Representation of Inquiry Project

Title:
Teaching Citizenship Across Disciplines in Secondary Schools in England
Conducted By:
Colleen Barnhart, Philip Case, Cassandra Dahms, Christina deVecchis, J. Garrish, Julie
Grossman, Brennan McCormack, Sean OBriskie, Mike Truong, Haley Ullinger, Kelly Velez
Abstract:
Citizenship education is a goal in many democratic states. England attempts to achieve its
goals by outlining British Values and standards for teaching in a prescribed national
curriculum. This study aims to determine how educators across various academic disciplines in
England attempt to foster their students' understanding of and participation in citizenship.
Surveys and interviews with teachers in secondary schools in the East Midlands region of
England were used to ascertain their beliefs on the National Curriculum, British Values, and
citizenship education more broadly. This study found that the standards of the national
curriculum are not unanimously supported or implemented by educators and that the
implementation varies between academic disciplines. Additionally, it was found that noncurricular programs, moral and social lessons, and behavior modeling all play a significant role
in teachers conceptions of supporting students growth as citizens. This implications of this
study hold weight for both the English system and other countries considering national
citizenship curriculums.
Conceptual Framework: