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Citizenship Education - EDU00003M

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  • Department: Education
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2023-24
    • See module specification for other years: 2022-23

Module summary

This module grapples with debates around what it means to be a citizen in the contemporary world, including the criteria for someone to be/become a citizen, the knowledge and skills required for people to become active citizens and the issue of participation. It will also explore some of the key ideas and debates relevant to local, national, transnational, and global citizenships.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 1 2023-24

Module aims

To introduce students to

  1. Some of the key debates and issues around citizenship.

  2. The ways in which these debates and issues have shaped citizenship education in regional and global contexts.

  3. Multiple aspects of citizenship, i.e., citizenship as a formal legal and political status, citizenship as identity and as citizenship as a set of practices.

Module learning outcomes

  1. Subject content

Students will be able to:

  • Develop an understanding of debates around the meaning of ‘citizenship’ especially with reference to the ideas of difference and inequality; identify and describe how these ideas shape citizenship and citizenship education.

  • Demonstrate understanding of how ideas and debates around citizenship and education in national, transnational, and global contexts shape citizenship education.

  • Assess and describe how past and present relationships (with emphasis on inequalities) between regions/nations as well as within nations shape citizenship and citizenship education. E.g., how histories of colonialism and imperialism are linked to current narratives and agendas around poverty reduction.

  • Describe and critique the idea of global citizenship education; especially, skills and knowledges around the idea of ‘development’ and development goals delineated by global bodies.

  • Define and describe some of the key aspects of active citizenship and practice of citizenship at different levels, e.g., building and belonging to communities at school or locally.

  1. Academic and graduate skills

  • Identify and use keywords to search sources.

  • Understand and critically analyse key concepts and issues/debates.

  • Present arguments in a formal manner appropriate to the level of study.

  • Work with others in groups.

  • Manage time efficiently.

  • Develop skills and confidence to work independently; identify your strengths and weaknesses as a learner; understand how to utilise strengths and address weaknesses.

Module content

  • WEEK 1: Introduction to the module, introduce the assessments (formative and summative), start to introduce key topics, point them to resources on the VLE, especially links to relevant news reports and analyses relating to current and recent events.

  • WEEK 2: What is citizenship – discuss the more familiar notion of national citizenship, and the idea of rights and duties in relation to citizenship; introduce students to the way notions of difference and inequality shape the meaning of citizenship; stress the difference in approaches of political socialisation versus political empowerment; and civic versus citizenship education.

  • WEEK 3: History and idea of global citizenship education – familiarise students with the agendas and programmes of Education introduced through global organisations like the World Bank (e.g., the EfA or Education for All programme) as well as some criticisms of these agendas and agencies.

  • Week 4: Multiculturalism and citizenship – use the notion of multiculturalism to discuss difference, equality, minority rights, migration and conflict in various social and political contexts; how multicultural education has been impacted by neoliberal reforms in education.

  • WEEK 5: Gender and citizenship – use the example of women’s struggles to encourage students to engage with the histories of citizenship and citizens’ rights (civil, economic, political); and use these to problematize decontextualized narratives in and around (Global) Citizenship and Citizenship Education.

  • WEEK 6: Transnational citizenship - using research done with European Union students; encourage students to think through the problems and benefits of a transnational identity and how young people understand, practice, challenge this, i.e., an engagement with views on the im/possibility of transnational citizenship.

  • WEEK 7: Critiquing the idea of ‘development’ in Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development goals (SDGs) – introduce students to debates around the idea of ‘development’; and how current debates and programmes around (under)development are linked to histories of colonialism.

  • WEEK 8: Discussing and debating the idea of volunteer tourism as part of global citizenship and global citizenship education; e.g., postcolonial and/or class-based perspectives in the experience of volunteer tourism.

  • WEEK 9: Community and Citizenship education – introduce students to the idea of citizenship communities; and encourage them to reflect on the idea of community using the notions of belonging, inclusion/exclusion and active participation.

  • WEEK 10: The final unit deals with young people’s voice, rights, participation and/or performance as citizens in the classroom.

  • WEEK 11: Conclusion and assessment preparation.

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Module feedback

You will receive feedback in a range of ways throughout this module. This will include oral feedback in class, responses to posts on the VLE discussion board or Padlet, and written comments on work.

The feedback is returned to students in line with university policy. Please check the Guide to Assessment, Standards, Marking and Feedback for more information.

Indicative reading

McCowan, T., & ebrary, Inc. (2009). Rethinking citizenship education [electronic resource]: a curriculum for participatory democracy. New York: Continuum International Pub. Group.

Biesta, G. (2008). What Kind of Citizen? What Kind of Democracy? Citizenship Education and the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence. Scottish Educational Review, 40(2), 38–52. https://doi.org/10.1163/27730840-04002005.

Bernard-Powers, J. (2008). Feminism and gender in education for citizenship and democracy. In Arthur J, Davies I, Hahn C (eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Education for Citizenship and Democracy. SAGE.

Ross, A. (n.d.). Finding Political Identities. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90875-5.


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.