Citizenship Education around the World : Local Contexts and Global Possibilities

Though certainly not a new idea, citizenship education manifests in unique and often unpredictable ways in our contemporary neoliberal era. The question of what it means to be a productive and recognized citizen must now be understood simultaneously along both global and local lines. This edited volume offers an international perspective on citizenship education enacted in specific socio-political contexts. Each chapter includes a pointed conceptualization of citizenship education―a philosophical framework―that is then applied to specific national cases across Europe, Asia, Canada and more. Chapters emphasize how such frameworks are implemented within local contexts, encouraging particular pedagogical/curricular practices even as they constrain others. Chapters conclude with suggestions for productive change and how educators might usefully engage contemporary contexts through citizenship education.

John E. Petrovic is Professor of Educational Philosophy and Policy Studies and Program Coordinator for the Social and Cultural Studies in Education PhD at The University of Alabama, USA. He has written articles on a range of issues and topics from Dewey, to heterosexism, to language policy. He has published in such journals as Educational Theory, Educational Studies, Journal of Language and Politics, and the International Multilingual Research Journal. He is editor of International Perspectives on Bilingual Education: Policy, Practice, and Controversy.

Aaron M. Kuntz is Associate Professor of Educational Studies at the University of Alabama, USA, where he currently serves as Program Coordinator for the PhD in Educational Research. His research interests include critical qualitative inquiry, academic activism and citizenship, critical geography, and philosophy of education. Dr. Kuntz’s publications appear in such diverse journals as Qualitative Inquiry, Educational Action Research, Cultural Studies<=> Critical Methodologies, the Journal of Language and Politics, Educational Studies, The Journal of Higher Education, the Peabody Journal of Education, and others.