Abstract
The bill “Clarification of the citizenship task to
schools” provides stricter guidelines for
citizenship education, expressing the wish to
make it ‘conceivable, visible and practicable’.
There is a widespread consensus among
politicians, educational scientist and educational
practice regarding citizenship education. This
discussion article critically assesses this
remarkable consensus, by means of an analysis
of the bill and an article by Dijkstra, Ten Dam and
Waslander from 2018. These authors draw on the
work of Philip Kohnstamm and Michel Foucault.
These two authors are indeed relevant for the
current debate, but precisely because of their
critical potential regarding citizenship education
and the relation between educational politics and
science. The analysis shows the current political
and scientific approach to be overtly directed
towards the interests of the state, with too little
attention for democratic diversity and autonomy.
The view of William Kilpatrick is introduced as an
alternative.
schools” provides stricter guidelines for
citizenship education, expressing the wish to
make it ‘conceivable, visible and practicable’.
There is a widespread consensus among
politicians, educational scientist and educational
practice regarding citizenship education. This
discussion article critically assesses this
remarkable consensus, by means of an analysis
of the bill and an article by Dijkstra, Ten Dam and
Waslander from 2018. These authors draw on the
work of Philip Kohnstamm and Michel Foucault.
These two authors are indeed relevant for the
current debate, but precisely because of their
critical potential regarding citizenship education
and the relation between educational politics and
science. The analysis shows the current political
and scientific approach to be overtly directed
towards the interests of the state, with too little
attention for democratic diversity and autonomy.
The view of William Kilpatrick is introduced as an
alternative.
| Translated title of the contribution | Discussion: Kohnstamm, Foucault and the citizenship offensive in educational policy and science |
|---|---|
| Original language | Dutch |
| Pages (from-to) | 236-246 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Pedagogische Studiën |
| Volume | 98 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - 2021 |