Citizenship Education Now Taught in All Schools Across EU
Citizenship education is now included in school curricula in every European Member State, according to a new European Commission report. Produced by the Eurydice Network, the report analysed citizenship education in all 31 Eurydice Network countries (27 EU Member States plus Iceland, Norway, Croatia and Turkey). According to the report, citizenship education is taught as an independent compulsory subject in 20 education systems, an increase of 3 compared to the 2005 study. In the majority of countries where citizenship education is not taught as a separate subject, it is entrenched into the curriculum of other subjects.The report shows that all European countries share four main categories of objectives of citizenship education, those being: achieving political literacy, developing critical thinking and analytical skills, attitudes and values and fostering active participation in school and/or in the community. Furthermore, all countries have introduced regulations to promote learning by doing, such as the involvement of students in school governance (student elections and a student council, for example). The reports findings suggest that these regulations could play an important role in encouraging real-life democratic practices within schools. Student participation in school or in community activities is now taken into account in their assessment in a third of those countries surveyed.
The European Youth Forum is convinced that citizenship education in the formal education system is of crucial importance for democracy. Citizenship education that imparts civic knowledge and skills is a key element of democratic participation and active citizenship. It provides young people with the skills that enable them to make choices, take decisions and assume responsibility for their own lives within a democratic society. Learning by doing in citizenship education is also an integral part of the non-formal education that takes place in youth organisations. Later this year, the European Youth Forum will launch a pan-European campaign centred on linking citizenship education to lowering the voting age to 16.
