This volume reports the results of the first phase of the Civic Education Study conducted by International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). During 1996 and 1997, researchers in 24 countries collected documentary evidence on the circumstances, contents, and processes of civic education in response to a common set of framing questions. They also solicited the views of experts on what 14-year-olds should know about a variety of political and civic issues. Each chapter provides a summary of these national case studies and highlights pressing issues or themes of current importance within civic education.
This volume will give educators and policy-makers cross-national information to enhance consideration of the role and status of civic education within their countries, especially in light of growing concerns about youth participation in democratic society.
Chapters include:
(1) “Mapping the Distinctive and Common Features of Civic Education in Twenty-Four Countries” (Judith Torney-Purta; John Schwille; Jo-Ann Amadeo);
(2) “Reconstructing Civic and Citizenship Education in Australia” (Murray Print; Kerry Kennedy; John Hughes);
(3) “Education for Citizenship in the French Community of Belgium: Opportunities to Learn in Addition to the Formal Curriculum” (Christiane Blondin; Patricia Schillings);
(4) “Challenges in Developing a New System of Civic Education in Conditions of Social Change: Bulgaria” (Peter Balkansky; Zahari Zahariev; Svetoslav Stoyanov; Neli Stoyanova);
(5) “Canadian Citizenship Education: The Pluralist Ideal and Citizenship Education for a Post-Modern State” (Alan M. Sears; Gerald M. Clarke; Andrew S. Hughes);
(6) “Education for Democracy in Colombia” (Alvaro Rodriguez Rueda);
(7) “National Identity in the Civic Education of Cyprus” (Constantinos Papanastasiou; Mary Koutselini-Ioannidou);
(8) “The Changing Face of Civic Education in the Czech Republic” (Jana Valkova; Jaroslav Kalous);
(9) “Re-examining Citizenship Education in England” (David Kerr);
(10) “Toward a Dynamic View of Society: Civic Education in Finland” (Sirkka Ahonen; Arja Virta);
(11) “Concepts of Civic Education in Germany Based on a Survey of Expert Opinion” (Christa Handle; Detlef Oesterreich; Luitgard Trommer);
(12) “The Discourse of Citizenship Education in Greece: National Identity and Social Diversity” (Dimitra Makrinioti; Joseph Solomon);
(13) “Controversies of Civic Education in Political Transition: Hong Kong” (Lee Wing On);
(14) “In Transit: Civic Education in Hungary” (Zsuzsa Matrai);
(15) “Citizenship Education in a Divided Society: The Case of Israel” (Zsuzsa Matrai);
(16) Italy: Educating for Democracy in a Changing Democratic Society (Orit Ichilov);
(17) “National Identity and Education for Democracy in Lithuania” (Irena Zaleskiene);
(18) Citizenship Conceptions and Competencies in the Subject Matter ‘Society’ in the Dutch Schools” (Henk Dekker);
(19) “The Specific Nature and Objectives of Civic Education in Poland: Some Reflections” (Andrzej Janowski);
(20) “Civic Education Issues and the Intended Curricula in Basic Education in Portugal” (Isabel Menezes; Elisabete Xavier; Carla Cibele; Gertrudes Amaro; Bartolo P. Campos);
(21) “Cohesion and Diversity in National Identity: Civic Education in Romania” (Gheorghe Bunescu; Emil Stan; Gabriel Albu; Dan Badea; Octavian Oprica);
(22) “The Challenge of Civic Education in the New Russia” (Leonid N. Bogolubov; Galina V. Klokova; Galina S. Kovalyova; David I. Poltorak);
(23) Citizenship in View of Public Controversy in Slovenia: Some Reflections” (Darko Strajn);
(24) “Abandoning the Myth of Exceptionality: On Civic Education in Switzerland” (Roland Reichenbach); and
(25) “Challenges to Civic Education in the United States” (Carole L. Hahn).