International Association of Educators   |  ISSN: 2834-7919   |  e-ISSN: 1554-5210
International Journal of Progressive Education
International Association of Educators

Original article | International Journal of Progressive Education 2012, Vol. 8(3) 77-93

Scales of active citizenship: New Zealand teachers‟ diverse perceptions and practices

Bronwyn Elisabeth Wood

pp. 77 - 93   |  Manu. Number: ijpe.2012.045

Published online: October 15, 2012  |   Number of Views: 113  |  Number of Download: 425

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Abstract

The heightened focus on ‗active‘ citizenship in New Zealand‘s current curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007) mirrors a pattern observed in many nation‘s curricula in the past decade. The scale of active citizenship in this curriculum includes an expectation that students will participate in local and national communities but also extends to participation in ‗global communities‘. Recognising that citizenship is a hotly contested concept, how do teaching departments, as collective curriculum ‗gatekeepers‘, understand, interpret and enact such curriculum requirements? This paper describes the perceptions and practices toward active citizenship of New Zealand social studies teachers (n=27) from four differing geographic and socio-economic secondary school communities. This study reveals significant differences in the scale of teachers‘citizenship orientations with lower socio-economic school communities prioritising locally-focused citizenship and higher socio-economic communities favouring national and global orientations. Applying a Bourdieusian analysis, the author posits that  these diverse perceptions and practices are socially and culturally constituted and reinforced by the shared doxa within school communities. Understanding these differing perceptions   of ‗active‘ citizenship is essential to gain more nuanced perspectives on how citizenship education is enacted and practised in classrooms.

Keywords: Active citizenship, curriculum, citizenship education, Bourdieu, doxa, scales of citizenship

How to Cite this Article?

APA 6th edition
Wood, B.E. (2012). Scales of active citizenship: New Zealand teachers‟ diverse perceptions and practices . International Journal of Progressive Education, 8(3), 77-93.

Harvard
Wood, B. (2012). Scales of active citizenship: New Zealand teachers‟ diverse perceptions and practices . International Journal of Progressive Education, 8(3), pp. 77-93.

Chicago 16th edition
Wood, Bronwyn Elisabeth (2012). "Scales of active citizenship: New Zealand teachers‟ diverse perceptions and practices ". International Journal of Progressive Education 8 (3):77-93.

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