Discussion Board Forum 7
Citizenship education is a very important and necessary factor in educating all people all over the
world. It is imperative that the citizens of a country learn how to be good citizens of their own
country and good citizens of the world. Each country has its own approach as to how citizenship
education should be taught and addressed. Comparative studies are necessary and useful because
it gives us insight as to how other nations teach the concept of citizenship. Citizenship can also
be defined in various ways.
Phillips & Schweisfurth (2014 p. 68) Citizenship education for example, in one context may be
content-driven, with an emphasis on learning by rote the national structures of governance and
law; a subject with the same name within another national curriculum may emphasize a more
active and radical citizenship, where critical analysis and intercultural communication are
developed as skills, and questioning attitudes to government policies are inculcated.
(Phillips & Schweisfurth 2014 p.68). Europe has made efforts to make citizenship a priority
within schools so that young people would not lose interest in the importance of citizenship
education. Citizenship education has become a part of Europe’s’ educational policies and
curriculum and they have made policy initiatives.
In 2016, the Council of Europe launched its framework of competences for democratic culture to
inform educational planning and decision making and be tested and implemented in citizenship
education curricula and practices throughout Europe (Council of Europe, 2016). It encompasses
a model of the competences to be acquired by European learners to become “effective
participatory citizens”, to learn how to live together peacefully and prepare for life as “competent
democratic citizens” (Council of Europe, 2016, p. 9, Joris & Agirdag, 2019).
There have been several comparative studies conducted to give insight as to how citizenship
education is provided in democratic nations.
The largest scale study is the 1999 IEA Civic Education Study, which compared provision and
learning across 28 developed or middle-income democratic countries. Some of the findings were
that students in most countries have some understanding of democracy and that school’s model
democratic practice. Students are skeptical about politics beyond voting and students have faith
in youth organizations and their potential to create positive change
(Phillips & Schweisfurth 2014 p. 176).
Citizenship education can contribute to comparative study because it is an important factor of
education for every nation. A countries’ educational system reflects its citizens, culture,
government and religious systems. “There is interplay between the themes of comparative study
such as pedagogy and culture as well as how curricula are perceived, taught and learnt “Phillips
& Schweisfurth 2014 p. 176. Citizenship education is vital to every nation in the world and it is
important that believers of the true and only living God practice good citizenship. The bible
teaches us about citizenship: ( “ Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed,
revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is
owed (Romansc13:7 ESV).
