Educating for Democracy and Diversity: the work of the Centre for Citizenship and Human Rights Education
What makes a good citizen? Who has the right to call him or herself a citizen? Can citizenship be taught? These are questions which have concerned society for thousands of years. From Socrates to Sartre, from George Washington to George Bush, great – and some not so great – men and women have weighed in on the debate. Even Idi Amin Dada had a point of view.
Examining the relationship between citizenship, democracy and human rights is the work of Leeds University 's Centre for Citizenship and Human Rights Education (CCHRE), which was established in 2004 with the aim of promoting and developing more democratic approaches to education , based on the principles of freedom, equality, justice and peace. The CCHRE is unique in that it is the only centre for the study of human rights education within a Faculty of Education at a British university.
Professor Audrey Osler, founder and Director of the Centre, says: “Human rights education is highly developed as a field amongst legal scholars. Yet within other areas, it has been largely unexplored. The work of the Centre is necessarily interdisciplinary, as we believe that learning for citizenship and human rights involves collaboration between educators and those working in a range of disciplines including political science, sociology, social geography and human rights law.”
Questions of how to teach democracy and diversity are at the centre of education policy debates at national, European and international levels. “Interest in education for democratic citizenship is increasing across the world,” says Professor Osler. “Governments are concerned for a number of reasons - as a possible antidote to youth alienation and exclusion, and – perhaps with a degree of self interest – as a means of encouraging young people to engage in traditional political processes and vote.”
Citizenship education became compulsory in the National Curriculum for England from 2002, with parallel developments in Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland . Since then, it has continued to feature prominently on the political agenda. Its remit has also broadened, in the wake of the Stephen Lawrence Enquiry, to include promoting race equality and addressing racism; and, in the aftermath of the London 7/7 bomb attacks, to encourage ‘British values' and ‘Britishness', in the words of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown respectively.
Professor Osler believes that understandings of national identity and citizenship need to be more inclusive in a multicultural society. “There has been a lot of debate about whether patriotism should be encouraged, discouraged or passively tolerated in British schools. Our research suggests that teachers in England feel uncomfortable about promoting British values and often wish to avoid reference to national symbols, such as the national anthem or the flag. Many are scared of promoting patriotism in case they inadvertently encourage jingoism or xenophobia,” she says.
One reason for caution, especially in very ethnically diverse schools, is an uncertainty about how appropriate it is to promote patriotic attachment to Britain to new migrants and other students with existing attachments to their families' countries of origin. Professor Osler says teachers should see this positively. “If we think of young people living in multicultural cities as ‘emergent cosmopolitans', then there is no need for them to feel torn between Britain and their country of origin. They already show a degree of solidarity with others in their own neighbourhood, and are also able to identify with problems faced by other people in different parts of the world.
“In this context, I would argue that it is appropriate to create and encourage a sense of belonging. If patriotism means identifying with the country one lives in, recognising its strengths but also being willing to challenge inequalities and injustice, that's what engaged citizenship is,” she adds.
The Centre seeks to share its expertise as widely as possible with external groups, offering services in the areas of applied research, consultancies, advice, training, workshops and specially-designed courses. It has established good relationships with local and regional authorities, supporting developments in schools and community organisations within Leeds and surrounding areas. “We work closely with teachers and pupils to generate dialogue and debate about a number of issues ranging from citizenship lessons to the leadership of schools ,” says Professor Osler.
“ Children have an essential role in shaping the future of our country. Pupils should be given the opportunity to voice their opinions on matters such as exclusion, caring for disabled adults or siblings, bullying and teenage pregnancy, alongside education professionals. By allowing young people to participate in consultation processes, they not only learn about democracy but have opportunities to practise it at school.”
CCHRE is nationally and internationally focused, with partnerships and ongoing working relationships with the British Council, UNESCO, the European Commission, the Council of Europe, and the British Association for Eastern and Central Europe.
The Centre is currently participating in two major research projects, both funded by the European Commission. INTERACT ( Intercultural Active Citizenship) is a three-year project which examines the design and implementation of educational policies on citizenship education in the UK, Denmark, Spain and Portugal, and the extent to which citizenship education programmes reflect an intercultural dimension.
“INTERACT provides a solid base of research for policy-makers to begin an exchange of ideas about how Europe can address questions of cohesion, participation in a changing climate where there are concerns about security,” says Professor Osler. “The comparative approach has challenged previously held assumptions. For example, in the UK and Denmark , with their long histories of political and social stability, there is a lot of complacency around issues of democracy. In Spain and Portugal , which experienced twentieth century dictatorships and revolution, democracy and human rights are not taken for granted but actively promoted in schools.”
TEESAEC (Teacher Empowerment to Educate Students to Become Active European Citizens) investigates students' level of interest and active engagement with European politics. The study, which runs simultaneously in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Estonia , the Netherlands and the UK , aims to identify the knowledge and skills necessary for students to fulfil their role as active European and cosmopolitan citizens. In Leeds, the Centre will run the project in collaboration with Allerton High and Allerton Grange High Schools .
Part of the project is the production and evaluation of a series of Web-based teaching sessions on the political processes of the European Union. Professor Osler says: “The future of the EU is often assumed to be dependent upon the direction, negotiations and activities of governments and senior diplomats. TEESAEC turns the spotlight on young people and their feelings and attitudes towards Europe . We hope the educational materials will inspire them to take action as citizens in one of the world's largest multicultural political communities.”
In July 2006 , CCHRE hosted the UK and European launch of a key international report on preparing young people for citizenship in multicultural societies. The event, which marked the Centre's first major international conference, was attended by a government minister, representatives from OFSTED, policy-makers, members of the Education and Skills Select Committee as well as children, teachers, researchers and human rights activists from eighteen countries around the world.
The report, Democracy and Diversity: Principles and Concepts for Educating Citizens in a Global Age , is the product of two years' collaborative work by an international group of scholars and teacher educators, led by Professor James Banks of the Center for Multicultural Education at the University of Washington , Seattle . Professor Osler was the sole European representative in the drafting group. The report argues that education for citizenship and multicultural education are interlinked.
Professor Osler, who has since addressed a meeting of the Commonwealth Ministers of Education in Cape Town on the Centre's work, says: “People sometimes suggest that a multicultural society is less stable or cohesive than a more homogenous one. Yet democracy depends on people expressing their different points of view and resolving differences of opinion. Diversity doesn't undermine democracy. It gives it added strength.”
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For further information contact
Professor Audrey Osler
Centre for Citizenship and Human Rights Education
E: Audrey.Osler@Impact.leeds.ac.uk