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Introduction
Citizenship
has become an important area of curriculum development in recent years.
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Citizenship
is a statutory National Curriculum subject in England at Key Stages
3 & 4. This statutory curriculum is complemented by non-statutory
guidelines on the teaching of PSHE & Citizenship at Key Stages
1 & 2 that came into effect in August 2000. SSEHV
significantly overlaps with the intentions, format and content of
these initiatives and explicit links between PSHE, Citizenship and
SSEHV have been detailed in Programme resources.
In
addition, there are also now non-statutory guidelines on the teaching
of Citizenship Education in primary and secondary schools in Scotland
(see www.ltscotland.org.uk)
that also overlap significantly with the work of SSEHV.
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The
Sathya Sai EHV Programme can help teachers to fulfill the statutory requirements
for promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural
development through citizenship.
About
citizenship in the National Curriculum
The
Structure of the National Curriculum
The programmes of study set out what pupils should be taught, and the
attainment target sets out the expected standards of pupils’ performance.
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Education Act 1996, section 353b, defines a Programme of Study as
the ‘matters, skills and processes’ that should be taught to pupils
of different abilities and maturities during the key stage. |
It
is for schools to choose how they organise their school curriculum to
include the programmes of study for citizenship.
The Programmes of Study
Schools
now have a statutory responsibility to teach the programmes of study for
citizenship at key stages 3 and 4. The programmes of study set out what
pupils should be taught in citizenship education and provide the basis
for planning schemes of work. When planning, schools should also consider
the general teaching requirements for inclusion, use of language and use
of information and communication technology that apply across the programmes
of study.
The
Knowledge, skills and understanding in the programmes of study identify
the aspects of citizenship in which pupils make progress:
-
becoming informed citizens
- developing
skills of enquiry and communication
- developing
skills of participation and responsible action.
Teaching
should ensure that knowledge and understanding about becoming informed
citizens are acquired and applied when developing skills of enquiry and
communication, and participation and responsible action.
Attainment
target and end of key stage descriptions
The
attainment target for Citizenship sets out the ‘knowledge, skills and
understanding that pupils of different abilities and maturities are expected
to have by the end of the key stage' (as
defined by the Education Act 1996, section 353a). In
Citizenship, the attainment target consists of an end of key stage description
for key stage 3 and one for key stage 4.
End of key stage descriptions describe the type and range of performance
that the majority of pupils should characteristically demonstrate by the
end of the key stage, having been taught the relevant programme of study.
The descriptions are designed to help teachers judge the extent to which
their pupils’ attainment relates to this expectation. The expectation
at the end of key stage 3 matches the level of demand in other subjects
and is broadly equivalent to levels 5/6.
Learning
across the National Curriculum
The
importance of Citizenship to pupils’ education is set out here. The examples
below indicate specific ways in which the teaching of citizenship can
contribute to learning across the curriculum.
Promoting
pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through citizenship
For
example, citizenship provides opportunities for:
- spiritual
development,
through fostering pupils’ awareness and understanding of meaning and
purpose in life and of differing values in human society
-
moral development, through helping
pupils develop a critical appreciation of issues of right and wrong,
justice, fairness, rights and obligations in society
- social
development,
through helping pupils acquire the understanding and skills needed to
become responsible and effective members of society
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cultural development,
through helping pupils understand the nature and role of the different
groups to which they belong, and promoting respect for diversity and
difference.
Promoting
Key Skills
Citizenship
provides opportunities for pupils to develop the key skills of:
- communication,
through researching, discussing and sharing information and ideas about
a wide variety of social, political and community issues
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application of number, through examining
statistics to consider the ways they are used and abused in a variety
of social and political contexts
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Information Technology,
through using and applying ICT to analyse issues, events and problems
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working with others,
through sharing ideas, formulating policies and taking part in responsible
action in communities
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improving own learning and performance,
through reflecting on their own and others’ ideas and achievements,
and setting targets for future involvement and improvement
- problem
solving,
through becoming involved in political and community issues.
Promoting
other aspects of the curriculum
For
example, citizenship provides opportunities to promote:
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thinking skills,
through helping pupils to engage in social issues that require the use
of reasoning, understanding and action through enquiry and evaluation
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financial capability,
through developing pupils’ understanding of the nature and role of money
in society and developing skills in its use
- enterprise
and entrepreneurial skills,
through developing pupils’ understanding of the importance of these
skills for a thriving economy and democracy
- work-related
learning,
through helping pupils to appreciate the link between learning and work
for a thriving economy and society
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education for sustainable development,
through developing pupils’ skills in, and commitment to, effective participation
in the democratic and other decision-making processes that affect the
quality, structure and health of environments and society and exploring
values that determine people’s actions within society, the economy and
the environment.
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Citizenship
