The Independent Review of Education in Northern Ireland asserts that ‘education is the greatest investment any society makes in its own future’, bringing ‘societal benefits’ (Independent Review Report, 2023, p. 5). Rewind the clock almost two decades, and it was this belief in the potential of education for social transformation that underpinned the introduction of Citizenship Education as part of the revised Northern Ireland Curriculum in 2007. Costing an estimated £25 million, politicians and policymakers envisioned that Citizenship would foster a more cohesive and reconciled society after years of conflict and division. However, 17 years later, a growing body of evidence suggests this initiative has failed to meet expectations, given its significant deterioration in both ‘profile and status’ (O’Connor et al., 2019, p. 481). This blog post highlights the precarious state of Citizenship education and offers suggestions to stimulate debate and drive change.

Evidence indicates several factors that may have contributed to the decline of Citizenship education with wider implications for the wellbeing of society. For example, in many schools, the annual reassignment of teachers to teach Citizenship classes has fostered a ‘culture of discontinuity’, potentially suppressing pedagogic expertise and knowledge base in schools (O’Connor et al., 2019, p. 488). Relatedly, teacher ‘capacity and readiness … to cover difficult subject matter’ (CFICT, 2021, p. 44) can lead to teacher avoidance of potentially controversial issues. Citizenship classrooms should engage students emotionally and intellectually, encouraging them to explore not only what they think, but also why they think about issues, particularly those that young people have repeatedly expressed a desire to learn about. These include commemorations, sectarianism, politics, cultural identities and legacy issues (Bell et al., 2010). Yet, despite the Citizenship curriculum requirements to explore ‘local’ issues, a study in 2019 reported that 24 per cent of 16-year-olds had not had any ‘classes, assemblies, [or] discussions’ related to the Northern Irish conflict (Smith et al., 2019, p. 1).

‘Citizenship classrooms should engage students emotionally and intellectually, encouraging them to explore not only what they think, but also why they think about issues.’

Consequently, the potentially biased narratives that young people bring with them into the classroom remain unaltered, and young people themselves will be less well prepared to live with and attend to diversity, thereby stifling opportunities for personal and societal transformation. Additionally, the Education and Training Inspectorate in Northern Ireland found ‘… one-third of citizenship lessons … were not effective’ (ETI, 2015, p. 10) – a verdict that is possibly symptomatic of an education system that does not require a formal qualification or mandatory training to teach Citizenship. Another challenge Citizenship education faces is that, within an education system that continues to be dominated by traditional subjects, and where social and emotional learning is often pitted against examination performance, it finds itself teetering on the curriculum precipice and struggling for status and recognition among teachers, parents and students (Worden, 2023).

‘Citizenship education finds itself teetering on the curriculum precipice and struggling for status and recognition among teachers, parents and students.’

The transformative vision for Citizenship was intended to deliver much more. Indeed, young people deserve much more. With the recent restoration of a power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland and the debate around a ‘Border Poll’ on the region’s constitutional status gaining momentum, a system-wide autopsy is required, coupled with an urgent renewal of commitment from politicians and policymakers to the Citizenship agenda.

Starting points to improve provision may include a realignment of curriculum and examinations to value both academic and social learning, accompanied by the development of a high-quality professional learning programme with provision to train specialised teachers of Citizenship. It is not too late to resuscitate Citizenship education; however, an alignment of vision, action and accountability measures is required at all levels of leadership in the education system – it is only then that the transformative aims of Citizenship education may finally be realised (McAuley, 2022). Restoring Citizenship to its rightful place in the curriculum is ultimately, as acknowledged by the Independent Review, (Independent Review Report, 2023) an investment in a peaceful, stable future for Northern Ireland.

References

Education and Training Inspectorate [ETI]. (2015). An evaluation of the community relations, equality and diversity (CRED) policy in schools and youth organisations. https://www.etini.gov.uk/publications/evaluation-impact-community-relations-equality-and-diversity-cred-policy-schools-and

McAuley, C. (2022). Citizenship education in Northern Ireland: An opportunity not yet realised? Integrated Education Fund. https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/issues/education/unesco/TEUU-15_2022-04_Citizenship.pdf

O’Connor, U., Anderson Worden, E., Bates, J., & Gstrein, V. (2019). Lessons learned from 10 years of citizenship education in Northern Ireland: A critical analysis of curriculum change’. Curriculum Journal, 31(3), 479–494. https://doi.org/10.1002/curj.2

Smith, A., O’Connor, U., Bates, J., & Milliken, M. (2019). Citizenship practices and political literacy in young people: Research Update. Ark. https://www.ark.ac.uk/ARK/sites/default/files/2019-09/update129.pdf

The Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition [CFICT]. (2021). Final report. Northern Ireland Executive. https://www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk/publications/commission-flags-identity-culture-and-tradition-final-report

The Independent Review of Education. (2023). Investing in a better future: Volume 2. https://www.independentreviewofeducation.org.uk/key-documents/investing-better-future

Worden, E. A. (2023). Citizenship education in a divided society: Lessons from curricula and practice in Northern Ireland. Routledge Press.