Effective teaching and learning through active citizenship project

The research project grew out of two concerns held by the Community Service Volunteers (CSV) education team in relation to citizenship teaching. The first was that secondary school citizenship education is too didactic and does not employ enough of the sorts of pedagogies that encourage pupils to develop the skills, values and attitudes required in real-life situations. This concern was based on emerging research evidence and the direct experience of CSV staff. The second concern was that due to key stage organisation, continuity of experience between Years 9 and 10 is difficultfor schools to provide and the progression in learning within citizenship education is thereby not being maximised.

The CSV team wanted to see citizenship education within secondary schools enriched to provide both more opportunities for practical learning experiences for pupils and active learning in the community. Their wish was that this learning should also be substantially owned and driven by the students. The small-scale and exploratory research project aimed to provide the opportunity for such a learning approach and evaluate the impact of this on those involved. The project was funded by CfBT and supported by CSV staff.