Informal Learning Of Active Citizenship At School

Active citizenship is an objective of schooling in an increasingly complex context, in which social cohesion of the multicultural society is a cause for growing societal concern. International co-operation between European countries and a growing heterogeneity of the (school) populations of most European countries have led to an increased interest in education for citizenship. The core question dealt with pertains to the role that schools can play in developing citizenship through formal and informal learning. Day-to-day school life is seen as a rich environment in which aspects of functioning in a democratic society and dynamic interplay with rules, leadership and peers with different backgrounds are experienced and form a source of learning. In this view the school context functions as a micro-cosmos to exercise “school citizenship” as a bridge to societal citizenship and state citizenship. The book brings together material from Cyprus, Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Romania and The Netherlands.

This book has two purposes: To open up the debate on the role of informal education in schooling systems and to suggest the kind of school organizational environment that can best facilitate the recognition of informal learning. Successive chapters explore what is often seen as a duality between informal and formal learning. This duality is particularly so because education systems expend so much time and effort in certifying formal knowledge often expressed in school subjects reflecting academic disciplines.Recognizing the contribution informal learning can make to young people’s understanding and development does not negate the importance of valued social knowledge: That complements it. Students come to school with knowledge learnt from their families, peers, the community and both traditional and social media. They should not have to "unlearn" this in order to enter the world of formal learning. Rather, students’ different learning "worlds" should be integrated so that each informs the other. In a knowledge-based society, all learning needs to be valued. Some contributors to this book reflect on how new educational systems could be created in a move away from top-down authoritarian and bureaucratic management. Such open systems are seen to be more welcoming in acknowledging the importance of informal learning. Others provide practical examples of how informal learning is currently recognized. Some attention is also paid to the evaluation of informal learning. A key objective of the work presented here is to stimulate debate about the role of informal learning in knowledge-based societies and to stimulate thinking about the kind of reforms needed to create more open and more democratic school learning environments.

The International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) investigates the ways in which young people are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens in a range of countries in the second decade of the 21st century. ICCS 2016 is a continuation of a study initiated in 2009. This document outlines the framework and assessment design for the ICCS 2016. ICCS 2016 will report on student knowledge and understanding of key aspects of civics and citizenship, as well as student attitudes to, and engagement with, civic life. This survey is intended to respond to enduring and emerging challenges of educating young people in a world where contexts of democracy and civic participation continue to change. New developments include the increase in the use of social media as a tool for civic engagement, growing concerns about global threats and sustainable development, as well as recognition of the role of schools in fostering peaceful ways of interaction between young people. iccs 2016="" is="" sponsored="" by="" the="" international="" association="" for="" evaluation="" of="" educational="" achievement="" (iea).="" over="" past="" 50="" years,="" iea="" has="" conducted="" comparative="" research="" studies="" in="" a="" range="" domains="" focusing="" on="" policies,="" practices,="" and="" outcomes="" many="" countries="" around="" world.="" prior="" to="" iccs="" 2016,="" three="" civic="" citizenship="" education,="" with="" first="" survey="" implemented="" 1971,="" second="" one="" 1999,="" third="" 2009.="" ="" p

Civic Education and Competences for Engaging Citizens in Democracies Murray Print University of Sydney and Dirk Lange Leibniz University of Hannover What competences do young citizens need to be considered as active and engaged in the context of a modern Europe? In 2011 an invited research symposium of leading civic and political educators, social scientists and educational administrators from Europe met in Hannover, Germany to consider this key concern facing Europe today. In examining the above question the symposium addressed two significant issues: 1. Identify key competencies required for active citizenship of young people in Europe of the future. 2. Translate those competencies to school-based activities in the form of curricular and pedagogical strategies. The group addressed these questions through discussion in the symposium and through previously prepared papers. Subsequently the group participated in a modified Delphi Technique to identify the key competences and the final competences are presented in this book. The chapters of this book represent the contribution of the participants before, during and after the symposium with opportunities for review and reflection. Murray Print and Dirk Lange are professors from the University of Sydney and Leibniz University of Hannover respectively and are national leaders in civics and citizenship education in their respective countries. They have brought together a group of leading European civic and citizenship educators from different academic fields to explore the key issue and to identify the competences for young people to become active and engaged European citizens.

This book explores a range of educational issues in the Pacific Islands, from school leadership in various contexts to the importance of forging cordial school and community partnerships. By presenting perspectives from a wide range of stakeholders, including community leaders, teachers, parents and students, it adds to the ongoing dialogue on educational issues in the Pacific Islands. Moreover, it promotes the forging of healthy school ecosystems that value equality, diversity, community engagement, fruitful citizenship, proactive school leadership, and valuable student learning, to drive an educated Pacific Islands population into the future.

Community Service Volunteers is known nationally for its citizenship and community learning schemes, and provides a support and consultancy service for schools, education authorities and government. This book is based on that experience and carries.