Citizenship Education Research Journal/Revue de recherche sur l'éducation à la citoyenneté

Powerful and Distinct: Considering Continuing Themes of Inclusion and Democratic Teaching and Learning in Citizenship and Citizenship Education

2024-05-30T16:31:32-07:00

This editorial introduction provides an overview of the continuing themes of inclusion and democratic teaching that appear across the papers in this edition. The author introduces the four papers and ties them to these themes, which have been present in Citizenship Education Research Network scholarship over the past 25 years. Citizenship ideas change, while at the same time maintaining links to past work and ideas in society. This issue highlights this reality, as authors critically explore the nature of citizenship education in diverse contexts.

Twenty Five Years of Citizenship Education Scholarship Presented at CERN

2023-08-24T11:40:46-07:00

This paper reviews the history of submissions to the Citizenship Education Research Network
(CERN), in a narrative that reflects on how citizenship and citizenship education have been
theorized and how this work has connected to social, cultural, national and global events and
factors. The author carried out a critical literature review of papers submitted to CERN and
identified key themes using a grounded theory approach. After contextualizing concepts of
citizenship and citizenship education, this paper describes trends and changes in work submitted to CERN and concludes with a discussion of where work in the field may be trending next.

From a Shattered Self to an Integrated Self

2024-02-28T19:51:27-08:00

This paper analyzes a selection of publicly available autobiographical accounts of Canadians with lived refugee experiences to explore the idea of an integrated identity. The theory of identity in this paper draws on Homi Bhabha’s theory of hybridization. The stories of youth with refugee experience show that xenophobic and racist encounters in the host state have a shattering effect and force them to reconsider their identity. This triggered state could be, and often is, mitigated by constructing a hybridized identity in a neo-third space. The neo-third space is the working through of the shattered self, which involves critical self-reflection, examining the place of the questioned identity marker. By moving away from binary understandings of subjectivity, neo-third space and the refugee subject engages in the decolonization of identity. Biographical accounts provide deep insight as to how the neo-third space operates for refugee youth through artistic expression via storytelling and songwriting. Cultural production becomes a tangible manifestation of the neo-third space for healthier and successful Canadians with lived refugee experiences.

Democratic Characteristics of Classroom Discourse in Social Studies Lessons in Turkey

2023-09-20T23:58:20-07:00

In 2005, Turkey underwent a significant educational reform, transitioning from a traditional teaching approach to a constructivist model. This reform also had an impact on the teaching of social studies. Previously, social studies primarily focused on transmitting cultural heritage and national identity, with teachers serving as the main source of knowledge. However, since 2005, the emphasis has shifted towards promoting democratic citizenship and developing active, responsible, and rights-respecting citizens. This research aims to investigate whether opportunities for democratic experiences are provided to students in the social studies classroom, using qualitative data from classroom discourse. The research methodology employed is a multiple case study design. Over a period of 8 weeks, three social studies teachers were observed, and data collected from the classrooms were analyzed using content analysis. The findings of the study indicate that a teacher-centered teaching process is prevalent in all observed classes, with a focus on knowledge transmission rather than democratic values and skills. The discourses employed by the teachers are predominantly didactic and interactive/authoritarian. Additionally, there is a lack of pre-planned and organized discussion processes within the classrooms.

Learning in Community: Politicizing Democratic Citizenship Education in Civil Society Organizations

2023-10-01T17:16:54-07:00

This paper examines the literature on civil society organizations as spaces for democratic learning to highlight how they function as civic educators in Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. The author presents Westheimer & Kahne’s (2004) What Kind of Citizen framework and aligns its categories of good citizenship with the political theories that underpin them. She points out the absence of multi-forms of, and perspectives on, Indigenous citizenship & nationhood, before applying the framework to the fledgling literature on civil society organizations as spaces for democratic learning. Three prominent types of civil society organizations are reviewed, to include volunteer associations, uniformed youth organizations, and locally formed youth groups. This paper contributes to the field of citizenship education by highlighting the politicized conceptions of citizenship woven throughout these civil society organizations, and showcasing how they function in different ways as civic educators.