organization of the community in which they are living. The maintenance of a democratic society relies upon its citizens being:
1. Aware of their rights and responsibilities; 2. Informed about the social and
political world in which they live; 3. Tolerant and respectful of diversity; 4. Concerned about the welfare of
others; 5. Articulate in their opinions and arguments; 6. Aware of constructive ways to
influence events, and 7. Responsible in how they
act.
Developing social skills Whilst aspects of citizenship may be picked up through ordinary experience in the home, club, or general social experiences, these can never in themselves be sufficient to equip citizens for the active role required of them in today's complex and diverse society. These positive attitudes do not develop unaided. They have to be learned. Their teaching needs to be part of the school curriculum in all phases of education. Through promoting relevant
disengagement with the community in favour of the pursuit of purely personal
goals; l The breakdown of established "common values", which is creating a vacuum in which prejudice, intolerance
and discrimination can flourish, and l The concentration of power into larger, centralized units, which is increasingly leading to individuals feeling disempowered, with no meaningful influence over the events that shape their daily lives.
Citizenship was already a key component in the island's Personal, Social and Health
understanding about being informed citizens, including a sense of justice, through active participation and enquiry.
It is essential to recognize that these
changes reflected a fundamental change in the way that citizenship would be taught in schools. Whilst knowledge of civic institutions remained an important element, the focus shifted to developing the skills and values required by young people in order for them to become active members of their community. It is for people to think of them-selves
as active citizens, willing, able and equipped to have an influence in public life and with the critical capacities to weigh evidence before speaking and acting. It seeks to build on and extend radically to young people the best in existing traditions of community involvement and public service, and to make them individually confident in finding new forms of involvement and action.
Children on the beach at Portelet.
knowledge, skills and attitudes, effective education for citizenship seeks also to address the challenges faced by most developed societies, including Jersey. These challenges include:
l Increased migration, resulting in greater cultural diversity in local communities. Within multinational democracies there are tensions between the desire to promote a unique sense of belonging and the need to support a diverse range of cultural backgrounds. Such unity- diversity tension needs to be addressed in order to avoid fragmentation and
conflict; l The decline in traditional forms of civic cohesion, termed a "democratic deficit". Alienation, apathy and cynicism about public life and participation, amongst the population in general and specifically young people, are potentially leading to disconnection and
Education (PSHE) curriculum, but Jersey chose not to establish citizenship as a separate subject, leaving it as a strand within the overall PSHE curriculum.
Starting young At primary school level, ages 4 to 11, these strands are:
1. Developing self-esteem, confidence, independence and responsibility and making the most of their abilities; 2. Preparing to play an active role as citizens; 3. Developing a healthy lifestyle and keeping themselves and others safe, and 4. Developing effective and fulfilling relationships and respecting the differences between people.
At key stages three and four, ages 11
to 16, the "citizenship" strand became: Developing knowledge and
16 The Parliamentarian 2008/Issue One - Jersey
Getting involved Decline in community involvement has been identified as a challenge facing most developed nations. A study in the United States into the decline in
"social capital", or communal activity, identified significant reductions not only in areas such as voting and standing for honorary posts, but also virtually all leisure activities that involve doing something with someone else, from communicating with neighbours to going to the theatre, to playing chamber music. Jersey is not immune from this
process, which has also been identified in the Education, Sport and Culture document "Developing a Cultural Strategy for the Island". Reinvigorating our own stock of "social capital" will require a commitment to devise and implement a co-ordinated, coherent and comprehensive approach. The provision of an effective teaching pro-gramme for citizenship in local schools is part of this long-term strategy. The real test of all aspects of the
teaching of citizenship is its influence on behaviour: it is not so much what people know, but what they do. Research
Citizenship Versus Apathy
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