Citizenship Education, Identity and Nationhood

This text combines pedagogical interest with a sound philosophical base at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It will appeal to both research specialists and undergraduates of Ed Studies and PGCE courses. This title is particularly important with the emerging agenda of 'student as researcher' at this level.This monograph foregrounds the theme of citizenship education, identity and nationhood, taking a slant which examines some of the contradictions between philosophy and practice, policy and pedagogy.Since the beginning of the 21st century, citizenship education has been revived as a theoretical discourse and focus for pedagogical enquiry, with specific concern for practice in schools. These have taken particular directions where citizenship has sometimes appeared as a statutory subject and at others as a cross-curricular theme, both ways generating ideas and contestations, as well as prescriptions for classroom practitioners.Such philosophical and pedagogical momentum has occurred at a time of unprecedented global change, accompanied by an ongoing struggle to conceptualise citizenship in a manner that is inclusive and acceptable to all British inhabitants.Concerns in this area have led to a flood of texts offering guidance to teachers delivering citizenship education. Additionally, others have contributed to the debate more philosophically. However, with scarce exceptions at present there is a dearth of literature that effectively combines pedagogical interests with a sound philosophical base, especially in the arena of Education Studies, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels of education.Thus, the aim of this book is to give a high level discourse that would be central to scholars of education, including advanced undergraduate students and research specialists, whilst not precluding interest from critically inquisitive classroom practitioners. This will be achieved by developing a series of entry points to themes that presently articulate with the statutory order for citizenship education: human rights, politics of identity, race, ethnicity, social justice, monarchy and subject-hood, and the challenge of global inter-dependence.The book will also raise critical issues that articulate with notions of identity and self and other, and which underpin key debates of the themes for contemporary citizenship.Attempts at developing critical thinking within young people is more rhetorical than real. In an attempt to redress the balance this book takes a look at a range of subjects/interests that are informed by the authors' research and theoretical excursions.