The interaction between students and teachers in citizenship education
This is a study of the interaction between students and teachers in the context of Citizenship Education within a secondary comprehensive school in northern England. Citizenship Education was introduced as part of the statutory curriculum for English secondary schools in 2002. Among the subject's purposes is the 'increase [of] the knowledge, skills and values relevant to participative democracy' (QCA, 1998, p. 40) For this, a shift in the school's ethos is advocated aiming to promote students' active participation and the development of a feeling of ownership towards their school. The study analyses data collected during the second and third years of the implementation of Citizenship Education in order to examine the ways that interaction between students and teachers supports or obstructs this shift in the school's ethos. The study is based on a methodological framework which draws on interactionist studies and symbolic interactionism. This framework allows the study to present teachers' and students' perspectives about their interaction and their views about their own roles within Citizenship classes and more generally in the school. The study suggests that students' and teachers' perspectives about the external expectations directed towards their roles, together with their own expectations and the overall institutional conditions lead them to interact with each other in a way that does not allow the establishment of the ethos that citizenship education advocates. Furthermore, it is noted that teachers and students feel personally detached from their roles, preventing their interaction from having the flexibility that could allow it to change. This detachment extends to the community of the school which appears divided and weak in active participation. The study suggests that the sense of ownership that Citizenship Education aims to develop is not only an important outcome but also a necessary condition for meaningful active participation.