The concept of citizenship denotes both membership of a community, whether political or social, as well as a set of rights and duties or the assumption to which these rights and duties are related. Educating for citizenship, therefore, means helping people to understand this sense of community, of belonging, and promoting the values of solidarity, commitment and respect. In this sense, one cannot fail to refer also to civic education: civicness indicates a sense of civic duty, respect for rules, education in urban coexistence and the acquisition of knowledge about the order of a democratic and civil society. But the term citizenship has to do with belonging, identity and values.

“Citizenship competence is the ability to act as responsible citizens and to fully participate in civic and social life, based on understanding of social, economic, legal and political concepts and structures, as well as global developments and sustainability” (EU Council Recommendation of 22 May 2018 on key competences for lifelong learning). The idea of citizenship has declined on a global level and this obliges us to reconsider the idea of planetary belonging and to rethink the relationships between global and local that can no longer be expressed in terms of traditional citizenships. This means, in essence, conceiving future citizenship education in a broad and inclusive perspective that includes, on the one hand, national identity and knowledge of the political-institutional organisation of one's own country, and on the other, knowledge, recognition and encounter with the other, thus providing new generations with the tools to face and manage complexity on a personal, social, cultural, political, economic and environmental level.

Citizenship education in today's society must therefore pursue educational objectives such as approaching problems as members of a global society, assuming responsibility, understanding cultural differences, critical thinking, being prepared to resolve conflicts in a non-violent manner, changing one’s lifestyle to protect the environment, being sensitive to the protection of human rights, and political participation at local, national and international level (Cogan, Derricott, 1998).

How to promote citizenship education?

“In democratic societies citizenship education supports students in becoming active, informed and responsible citizens, who are willing and able to take responsibility for themselves and for their communities at the local, regional, national and international level” (European Commission et al., 2017, p.9).

Citizenship only has meaning if it can be active, in the measure that it allows people to express their right to participate. Active citizenship cannot be imposed, nor is it sufficient to guarantee it by law; it requires educational paths that can help invest one's share of political participation with meaning.

Of course, when we speak of educational pathways, we are not only referring to public education systems: the media system, local authorities and family, to name but a few, also undoubtedly play an educational role in citizenship at various levels, in order to respond in an increasingly significant way to the problems emerging from the complexity of contemporary society.

We are going through a phase of accelerated cultural, social, political and economic transformation, of dramatic conflicts that are expressed in processes of disorientation, abandonment and mistrust, in which the values of civil and social coexistence seem to be disappearing.

In this context, many young adults seem even more lost and perceive themselves to be citizens less and less: young people grouped as ‘NEET’ (not in education, employment or training), or the situation of young migrants and refugees (with no rights), young people without a job or in situations of prolonged precariousness, all of whom are at risk of experiencing social exclusion and alienation from trust in democratic institutions and political commitment. It therefore becomes fundamental to engage and re-engage young adults through citizenship education policies, and also in adults education, to improve their life chances, to facilitate their social inclusion and to contribute to their capacity to take a more active role as citizens in their contexts.

How?

A recent publication (Kersh, Toiviainen, Pitkänen, Zarifs, 2021) underlines how situations might vary in our countries, but there are some principles that we can consider as guidelines.

“The cross-cutting elements of meaningful policy and practice approaches, should include the following:

1. relevance and contextualisation: e.g. contextualising active participatory citizenship dimensions in ways that are relevant to young adults’ personal backgrounds and/or professional aims, ambitions, and gender differences need to be taken into account;
2. opportunities and affordances: creating opportunities to exercise active citizenship in all its dimensions and related to young adults’ experiences and personal situations;
3. flexibility and personalisation rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach: ensuring flexible provision that provides personalised approaches in developing educational programmes;
4. the significant role of the educational professional: the importance of the mediating role of educational professionals needs to be better recognised and taken into account by relevant stakeholders;
5. multiculturalism and tolerance: promoting learning in diverse and multicultural groups in a safe environment;
6. resilience and confidence: fostering resilience, confidence, self-esteem and the aspiration of young adults; 
7. the role of communication networks: promoting communication between different stakeholders”
   (Toiviainen, et al., 2022, pp.179-180).

To educate for citizenship it is fundamental to promote forms of participatory planning, starting with those activities that personally involve citizens in the processes of designing and organising the forms, times and spaces of urban life, based on sharing the process by which the organisation of life in the city is decided. And for this it is necessary to involve citizens of all ages and to support the educational processes of life-long learning. The ultimate aim of education is the formation of a citizen who is free to express their ideas and to participate in the processes of change. Culture is the key word of democracy, not superficial culture, but that giving the tools for life and for mastering processes (Dewey, 1916).

Hence the need for experiential learning, which requires the ability to distinguish educational experiences from those that are not. The first symptom that goes in this direction is the ability of the experience to activate a change in behaviour towards the chosen direction.

Transforming, directing and generating are the three movements that allow experience to become learning (Freire, 1996).

In schools, participation and active citizenship are exercised through workshop-based teaching, which, starting from kindergarten, is active learning that stimulates interest and develops a critical approach. Engaging in inclusive active and democratic citizenship education, educating on human rights, children's rights, legality, sustainability and constitutional culture means carrying out wide-ranging projects aimed at promoting cultural pluralism and participation in public, political and social life. This type of approach is aimed at educating critical citizens, capable of acting autonomously, exercising participation and sharing.

A particularly important educational aspect of participation concerns the logic of being part of something, or rather partiality, which is a term closely linked to participation: being part of something as training in partiality, making the contribution that others bring to us rich and meaningful, without having all-embracing expectations.

The concept of participation, in this perspective, is strongly related to that of co-responsibility, which means educating ourselves on ethical commitments and having the courage to take a stand.

There are also many different ways to “take action”: sit-in, performances in public spaces, street art, strikes, flash mob, non-violent resistance, … but also volunteering, civic service, service learning. Most of the time the meaning is to protest, to evidence a situation, to make more people aware of a problem. Or to give your time and competences to support your community, whether it be local or global. Taking action means acting outside of the traditional education arena, doing something to make human rights a reality, for a better human rights world.

References

Cogan, J.J., Derricott, R. (eds.) (1998). Citizenship for the 21st Century. An International Perspective on Education. London: Kogan Page.

Dewey (2016). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. New York: MacMillan.

European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice (2017). Citizenship Education at School in Europe. Eurydice Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.

European Union (2018). Council Recommendation of 22 May 2018 on key competences for lifelong learning (2018/C 189/01).

Freire, P. (1996). Pedagogia da Autonomia. Saberes necessários a prática educativa. Sao Paulo: EGA.

Kersh, N., Toiviainen, H., Pitkänen, P., Zarifs, G.K. (eds.) (2021). Young Adults and Active Citizenship. Towards Social Inclusion through Adult Education. Springer Open Access.

Toiviainen, H., et al. (2021). Conclusion: Divergences or Convergences? Facilitating Active Citizenship Through Adult Education Across Europe and Beyond. In Kersh, N., Toiviainen, H., Pitkänen, P., Zarifs, G.K. (eds.). Young Adults and Active Citizenship. Towards Social Inclusion through Adult Education (167-182). Springer Open Access.