Challenges of Citizenship Education

To investigate Danish students in a global perspective pinpoints a range of pressing political dilemmas: To what degree do students conceive school as a place of democracy or authority, do they see classrooms as open or closed, do they recognize themselves as active or passive students? Questions of that kind challenge citizenship education across countries and regions. Rather than discussing in abstract terms the basic principles of democracy or citizenship, this book intends to analyze and evaluate the political education of young people (Year Eight students), their acquaintance with democracy in school and the context and democratic ethos their experiences seem to reflect. The democratic commitment of young people is difficult to measure. Key figures appear in The International Civic and Citizenship Education Study, the largest study on civic education ever conducted. Reflections on that study might give us some indication of future democracies.