A summary of some of the key points of the Crick Report, Education for citizenship and the teaching of democracy in schools, (1998), London, QCA
The 3 strands of education for citizenship (pp. 40-41):
- Social and moral responsibility– children learning … self-confidence and socially and morally responsible behaviour both in and beyond the classroom, both towards those in authority and towards each other (this is an essential pre-condition for citizenship).
- Community involvement’– pupils learning about and becoming helpfully involved in teh life and concerns of their communities, including learning through community involvement and service to the community.
- Political literacy– pupils learning about and how to make themselves effective in public life through knowledge, skills and values.
The 4 essential elements of education for citizenship (pp. 41-5):
Looking at these extracts from the Crick Report makes it clear how massive a contribution school history could and should make to citizenship education. Crick was also concerned that citizenship in schools should not be a return to the boring ‘civics’ approach of the past. There is a need to look at these elements of the Crick Report and think how they can be approached in a way that ‘makes sense’ to pupils, and which intrigues, engages and challenges them. This can sometimes be done by picking out the particularly problematic, controversial and difficult nature of some of the themes and concpts involved.