Citizenship Education and Heritage

Tim Copeland

The International Centre for Heritage Education, School of Education, University of Gloucestershire. TCopeland@glos.ac.uk

Summary

Table of Contents | This article is Open Access

Citizenship has become a significant part of the National Curriculum in England (QCA 1998) and is also a component of the curricula of Scotland and Wales. This reflects a Europe-wide concern with the concept of democratic citizenship as a direct response to post-1989 socio-economic and political changes and the fall of the Communist Bloc (for example: Osler 1995; Copeland 1998; Audigier 2000; Birzea 2000). Users of component areas of the English National Curriculum are examining the rationale of their subjects to demonstrate congruency with the citizenship concept in order that their continued inclusion in the already over-crowded experience of school pupils may be justified. Since archaeology is not a major component of school curricula in the United Kingdom, but it is likely that artefacts, buildings and sites will be used diffused across the curriculum in subjects such as history, geography, art, science and technology, the term 'heritage education' is used to identify pupils' learning experiences. This article examines the relationship between democratic citizenship education and the concept of heritage and, by implication, heritage education.

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Features

This article will appeal to: Educationalists, Those interested in the 'politics' of archaeology
Key Features: Being a fully participating citizen includes having rights and responsibilities towards heritage, The study of heritage in curricula could contribute significantly to citizenship education,
Keywords: Citizenship; Heritage; Education; Politics

References

Audigier, F., 2000 Basic concepts and core competencies for education for democratic citizenship. Strasbourg: Citizenship Council for Cultural Co-operation Council of Europe.

Birzea, C., 2000 Education for Democratic Citizenship: A Life long Learning Perspective. Strasbourg: Citizenship Council for Cultural Co-operation Council of Europe.

Copeland, T., 1998 'Whose monuments are they? Whose past is it? The multicultural use of monuments', in Cultural Heritage and its educational implications: a factor for tolerance, good citizenship and social integration. Strasbourg: Council of Europe. 39-44.

Osler, A., 1995 'Introduction: Citizenship, schooling and teacher education', in A. Osler, H-F. Rathenow and H. Strakey (eds), Teaching for Citizenship in Europe. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books. 3-14.

QCA, 1998 The Final Report of the Advisory Group on Education for Citizenship and the Teaching of Democracy in Schools. London: QCA.