Module 1
Factual Background
Chapter 1 Conceptual Framework
1.4 Policies and implementation of education for democratic citizenship and human rights
In the majority of European nations, national curricula tend to address the majority of competencies associated with democratic and socially responsible behaviour, critical thinking, and interpersonal connections.
In 16 EU member states, citizenship education is a required special topic, especially in lower or upper secondary school. This is the case in Romania, Italy, French-speaking Belgium, France, Poland, Cyprus, and Luxembourg. Only Estonia, Finland, France, and Greece make citizenship education a primary through secondary school requirement. (EDUCATION IN EUROPE: KEY FIGURES 2020).
Values such as personal responsibility, collaboration, and communication are included in the curricula at all levels of schooling (but mainly in elementary schools), critical thinking is often taught at the lower secondary level while learning how to behave democratically is taught at the upper secondary level in most countries. Human rights are addressed at all stages of education, most citizenship education curricula aim to promote a feeling of belonging to the larger community primarily in elementary school.
In Europe, there are three main approaches to integrating citizenship education into the general education curriculum: it can be a separate subject, integrated into broader mandatory subjects or learning areas such as the social sciences or language studies, or it can be a cross-curricular objective taught by all teachers. Many education systems use both integrated and cross-curricular approaches at all levels of general education.
The most important challenges in terms of the curriculum and the quality of teaching democratic values and fundamental rights in formal education are as follow:
At the European level, findings show that there is a persisting lack of policy frameworks or strategies explicitly promoting education for democratic citizenship and human rights in European countries (2022 Review of the implementation of the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education). There are inconsistencies between policies and their implementation. Several nations have taken the initiative in recent years to incorporate the education for active citizenship and fundamental rights in their curriculum via legislative and policy changes.
In 16 EU member states, citizenship education is a required special topic, especially in lower or upper secondary school. This is the case in Romania, Italy, French-speaking Belgium, France, Poland, Cyprus, and Luxembourg. Only Estonia, Finland, France, and Greece make citizenship education a primary through secondary school requirement. (EDUCATION IN EUROPE: KEY FIGURES 2020).
Values such as personal responsibility, collaboration, and communication are included in the curricula at all levels of schooling (but mainly in elementary schools), critical thinking is often taught at the lower secondary level while learning how to behave democratically is taught at the upper secondary level in most countries. Human rights are addressed at all stages of education, most citizenship education curricula aim to promote a feeling of belonging to the larger community primarily in elementary school.
In Europe, there are three main approaches to integrating citizenship education into the general education curriculum: it can be a separate subject, integrated into broader mandatory subjects or learning areas such as the social sciences or language studies, or it can be a cross-curricular objective taught by all teachers. Many education systems use both integrated and cross-curricular approaches at all levels of general education.
The most important challenges in terms of the curriculum and the quality of teaching democratic values and fundamental rights in formal education are as follow:
- The need to shift from a curriculum based on information, which focuses on the delivered content, to one based on learner’s achievements and individual competences. In formal education, human rights education often puts more emphasis on getting information than on building skills and attitudes.
- The problem of maintaining a balance between preventing the overload of the curriculum and effectively preparing teachers and educators to teach democratic values and fundamental rights.
- The lack of openness in including teaching EU values in the curriculum
- The fact that in certain European countries, democratic citizenship and human rights continue to be extremely sensitive and politicised.
- The lack of connection between the curriculum and classroom practice.
At the European level, findings show that there is a persisting lack of policy frameworks or strategies explicitly promoting education for democratic citizenship and human rights in European countries (2022 Review of the implementation of the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education). There are inconsistencies between policies and their implementation. Several nations have taken the initiative in recent years to incorporate the education for active citizenship and fundamental rights in their curriculum via legislative and policy changes.
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