsibly in community and civic life.
A growing sense of the interconnectedness of peoples and places is affecting individuals and societies - economically, environmentally, culturally and politically.
There is growing concern, throughout the UK, to work towards a more inclusive society where inequities are addressed effectively and cultural and community diversity is celebrated. Ways and means are being sought to tackle disaffection and disengagement from society and, more broadly, to address issues of social injustice and of personal identity. At the same time there is evidence of growing scepticism about traditional structures of representative democracy and the forms of political activity associated with them. By contrast, participation in single-issue pressure groups, and organisations concerned with, for example, consumer issues, human rights and sustainable development, has increased in recent years.
Scotland and the rest of the UK exist in a rapidly changing wider world. A growing sense of the interconnectedness of peoples and places is affecting individuals and societies - economically, environmentally, culturally and politically. This process of 'globalisation' is being further promoted by the ongoing revolution in information and communications technology (ICT). Multinational corporations exert increasing influence over national economies and cultures through their investment decisions and their marketing of products and services. The European Union continues to evolve, and to influence our political, legal and economic institutions. At the same time, inequalities between the economically rich and poor seem to be increasing. International and global trends create social pressures as well as opening opportunities for individuals and society. They raise fresh issues about the distribution of power and the extent to which individuals, local communities, territorial states and business corporations have influence over a host of social, economic and environmental matters. The complexity of modern society and the magnitude of the changes taking place within it sometimes threaten to overwhelm individuals. People doubt their ability to influence events, but remain troubled by the manifestations of social stress they experience or see reported in the media.
The complexity of modern society and the magnitude of the changes taking place within it sometimes threaten to overwhelm individuals.
It is important to take due account of this changing context when considering afresh the purposes and goals of education - both formal and informal - in Scotland. The main contention of this paper is that young people's education in school and early education settings has a key role to play in fostering a modern, democratic society, whose members have a clear sense of identity and belonging, feel empowered to participate effectively in their communities and recognise their roles and responsibilities as global citizens.