Citizenship teachers are in a unique position to be able to engage their pupils in conversation about the riots; developing pupils’ thinking around concepts such as personal responsibilities towards each other on the one hand and the government’s responsibilities towards its citizens on the other.

Citizenship education encourages teachers to use current affairs in their teaching and to enable students to develop thinking on controversial and sensitive topics. The three key concepts of the current programme of study in Citizenship are:

1. Democracy and Justice;
2. Rights and Responsibilities;
3. Identities and Diversity.

Developing an understanding of these key concepts is crucial in equipping young people to engage with the world around them and preparing them for an adult life of active participation in society and public life.

Ensuring that young people have an entitlement to excellent education for citizenship and democratic participation is essential for achieving a society with responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society.

The key concepts provide a perfect educational context for teachers and pupils to explore concepts of justice, democracy, rights and responsibilities for example in relation to looting, “stop and search”, who or what is to “blame” for the course of events and who or what is responsible for repairing the damage and fixing the problems that led to the events and their escalation. This work can be linked to other work in Citizenship education such as learning about the role of Parliament and the legal system.

The Association for Citizenship Teaching have produced excellent teaching resources for teachers exploring some of the issues raised by the civil unrest.

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• This entry was posted on Friday, August 12th, 2011 at 3:59 pm