Page 40 - Šolsko polje, XXX, 2019, št. 5-6: Civic, citizenship and rhetorical education in a rapidly changing world, eds. Janja Žmavc and Plamen Mirazchiyski
P. 40
šolsko polje, letnik xxviii, številka 5–6
el contemporary attitudes of young people towards political processes are
complex because there exists a plethora of other forms of political engage-
ment besides traditional party politics and conventional modes of politi-
cal participation.
But whatever form of political participation young people are in-
clined to, the idea of increasing youth participation is again (or still) part
of the political agendas in many Western societies. As Bessant (2004, p.
387) points out,
most Western governments now advocate enhanced youth participa-
tion as part of a discourse about modern citizenship, so much so that
it has become a policy cliche´ to say ‘increased youth participation’ will
‘empower’ young people.
In this context, education has been now and again put to the fore
as a tool for the formulation and production of decisive socio-political
outcomes, such as stronger political involvement in matters affecting the
lives of the youth. Political scientists (Putnam, 2007) and policy-makers
alike, commonly presume that education can decisively make young peo-
ple more politically conscious, more engaged and supportive of formal po-
litical processes at the various levels, including local, national and interna-
tional. Education is, therefore, they believe, suited to deliver knowledge
and positive attitudes towards the immersion in the same political are-
na they feel detached from. Although education is predominantly seen
as a necessary response to pertinent ills of democracy, several pieces of re-
search have recently shed more critical and sceptical light on the unprob-
lematic and straightforward relationship between education and political
participation (Milligan et al., 2004; Dee, 2004).
It is precisely, but not exclusively, through such critical observa-
tions that already in the 1990s citizenship education as a concrete frame-
work gained prominence within education as a paradigm and concrete
tool through which young people can become knowledgeable citizens,
citizens, in Bernard Crick’s words, who are “interactive and publicly ac-
tive”(Crick, 2004, p. 104).
In Slovenia, citizenship education also plays an important role with-
in the formal education system, but is also addressed and implemented
within other educational contexts (Banjac and Pušnik, 2015). Although
citizenship education is a cross-curricular theme within the formal sys-
tem, nonetheless, its most important implementation form is the subject
in Year 7 and 8 of elementary school, that is, Patriotic and Citizenship
Culture and Ethics subject.
38
el contemporary attitudes of young people towards political processes are
complex because there exists a plethora of other forms of political engage-
ment besides traditional party politics and conventional modes of politi-
cal participation.
But whatever form of political participation young people are in-
clined to, the idea of increasing youth participation is again (or still) part
of the political agendas in many Western societies. As Bessant (2004, p.
387) points out,
most Western governments now advocate enhanced youth participa-
tion as part of a discourse about modern citizenship, so much so that
it has become a policy cliche´ to say ‘increased youth participation’ will
‘empower’ young people.
In this context, education has been now and again put to the fore
as a tool for the formulation and production of decisive socio-political
outcomes, such as stronger political involvement in matters affecting the
lives of the youth. Political scientists (Putnam, 2007) and policy-makers
alike, commonly presume that education can decisively make young peo-
ple more politically conscious, more engaged and supportive of formal po-
litical processes at the various levels, including local, national and interna-
tional. Education is, therefore, they believe, suited to deliver knowledge
and positive attitudes towards the immersion in the same political are-
na they feel detached from. Although education is predominantly seen
as a necessary response to pertinent ills of democracy, several pieces of re-
search have recently shed more critical and sceptical light on the unprob-
lematic and straightforward relationship between education and political
participation (Milligan et al., 2004; Dee, 2004).
It is precisely, but not exclusively, through such critical observa-
tions that already in the 1990s citizenship education as a concrete frame-
work gained prominence within education as a paradigm and concrete
tool through which young people can become knowledgeable citizens,
citizens, in Bernard Crick’s words, who are “interactive and publicly ac-
tive”(Crick, 2004, p. 104).
In Slovenia, citizenship education also plays an important role with-
in the formal education system, but is also addressed and implemented
within other educational contexts (Banjac and Pušnik, 2015). Although
citizenship education is a cross-curricular theme within the formal sys-
tem, nonetheless, its most important implementation form is the subject
in Year 7 and 8 of elementary school, that is, Patriotic and Citizenship
Culture and Ethics subject.
38
