Active Citizenship Adult Learning and Active Citizenship Lifelong Learning and Active Citizenship

1、ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPADULT LEARNING AND ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPLIFELONG LEARNING AND ACTIVE CITIZENSHIPKey note speechBy Michela CecchiniEAEA ConferenceCyprus, 15 November 2003This presentation has a double aim and therefore two main parts :1. to discuss what is meant by active citizenship 2. to highlight c

2、hallenges of active citizenship and adult education / lifelong learningIt will also draw a number of conclusions and propose several actions which could be taken.The presentation refers particularly to statements, studies and discussions in the framework of international and European cooperation and

3、 by European organisations. It is therefore complementary to the participants direct expertise and practice of adult education and active citizenship in their countries, and thus wishes to place these practices into a wider political context.I. INTRODUCTIONAdult education, lifelong learning and acti

4、ve citizenship are closely related.The synthesis report of the CONFINTEA Midterm Review Meeting (Bangkok, September 2003) states democracy and active citizenship as the first out of five priorities of adult education (followed by literacy and adult basic education, decent work environment, media and

5、 ICT and the needs of special groups).According to the OECDs thematic review of adult education in nine countries published earlier on this year, “the development of democratic values and the improvement of skills to participate in the labour market are all stated as vital reasons for government par

6、ticipation in adult learning”. Furthermore, when attempting to identify the different forms of adult learning, “the background reports and country notes reveal that non vocational aspects, including learning related to citizenship, democracy and general well-being are much in evidence”. The European

7、 Commissions definition of lifelong learning is : all learning activities undertaken throughout life with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competences within a personal, civic, social and / or employment related perspective”Communication of the European Commission Making a European area of

8、 lifelong learning a realityFor the Council of Europe, education for democratic citizenship is understood in a lifelong learning perspective : it should be seen as “embracing any formal, non-formal or informal educational activity, including that of the family, enabling an individual to act througho

9、ut his or her life as an active and responsible citizen respectful of the rights of others” (EDC recommendation R(2002)12)In other words, there is a broad institutional consensus on these connections. What can also be seen is different terminology : active citizenship, education for democratic citiz

10、enship, democratic values, civic perspective. In my view, these semantic differences do not really matter.There a number of core features and constitutive elements which provide a reference framework helping to understand what citizenship learning is about. II. UNDERSTANDING CITIZENSHIP1. Definition

11、 and objectives Learning for (active, democratic) citizenship means becoming aware of ones rights and responsibilities and developing the capability for participation in society. For the Council of Europe, education for democratic citizenship - equips men and women to play an active part in public l

12、ife and to shape in a responsible way their own destiny and that of their society;- aims to instil a culture of human rights which will ensure full respect for those rights and understanding of responsibilities that flow from them;- prepares people to live in a multicultural society and to deal with

13、 difference knowledgeably, sensibly, tolerantly and morally.It is a form of literacy : it aims at coming to grips with what happens in public life, being “lucid” (France), developing knowledge, understanding, critical thinking and independent judgement of local, national, European, global levelsIt i

14、mplies action : it implies empowerment, i.e. acquiring knowledge, skills and attitudes, being able and willing to use them, make decisions, take action individually and collectivelyIt is based on values : human rights, pluralist democracy, the rule of law, respect for diversity, solidarity, responsi

15、bilityLearning for citizenship includes cognitive (knowledge), pragmatic (action), and affective (values) aspects. The interdependence of the three aspects is illustrated by the English citizenship education cube.11 Education for citizenship and the teaching of democracy in schools, Final report of

16、the Advisory Group on Citizenship (Crick report), September 1998 2. Concepts of citizenshipThe concept of citizenship is “polysemic and contested” (Ernst Jouthe, former deputy minister for citizenship affairs, Qubec). In other words, it has multiple contexts and meanings and leads to discussion.The

17、Council of Europe adopted therefore a multidimensional approach to citizenship. It also defined citizenship as being primarily a co-citizen, somebody who lives with others on the basis of rights and responsibilities.It differentiates between -citizenship as status : it corresponds to the legal contr

18、act between a State and an individual including nationality; it defines the individual as a subject of rights; it includes the rights and liberties granted by a State and the duties and responsibilities of the individual.And-citizenship as social role : it includes issues of identity, the sense of b

19、elonging and inclusiveness, it dissociate citizenship from a particular State, it is context related depending on the community it refers to (local, regional, European, global), it focuses on inter-relations, on the co-citizen.The various dimensions of citizenship are- a political dimension - partic

20、ipation in the decision-making process and exercise of political power;- a legal dimension respecting the rule of law; being aware of and exercising citizens rights and responsibilities;- a cultural dimension - respect for diversity, fundamental democratic values, both a shared and divergent history

21、 and heritage, and contributing to peaceful intercultural relations;- a social and economic dimension - in particular, the fight against poverty and exclusion, considering new forms of work and community development, and corporate social responsibility;- a European dimension - being aware of the uni

22、ty and diversity of European culture, learning to live in a European context, knowing about European institutions and European rights;- a global dimension - recognising and promoting global interdependence and solidarity2.Citizenship is also understood as a factor of social cohesion. The Council of

23、Europe sees it as a key element in “the notion of a new social contract, whereby social cohesion is based on fundamental criteria other than homogeneity: these are empowerment, civic participation and shared responsibility.”32 Council of Europe draft common guidelines on EDC adopted by the Ministers

24、 of Education, Cracow, October 20003 Council of Europe 1997-2001 EDC project final reports3. citizenship learning approachesThe forms and settings of citizenship learning are multiple and diverse. Citizenship learning happens in formal, non-formal and informal settings, through a number of common ch

25、aracteristics. Citizenship learning is :-social learning (learning in society, about society, for society) -based on experience and practice, through learning by doing, through exploration, action and cooperation-implies the democratisation of learning by focusing on the learner, valuing his/her sit

26、uation and experience, fostering his/her autonomy and responsibility in the learning process-is achieved through multiple, interconnected, transversal learning approaches, for example through civic education, human rights education, intercultural education, education for peace, global education and

27、media education44. As a summary :The above elements are general and generic. But citizenship learning is above all contextual, complex and diverse. There is not one recipe approach to citizenship and citizenship learning. Nor is there one unique European approach to citizenship learning. Its analysi

28、s and understanding needs to be holistic combining objectives, contents, concepts and approaches. The Scottish graphic presentation of citizenship education in schools is another attempt to illustrate the combination of learning objectives and approaches5 :4 Strategies for learning democratic citize

29、nship, p. 36, Council of Europe, 20005 Education for citizenship in Scotland, Primary Audit Materials, p.9The complexity and inter-relationship is illustrated by the following mind-map produced by a student in citizenship education at Leicester University6.6 Citizen, the newsletter for the Centre fo

30、r citizenship studies in education, n.2. All concepts of society are in mustard, all concepts of globalisation are in light orange, all concepts of values and relationships are in red, concepts of qualities of behaviour are in pale yellow, the concept of the environment is shown by green, democracy

31、is shown by powder-blue, equal opportunities is shown by dark yellow, the concept of the home / school partnership is shown by brown.This graphic presentation highlights a tension. On the one hand, the complexity of citizenship learning is a reflection of the complexity of todays society. On the oth

32、er hand, for many practitioners, this complexity is not operational. There is a strong request for simpler, clearer, more accessible approach and words. On the other hand again, simplification includes the risk of watering down the understanding of democracy and society. Tackling the complexity of c

33、itizenship corresponds to tackling todays complexity.II. CHALLENGES OF CITIZENSHIP AND ADULT EDUCATION / LIFELONG LEARNINGThis presentation started with a number of quotations indicating that major European and international institutions stated a clear link between adult education and citizenship le

34、arning. This clearly indicates a positive movement, enlarging the understanding of lifelong learning from the limited focus of economic development to personal, social and democratic development through active citizenship. Nevertheless, a strong case still needs to be made for adult citizenship lear

35、ning or for lifelong learning for active citizenship. A further enlargement of minds, policies and practices is necessary to widely share and strengthen the citizenship dimension. The objective should be to lift a number of contradictions, to clarify, focus and exemplify statements and data. There i

36、s a need to go “beyond the rhetoric”. Here are a number of challenges where this appears to be necessary.Challenge 1 : explicit adult education and LLL policies for active citizenshipOut of the nine countries reviewed by the OECD, only Finland, Spain, Sweden state democracy and / or citizenship expl

37、icitly as an objective of their adult education approach. Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland indicate personal and /or social development /qualifications, or social cohesion.7Finland :Provide learning content that supports the development of personality, consolidates democratic values, maintains

38、 cohesion and promotes innovation and productivitySpain : help adults acquire or improve professional qualifications and the capacity to participate in the social, cultural, political and economic areas of lifeSweden : strengthen democracy; promote social well-being, and strengthen democratic values

39、As another example, outside the OECD review, the Irish White Paper on adult education (2000) “identifies six priority roles for adult education : citizenship, consciousness-raising, cohesion, competitiveness, cultural development and community building. Concerning citizenship education, the function

40、 of adult education is to enable individuals to grow in self- confidence, social awareness and social responsibility, to take an active role in shaping society, to engage proactively in community decision making”8. 7 Beyond Rethoric : Adult learning policies and practices, OECD, 2003, pp. 93-1018 Le

41、arning for citizenship in Ireland : the role of adult education, by Helen Keogh, in Citizenship, democracy and lifelong learning, UNESCO Institute for Education, 2003, p. 4Similarly, in the White Book on education of the Czech Republic, the chapter on adult education mentions civic education which “

42、improves the level of information, the general overview and values of citizens related to specific social, political and other questions. This is why it should also be part of adult education provided for instance by trade unions, churches, local and regional bodies, civic initiatives, etc and this

43、should be supported”9.The Council of Europe has just carried out an All-European study on policies for education for democratic citizenship. It examined EDC policies and their implementation mainly through official policy documents, therefore focusing on formal, and particularly school education. It

44、 also considered lifelong learning aspects of EDC, given its LLL perspective and pointed to the “paradoxical situation” between the stated LLL perspective and the actual reality.10Western European region There is a considerable gap, in most countries, between the rhetoric of EDC in non-formal and in

45、formal settings and the actual practice. The contribution of EDC in this area is not as comprehensive and well established as that in the formal education setting of schools. Many countries have no clear links between formal education and non-formal education and training and adult / continuing educ

46、ation settings for EDC, and no policy for making and strengthening such links. As a result, there is no clear policy regarding EDC as an entitlement in terms of lifelong learning in the Western Europe region;Central European regionIn the national reports, EDC in lifelong learning is hard to find. Wh

47、ile governments tend to focus their EDC policy and implementation efforts mainly on the school sector, they all tend to underestimate EDC in relation to the lifelong learning sector.Eastern European regionLifelong learning is still not well developed in Eastern Europe. State educational authorities

48、do not provide a sufficient support for non-formal and informal adult education. It means that there are no real possibilities to deliver EDC through this type of lifelong learning.Challenge 2 : effective balance between adult education and lifelong learning objectivesWhile there are strong claims a

49、nd expressions for a comprehensive approach to lifelong learning aiming at both employability and personal, social and democratic development, it would appear that the practices continue to show an inclination for the former rather than the latter. According to the CONFINTEA11 review, the priority i

50、n industrialised countries is to make the lifelong learning principles operational, to improve the tools for developing a knowledge society, focusing particularly on ICT and the training of the labour force, to meet the challenges of the changing labour market. 9 Council of Europe All European Study

51、 on EDC policies, Central European region, by Milan Pol, p. 48-4910 All European study on EDC policies, Council of Europe, September 2003. Synthesis report by Csar Birza, Study on the Western European region by David Kerr, on the Central European region by Milan Pol, on Eastern European region by Is

52、aac Froumin11 synthesis report of the CONFINTEA Midterm Review Meeting (Bangkok, September 2003)According to the OECD, “learning is largely related to employment and a high proportion of adult learning focuses on professional upgrading, as the enterprise is one of the main catalyst of training”12. A

53、lso, the OECD sees a major benefit of adult education in its contribution to human capital which itself is a key factor for economic growth. No mention is made in the review of adult learning policies of their contribution to the development of social capital, i.e. the development of trust, solidari

54、ty and cooperation13.However, there seem to be a number of encouraging trends, which would support a greater, more balanced focus on citizenship learning :First of all, citizens views on lifelong learning collected through a Eurobarometer survey commissioned by CEDEFOP, indicate that 8 in 10 citizen

55、s support an integrated approach to LLL that combines employability, personal development, active citizenship and social cohesion. In Greece, Spain, Ireland and Sweden, 9 out of 10 interviewees hold this view. Still the study points out that it would be helpful to know exactly how people see and jud

56、ge the relationship between these different purposes of LLL14. Incidentally, one can notice that three of those very positive countries (Ireland, Spain, Sweden) have an explicit citizenship approach to adult education (see challenge 2 above).Secondly, the CONFINTEAs review highlighted the growing tr

57、end towards partnerships with NGOs and social partners in the delivery of adult education. This includes at least the potential for including more social and political content agendas of interest to NGOs. Another encouragement in favour of the active citizenship approach to lifelong learning could c

58、ome from discussions on how to make learning attractive and the identified need for developing a new learning culture. The citizenship potential was strikingly highlighted, but without recognising it as such, by working group H of the European Commissions work programme on the concrete objectives in

59、 education systems, which deals with precisely these themes. In its words “a learning-conducive environment is one that encourages people to engage in critical thinking and behave in an autonomous and responsible manner. Focussing on the learners needs and motivation, these environments value learni

60、ng together as social participation (i.e. in communities of practice in which people share activities and experiences over time), promoting critical thinking, creativity, autonomy, responsibility and sense of belonging.”15To make the citizenship approach visible would undoubtedly strengthen its outr