A Critical Discussion of the Citizenship Curriculum in Taiwan and England: Teachers' Voices on Liberal and Communitarian Constructs

Autor/in	Hung, Cheng-Yu
Titel	A Critical Discussion of the Citizenship Curriculum in Taiwan and England: Teachers' Voices on Liberal and Communitarian Constructs
Quelle	In: Citizenship, Social and Economics Education, 12 (2013) 2, S.86-100 (15 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1478-8047
DOI	10.2304/csee.2013.12.2.86
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Citizenship Education; Comparative Education; Curriculum Development; Teacher Attitudes; Educational History; Citizen Participation; Moral Values; Values Education; Democratic Values; Models; Social Values; Community; Political Attitudes; Ideology; Interviews; Taiwan; United Kingdom (England) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Citizenship; Education; Politische Bildung; Politische Erziehung; Staatsbürgerliche Erziehung; Vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaft; Curriculum; Development; Curriculumentwicklung; Lehrplan; Entwicklung; Lehrerverhalten; History of education; Bildungsgeschichte; 'Citizen participation; Citizens'' participation'; Bürgerbeteiligung; Moral value; Ethischer Wert; Werterziehung; Analogiemodell; Sozialer Wert; Political attitude; Politische Einstellung; Ideologie; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik
Abstract	This article compares the development of citizenship education (CE) in Taiwan and England, as well as teachers' perceptions about the liberal and communitarian constructs underpinning the curriculum in both countries. Due to distinct social and political environments, the Taiwanese and English CE curricula demonstrate an interesting contrast. Until 1987, the Taiwanese curriculum grew under an authoritarian regime which had implemented the citizenship curriculum in 1945; in England, however, CE was not added to the school timetable until 2002, after a long debate about the controversial and potential influence of the subject. This article first offers an overview of the development of CE in Taiwan and England. Following this preliminary understanding, interview accounts with 20 CE teachers are included to share insights based on actual practical experience. The English curriculum leans towards a communitarian type of "active citizenship", but teachers in England mention a gap between the theory and practice. In addition, reservations about the existence of the assumed "common values" underlying the communitarian construct are dealt with. In contrast, social and political participation is not perceived as a goal that is emphasised in the Taiwanese curriculum. Taiwanese CE sides with the "liberal construct", but is criticised by some in Taiwan for ignoring moral values and character-building. It is also observed that both curricula use a "deliberative democracy" approach to compensate for the shortcomings in curriculum construction. For a comparative study such as this, weaving both cases together demonstrates how each curriculum could derive inspiration from the other. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01