vision and leadership provides an opportunity for all departments, and other bodies, to see the possibilities of how to interact with the community. It also illustrates how to engage in activities which promote their role whilst increasing an understanding of how they function. At present there is no


capacity to provide a centralized focus for citizenship issues locally. However, other jurisdictions, such as Western Australia, have identified this as a community priority and have created a ministry specifically targeting active citizenship. The main conclusions


The “Battle of the Flowers”, with its moonlight parade, is a big community event.


conducted in other countries has indicated that effective programmes of study which have a continuing effect upon engagement with the community, involve high levels of student "ownership". It can be argued that the level of "student voice" is the key indicator behind attitudinal change; students become more involved in tasks of their own design and are more likely to have a sense of positive achievement when they are involved in selecting the success criteria. Effective programme components are participatory activities that facilitate students' discovery of "real" community problems. The significance of encouraging


young people to participate actively in school, clubs and institutions supports the view that early involvement in working on behalf of others, even in a school context, leads to greater participation in civic affairs as an adult, largely because of the specific skills related to citizenship that are learned.


Additionally, successive studies by the


International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) have shown that schools that model democratic practice are the most effective in promoting civic knowledge and engagement. Unsurprisingly, its CIVED Report, based on more than 25 states around the world, also showed that those students with more knowledge of


civic institutions participate more actively in their societies. Whilst the home environment can have a substantial impact on civic knowledge, there is a high correlation between the extent of young people's knowledge of the "mechanics" of their society and the amount of time spent addressing the area within the school curriculum.


In and out of the classroom Schools clearly have a major role to play in preparing young people for active involvement in their communities. The review showed that across all key


stages there were many examples of excellent practice. However, the general pattern was


inconsistent, hampered by a shortage of resources, co-ordination and detailed local knowledge amongst some of those charged with its delivery. It must also be recognized that


education for citizenship is a life-long and multi-faceted process. The seeds for participation can be sown in the classroom, but they will need to be nurtured by other agencies both during and after time spent in formal education in order to fulfil the ambitions of citizenship programmes. A number of States' departments


have included aspects of citizenship as priorities in their strategic plans. This


drawn from this study into citizenship education in Jersey suggest that:


1. Jersey, in common with other


developed societies, is facing a decline in its "social capital"; 2. A number of significant social


problems are potential consequences of such a decline; 3. Engagement with the wider community is important from the earliest stages of education; 4. Other agencies need to supplement


the work of schools, and to continue to actively engage young voters once they have left secondary education, and 5. The social health of the island is a


shared responsibility with all community stakeholders.


Taking action The citizenship curriculum in schools was reviewed and enhanced in 2007 and a new schools resource pack and website have been designed to support the delivery of the new curriculum. A new citizenship curriculum policy


has being developed that details the type of learning activities that Jersey pupils should experience at specific times in their school career. A curriculum guidance document has


been provided for schools so that it can be used to plan for the teaching of citizenship in the school year. A resource pack has been developed


The Parliamentarian 2008/Issue One - Jersey 17


Citizenship Versus Apathy


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