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Education for citizenship and democracy in a globalized world: a comparative perspective Year of publication: 2005 Corporate author: Inter-American Development Bank The present document, Education for Citizenship and Democracy in a Globalized World: A Comparative Perspective, was developed in response to a request from the members of the Regional Policy Dialogue/Education Network. The studies in this document were presented and discussed during the VII Regional Policy Dialogue meeting held in January 2005 at the Inter-American Development Bank ’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. Within the general context of recent economic and political developments in Latin America and the Caribbean, experts regard free market and democracy as the fundamental economic and political paradigm leading to modernization and development in the global market. There is a concern in a number of democratic nation-states about levels of political engagement, particularly among the youths. This is cited as a reason for strengthening citizenship education.The studies presented in this document discuss Education for Citizenship and Democracy and the role of schools as systematic providers of the civic knowledge and the participatory practices that are the foundation of democracy. Among all of the institutions that facilitate the acquisition and development of skills for democratic participation, the school is the one that provide students with the competencies to effectively participate as citizens in a democracy. There has been an increasing interest in citizenship education both in the national and international contexts. At the national level, the aim is to pursue commitment and political participation, particularly from youth. In the international sphere, the objective is to find answers to the challenges such as immigration, global communications and trade across international borders and to a new level of awareness and appreciation for human rights. By providing a comprehensive overview of progress made by industrialized countries in the field of citizenship education, this study intents to share lessons learnt and effective practices which may be applied in the context of Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, this study includes three experiences from Latin American countries (Chile, Colombia and Mexico) that were presented during the VII Regional Policy Dialogue. The three experiences show a practical and positive approach to the feasibility of introducing citizenship education in the schools of the Region. The cases present examples of reforms that evolved from the traditional civic education into an engaging education for citizenship and democracy. The Inter American Development Banks trusts that this publication will contribute to the discussions among member countries and create alternatives for the strengthening of democracy in the Region through education and citizenship. Introducing quality assurance of education for democratic citizenship in schools - comparative study of 10 countries Year of publication: 2009 Corporate author: Council of Europe For over a decade the Council of Europe has been working on policies in the field of education for democratic citizenship (EDC). One result has been that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe agreed on a recommendation stating that EDC is central to educational politics, and that it is a “factor for innovation in terms of organising and managing overall education systems, as well as curricula and teaching methods” (Recommendation Rec(2002)12). According to this recommendation, European governments acknowledged their responsibility for ensuring the cultural basis of democracy through education. However, politics is not so simple that supranational recommendations are immediately translated into policy in national states. This gap between agreed and realised policies has been termed a “compliance gap”. One of the most logical reasons for noncompliance comes from a lack of awareness or competences. Therefore the Council of Europe concentrated on producing materials that could help raise awareness and develop competences. Key products resulting from this effort have been collected as an “EDC/HRE Pack” since 2005.This collection covers the areas of policy making, democratic governance of educational institutions, teacher training and quality assurance. The “Tool for Quality Assurance of Education for Democratic Citizenship in Schools” (Bîrzea et al., 2005), which is one of these materials, forms the reference document for this study.This study analyses relevant conditions and possible activities with regard to implementing the tool in 10 national educational systems. As relevant conditions, the study considers the existing attempts to deliver educational quality within countries, together with the teacher training programmes that accompany these attempts. As possible activities, national adaptations of the tool, and various ways of working with different target groups, are also taken into account.The following sections provide background information concerning the project. This will help the reader understand why the tool needs to be adapted in different circumstances. Section 2 presents points of reference that open theoretical perspectives on the work presented. Section 3 provides a rationale for the selection of participating countries and gives and describes the methodology used when conducting this study. Finally, Section 4 provides an overview of the remaining contents of this book. 
Citizenship education in Latin America: Priorities of School Curricula Year of publication: 2014 Author: Cristián Cox | Martín Bascopé | Juan Carlos Castillo | Daniel Miranda | Macarena Bonhomme Corporate author: UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE) This work focuses on the curricula of six Latin American countries – Colombia, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico and Paraguay – which at the close of the past decade agreed to be part of the project Regional System of Evaluation and Development of Citizenship Competencies (SREDECC). With the support of the Inter-American Development Bank, SREDECC developed the Latin American module of the International Civic and Citizenship Study (ICCS- 2009) undertaken by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), in addition to encouraging the participation of the countries in that study (Cox 2010; Schulz, Ainley, Friedman and Lietz 2011). This document comprises four parts. The first section takes stock of the state of democratic belief in the region, drawing upon the most significant opinion studies of the past decade, so as to offer broader meaning bases for curriculum analysis and, more generally, for educational work in the field of citizenship. The second section describes the organizational (or structural) characteristics of the curricula of the six countries and presents a framework of categories for their comparative analysis. The subsequent section describes and analyses the contents of the six curricula examined and how they deal with the values, institutions and citizenship relations in their civic (political) and civil (coexistence) dimensions. On the basis of the most significant findings, the closing section includes some reflections regarding curriculum development with regard to citizenship. The New educational pact: education, competitiveness and citizenship in modern society Year of publication: 1997 Author: Juan Carlos Tedesco Corporate author: UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE) As things are, individuals are just not sure where exactly they stand. The identity of the progressive educational movement and thought is in a state of crisis, and the simple answers of the past are no longer sufficient to define an educational policy which responds to the objectives of democracy and equity in the distribution of knowledge.This book is therefore a response to a personal need, which may be shared by others, namely the need to reflect on the role of education in this new social scenario laden with uncertainty and to try and find an alternative, both to the social disintegration derived from neo-liberal tendencies and to the totalitarian unity advocated in fundamentalist, anti-modern theories. The following script therefore moves between the past and the future. The look back at the past does not claim to be a historical analysis. It does try, on the other hand, to provide a useful instrument for a better understanding of what is changing. The glimpse into the future is not intended either to forecast what will happen, but to indicate which way we should be trying to guide our actions. As a result, the book is eclectic in more than one sense. From a theoretical point of view, it combines different disciplinary approaches : history, sociology, pedagogy, psychology and philosophy. From a political point of view, it adopts positions, but also allows for doubts and queries. Excluding doubt is a way of encouraging the predominance of dichotomous views, which promise us either a glorious destiny or total disaster. In this sense, the book tries not to fall into the trap of having to choose between pessimism and optimism and, perhaps excessively, assumes a conscious voluntarism based on a trust in the learning ability of human beings. To live together: shaping new attitudes to peace through education Year of publication: 1997 Author: Daniel S. Halpérin Corporate author: UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE) The ‘To live together’ initiative was born at a meeting in February 1996 with Professor Emeritus Antoine Cuendet, a pediatric surgeon, former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Geneva University, and chairman of the Geneva Foundation to Protect Health in War (hereafter the Geneva Foundation). His foundation was in a process of trying to better define its scope of action within the large theme of ‘health and war’, and to identify areas of research that would deserve priority support. We agreed that, at a time when politicians had entered an era of peacemaking in the Middle-East, the situation might be suitable for Palestinians and Israelis to venture into joint research projects. In particular, a potentially fruitful project could be to examine the effects of long term, protracted conflicts-such as the Israeli-Palestinian one-on the mental and social health of children. Little was known about how much of their anxiety, psychosomatic complaints, agressivity, behavioural disorders or school failures may be linked with direct or indirect consequences of the conflict. What were the interventions or instruments that may counterbalance, or even correct such problems? Was there any kind of an educational programme, for instance, that might be demonstrated to be efficacious in counteracting those putative effects of the conflict; and that might prove of value in actually accelerating the healing of the traumatisms, while simultaneously strengthening the construction of peace? Learning to live together: have we failed? A summary of the ideas and contributions arising from the forty-sixth session of UNESCO's International Conference on Education, Geneva, 5-8 September 2001 Year of publication: 2003 Corporate author: UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE) | UNESCO Brasilia The present book is based mainly on the work of the forty-sixth session of the International Conference on Education (ICE), organized by UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education (IBE) and held in Geneva from 5 to 8 September 2001. The theme of the conference was ‘Education for All for Learning to Live Together: Contents and Learning Strategies - Problems and Solutions’. Unless stated otherwise, the numerous quotations chosen to illustrate the points made in this book are from ICE documents and contributions. The Conclusions and Proposals for Action adopted by the 2001 ICE are provided in Chapter V.The ICE is the only regularly occurring event during which Ministers of Education from all over the world can meet. It therefore serves as a unique and highly appreciated international forum for high-level dialogue on educational issues and their policy implications.The 2001 ICE brought together over 600 participants from 127 countries, including in particular 80 Ministers and 10 Vice-Ministers of Education, as well as representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. The themes of the 2001 ICE were, and still are, very relevant all over the world: those in charge of education have become well aware of the necessity and complexity of living together, as well as of the role and limits of education in this respect.The ICE was inspired by abundant literature dealing with the principle issues that participants debated, including: Preparatory reports; National reports presented by the Member States; Examples of initiatives and good practice (including those presented at the conference as video case studies); Messages from Ministers of Education attending the Conference; And contributions from the numerous researchers, experts, educationists and decision makers at all levels of education who also participated in the Netforum between April and August 2001. More information and opinions on the vast issue of Education for All for Learning to Live Together were added during the Conference itself, in the form of keynote addresses, presentations and debates during the two plenary sessions, six thematic workshops and the special session devoted to partnerships with civil society.The present book draws on this wealth of experience, research, opinions, ideas and visions of the future. It seeks to contribute to bringing the debate on Education for All for Learning to Live Together closer to actors of the global educational community. By setting out ins concise way the key issues and proposed actions, and illustrating them with concrete examples, numerous quotations and a number of questions, this book is intended particularly for teacher trainers, teachers themselves and their professional organizations, as well as for all actors in civil society who endeavour to improve the quality of education, to encourage dialogue and to foster in this way the capacity for living together.Neither a ‘conference report’ nor a scientific or academic work, this book is intended to be a sort of ‘gallery of photographs’ of the forty-sixth session of the ICE – its atmosphere of dialogue, the themes of its debates, and the first-hand descriptions and experiences exchanged. Far from prescribing norms or standards, it intends to share information, ideas and practices, rather like the ICE itself, in a spirit of exchange and dialogue. 
Education for Citizenship in the Caribbean: A Study on Curricular Policy and Teacher Training in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic Year of publication: 2005 Author: Cheila Valera Acosta Corporate author: UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE) | Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) This study aims to describe teacher training and curricular policy for the primary and secondary levels in relation to education for citizenship in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic and make practical recommendations for improvements in the quality of design and implementation of these initiatives in the three countries.The following are some of the conclusions: At the start of the twenty-first century, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti share a context in which the processes of democratization have encountered obstacles connected with their colonial heritage, the hegemony of the European nations and the influence and direct interference from United States geopolitical, economic and cultural power.These democracies have developed from long and violent political dictatorships, which established authoritarian and restrictive institutional mechanisms for the day-to-day administration of public affairs. Public policies on education for citizenship should therefore take account of the contradictions faced by the democratizing processes and of the complex cultural impact on the development of social identities brought about by the phenomenon of mass migration.These issues and the tensions arising from social and economic inequalities are inadequately addressed in the three countries’ curricula and teacher training policies.There are legal bases integrating education for citizenship as part of the State’s educational responsibilities in all three countries. Education for citizenship is intended as a specific subject for the primary and secondary school levels.Educational proposals are required that can provide the population with greater understanding of community life, skills for confronting traditional ideological indoctrination, and for learning to live together while recognizing differences, and for helping to educate the imagination for a broader view of human affairs and our responsibilities with regard to them.The actors involved in teacher training in the three countries consider it a key tool for the democratic development of societies. Their main criticisms indicate that there is a need to improve the contents and the approaches to teacher training so that they can respond to the current challenges of these societies from an interdisciplinary standpoint consistent with the stated educational goals. Basic education curriculum guide: building on strengths (Primary 1 - Secondary 3) Year of publication: 2002 Corporate author: Curriculum Development Council (Hong Kong) The Basic Education Curriculum Guide – Building on Strengths is prepared by the Curriculum Development Council (CDC) to advise school supervisors, school heads/principals, teachers, parents and those concerned on how to realise both the aims of education (EC, 2000) and the recommendations made in the report on Learning to Learn – The Way Forward in Curriculum Development (CDC, 2001) for life-long learning and the whole-persons development of students. This Guide replaces the Guide to the Primary 1 to 6 Curriculum (CDC, 1993) and the part on junior secondary level of the Guide to the Secondary 1 to 5 Curriculum (CDC, 1993). It aims to provide:• Recommendations of a central curriculum for schools and time allocation which all schools to adopt at primary and junior secondary levels• Suggestions for actions in school curriculum planning, learning and teaching and assessment to improve the quality of education, and for school-based adaptations to build on the strengths of Hong Kong schools as well as to meet the needs of students• Illustrative examples in authentic school contexts• Opportunities for reflection by school heads/principals, teachers and related parties Life and Society Curriculum Guide (Secondary 1-3) Year of publication: 2010 Corporate author: Curriculum Development Council (Hong Kong) The 21st century is a rapidly-developing era in which students face social, economic and political changes, which also bring diverse and complicated values. These have created opportunities and challenges on students’ personal development, learning and future careers. Schools have to provide an appropriate curriculum to cater for the needs of students on their personal growth and future development so Life and Society (S1-3) has been drawn up for this very purpose.With the advent of the first decade of the Millennium, Hong Kong has been experiencing rapid changes on the economic, social and political fronts. Facts such as greater economic integration with the mainland (particularly with the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region), opportunities and challenges brought about by rapid economic growth on the mainland, increasing global economic interdependence, greater social diversity and Hong Kong’s move towards universal suffrage for the selection of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council will bring the next generation face to face with new social, economic and political landscapes as well as new ideologies. In a curriculum document prepared by the Curriculum Development Council the following statements were written: “…contemporary society has undergone significant changes and rapid development…” and “students…need to have an in-depth understanding of themselves, the local community, the nation and the world if they are to become confident, informed and responsible persons.”1 With the second decade just around the corner, schools must ensure that students become knowledgeable with these trends so that they can participate fully in the development of the society in the future.The introduction of Liberal Studies as a core subject in the senior secondary curriculum requires junior secondary students to acquire solid foundation knowledge on Personal Development and Interpersonal Relationships, Hong Kong Today, Modern China and Globalization, etc. The current S1-3 EPA and Social Studies were developed during the last century to meet educational needs at that time but they do not provide the essential learning experiences students need for tomorrow. Life and Society (S1-3) integrates and updates the curriculum for these two subjects and provides a broader perspective on life and society. It effectively supports progress in Liberal Studies and other PSHE subjects at senior secondary level.The open and flexible curriculum framework of the Personal, Social and Humanities Education Key Learning Area (hereafter “PSHE KLA”) enables schools to adopt different modes of curriculum organization to achieve the learning targets stated in Personal, Social and Humanities Education Key Learning Area Curriculum Guide (hereafter “PSHE KLA Guide”) (pp. 23-24). This curriculum framework has been implemented in schools for almost decade. In order to facilitate further development of the PSHE curriculum framework, a set of essential learning elements has been developed in Life and Society (S1-3) to serve as a frame of reference, against which schools can analyse and assess their own school-based curricula. This set of essential learning elements is a guide of schools to plan and make decisions on their curricula. 
Moral and National Education Curriculum Guide (Primary 1 to Secondary 6) Year of publication: 2012 Corporate author: Curriculum Development Council (Hong Kong) Cultivating students’ moral and national qualities has always been one of the main objectives of school education in Hong Kong. Since the return of sovereignty, promoting national education and enhancing students’ understanding of their country and national identity have become a common goal of primary and secondary schools. Moral and Civic Education (MCE) was made one of the Four Key Tasks in the curriculum reform undertaken by the Education and Manpower Bureau (Education Bureau) in 2001. To develop students’ positive values and attitudes has become an integral part of the curriculum framework for primary and secondary schools since then.In response to growing calls for enhancing the moral and national qualities of our youth, the Education Bureau (EDB) introduced the “Revised Moral and Civic Education Curriculum Framework” in 2008 and the contents of national education in relevant Key Learning Areas (KLAs) and subjects were enriched to strengthen the implementation of moral and national education.A considerable number of primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong have been actively promoting moral and national education. Apart from classroom learning and teaching, elements of MNE are also incorporated into related learning experiences/activities such as Mainland exchange programmes, visits, service learning and project learning. Students are provided with comprehensive and diversified learning experiences so as to cultivate their moral and national qualities. Building on the above favourable conditions and strengths in the curriculum, the Chief Executive stated in the “Policy Address 2010-11” in October 2010 that the Curriculum Development Council (CDC) would be invited to review the curriculum framework of moral and civic education at primary and secondary levels. To strengthen national education, the “Moral and National Education” (MNE) subject would be introduced to cultivate students’ moral and national qualities in a systematic and sustainable manner.The “Moral and National Education Curriculum Guide (Primary 1 to Secondary 6)”, prepared by the CDC of Hong Kong, sets out the aims and rationale of the curriculum and illustrates the curriculum framework, curriculum planning, learning and teaching, assessments and the use of learning and teaching resources to assist teachers in their preparation and implementation of this subject. The CDC of Hong Kong is an advisory body for the HKSAR Government on matters relating to curriculum development from pre-primary to senior secondary levels. Its members include school heads/principals, in-service teachers, parents, employers, and scholars in post-secondary institutions, professionals from relevant sectors or organisations, representatives from the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority and the Vocational Training Council of Hong Kong, and personnel of relevant departments of the EDB.