Abstract
This chapter examines how civics and citizenship has been constructed in education policy in Australia since the publication of “Education for Active Citizenship in Australian Schools and Youth Organisations” (SSCEET 1989). The chapter identifies possible tensions and contradictions in citizenship education policy and highlights how policy discourse often ignores wider issues of inclusion and social justice with the assumption being that all young people can achieve full citizenship if they acquire formal citizenship knowledge and skills. The discussions presented in this chapter are informed by recent developments in Citizenship Studies and Sociology of Youth which have pointed to the need to broaden the definition of citizenship from “formal rights and duties” to “a lived experience” grounded in everyday spaces and enacted through social relationships (Lister 2007). Attention to the lived aspect of citizenship requires us to recognize social exclusion as a barrier to active participation in spaces such as schools and classrooms. This is particularly important for young people who face multiple and often interlocking forms of disadvantage. The chapter concludes by calling for a social justice agenda for civics and citizenship education.
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Dadvand, B. (2018). Civics and Citizenship Education in Australia: The Importance of a Social Justice Agenda. In: Peterson, A., Stahl, G., Soong, H. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Citizenship and Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67905-1_36-1
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