It's about us!: reflections on education for active citizenship within the European Union

The article is structured in three main parts. Grounded in the scientific literature, the authors unpack the notion of citizenship as key educational concept based on multiple and diverse identities. Then, they outline the major steps undertaken at EU level to formalise and expand citizenship rights and to endorse citizenship education across the Union’s nationals, by showing that citizenship education is promoted more as a strategy for legitimising the Union rather than a participatory practice aimed at fostering democratic processes within Europe. Finally, they discuss the implications of these policy advancements from a social justice perspective, by advancing a critique of their political assumptions and, to some extent, the pedagogical approach they suggest.