EUROPEAN COMMISSION - PRESS RELEASE
Citizenship education now taught in all European
countries but specialist training for teachers lacking
Brussels, 31 May 2012 – All EU Member States have integrated 'citizenship
education' into their primary and secondary school curricula - albeit with different
approaches, according to a report published today by the European Commission.
Improving knowledge and skills for teaching the subject remains a challenge,
however, with only two countries (UK - England and Slovakia) offering training for
prospective specialist teachers in initial teacher education programmes. The report
indicates a general consensus that citizenship education should aim to develop
critical thinking, analytical skills and attitudes to foster active participation in school
and society.
Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and
Youth, said: "Citizenship education endows pupils with the necessary knowledge,
skills and values to actively engage in our society. We must encourage this
because active participation is at the root of our democratic values in Europe. We
also need to put more emphasis on teacher training in this area so that young
people are inspired to become active citizens."
The report finds that schools in all European countries have introduced rules and
recommendations aimed at encouraging democratic practices and participation
through, for example, the election of class representatives, student councils and
student representation on school governing bodies. This increases the likelihood
that young people will actively engage in social and political life.
While all countries have guidelines to give pupils a voice in the running of their
school, since 2007 more than half1 have implemented at least one publicly financed
programme or project to cultivate citizenship-related values and attitudes outside
school. These include initiatives to encourage pupils from different ethnic and socioeconomic groups to get involved in joint activities (Latvia, for instance, has
launched a project on these lines) or to bring children in primary schools together
with old people in retirement homes (France is among the countries to encourage
such 'intergenerational' projects).
Active participation is also increasingly used in pupil assessment. More than a third
of European countries2 now take participation in school or community activities into
account when assessing students.
1
Belgium (French Community), Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, France,
Italy, Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania, Austria, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Norway, Iceland
and Croatia.
2
Bulgaria, Germany, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland,
Slovenia, Slovakia and Turkey.
IP/12/514
Background
The Citizenship Education in Europe report, compiled for the Commission by the
Eurydice network, covers 31 European countries – the EU Member States, Iceland,
Norway, Croatia and Turkey.
It aims to sum up how policies and measures relating to citizenship education have
evolved in recent years. The report provides an overview of five main topics: 1)
Curriculum aims and organisation; 2) Student and parent participation in schools; 3)
School culture and student participation in society; 4) Assessment and evaluation;
5) Support for teachers and school heads. The report also highlights progress
made, where evident, since the previous Eurydice study on this topic in 2005. The
reference year is 2010/11.
Improving teachers' knowledge and skills for teaching citizenship remains a
challenge. While, in general, citizenship education is integrated into initial teacher
education courses for secondary education specialists in subjects such as history
and geography, only two of the 31 countries assessed (England and Slovakia) train
prospective teachers as specialists in citizenship education. Furthermore, while
several countries have reformed their citizenship education curricula in recent
years, these reforms have rarely been introduced in initial teacher education or
continuing professional development programmes.
Standardised methods that guide teachers in their assessment of pupils are also
still widely lacking, the report finds.
Eurydice
The report is produced by the Eurydice network, which provides analyses and
information on European education systems and policies. It consists of 37 national
units based in all 33 countries participating in the EU's Lifelong Learning
Programme (EU Member States, Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway,
Switzerland and Turkey). It is co-ordinated and managed by the EU Education,
Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency.
For more information
The full report, in English is available here: Citizenship Education in Europe
Highlights of the report
European Commission: Education and training
Androulla Vassiliou's website
Follow Androulla Vassiliou onTwitter @VassiliouEU
Contacts :
Dennis Abbott (+32 2 295 92 58)
Dina Avraam (+32 2 295 96 67)
2
ANNEX
1. Regulations and official recommendations providing for student
representatives on school governing bodies (primary and secondary
level), 2010/11
3
2. Central guidelines for assessing students’ active participation in
school or in the community (secondary education), 2010/11
4
3. Objectives of citizenship education as recommended in national curricula,
2010/11
IP/12/514