Section

  • Promoting Active Citizenship



    Cultivating active, informed, critical,  reflexive and engaged citizenship is a condition for a living and viable democracy. 

    Viability means, among others, an inclusive, sustainable society by bringing diverse groups (ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) together in developmental, dialogical and participatory ways. 

    Educational institutions of all kinds have a responsibility for ensuring and fostering these ideas and practices - this at a time of many new examples of people learning to live together creatively. as well as coping with new challenges of living together (xenophobia, racism, violence, political alienation and the rise of fundamentalism and are struggling with questions about multiculturalism, etc.). 

    These competencies are vital with students in teachers preperation if they are to create a good enough learning environment for their own pupils, teach active citizenship, and become active citizens themselves.

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  • Rationale and Objectives

    The aim of this unit is to provide an introduction to the structure and topic content of the entire course. After the initial introductory lectures, the course will  be organised around four broad fields:

    1. Active citizenship and civic engagement.
    2. Diverse Perspectives of Democracy.
    3. Diversity Education.
    4. Promoting Active Citizenship.

    In addition, this unit aims to begin the process of consciousness-raising as to the role of educators in active citizenship education. Specifically, course participants will be introduced to the theory and practice of active citizenship as a universal practice in democracies as well as to framework for understanding, learning and teaching the topic.


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  • Rationale and Objectives

    Since educators have a role in promoting and reinforcing democracy, it is fundamental that they acquire a basic knowledge and understanding of these provisions- historical and cultural perspectives.  The aim of this unit is to provide educators with information and principles of lived democracies and representative Democracy through presenting and discussing the Universal and pure model of democracy and its link to active citizenship and civic engagement


    View only 'Topic 2'
  • Rationale and Objectives

    One of the cornerstones of promoting active citizenship is the to show how social and individual responsibility is important in democracy, especially in build democratic society.

    1. What is a democratic society? - The characteristic of democratic society
    2. Circle of responsibility (responsibility for ourselves, for community, for country)- mandatory
    3. The connection between responsibility, civic society and democracy- mandatory.
    4. Developing of responsibility – How to do this? -optional
    5. Levels of Responsibility - in democracy: what does it mean?

    View only 'Topic 3'
  • Rationale and Objectives:

    One of the keys to maintaining a proper civic education is a vision of a better society and a belief in social engagement. This is not possible without knowing what motivates people and what discourages to be active in the public sphere. Therefore, one of the objectives of the course is to equip future teachers in the belief that active and engaged society is possible and the second goal is to teach them to recognize motivators and social restraint so to be able to appropriate them to use. 

    Topics that will be discussed include:  

    1. Factors that motivate people  to activism . (e.g. sense of urgency, a sense that their action and opinion are important, sense of influence )-mandatory
    2. Factors that prevent people form active (e.g. sense of be a not part of society)- mandatory
    3.  The pedagogy tools which will be helpful in motivation and developing critical thinking

     Learning outcome students will be able to:

    Analyze  the connection between the motivation and prevents from active citizenship  in context to the people activism

    Suggested Methods of Teaching and Learning:

    • ·         Lectures and discussions
    • ·         Case study
    • ·         Mind map
    • ·         Service-based learning
    • ·         Personal experience
    • ·         Examples from media (social and traditional )
    • ·         VaKE

     

    Suggested Activity:

    Activity: 1

    1. Step 1: Lecturer will explain the essence of active citizenship
    2. Students will work in groups and each group will find a case of a situation when people don’t participate actively in their community or society: do not go our to vote, ignore environmental issues in their neighborhood, etc.
    3. Discuss why people do not get involved in that particular case.
    4. Possible strategies that can be used to engage people to get involved in that situation.
    5. Brainstorm and make a list of reasons that prevent people from being socially engaged.
    6. Brainstorm and make a list of how to engage people in social and civic issues.

     Activity 2:   Analysis of Media

     Students will select from a variety of media, including for example films and texts, and analyze them in light of PAC. Specifically they will highlight list of potential options for PAC and will also be allowed the option of bringing their own selected resource). This assignment will be presented in written format:  a review, a powerpoint presentation, or an essay. 

    Examples:   Active Citizenship in Chicago: Mike Reynolds:  Chicago: Mike Reynolds: 
     
     
    The Obama Presidential Center: Where We Are Now: 


    Suggested Literature:

    •   Goodwin J., Jasper J.M., (2004), Rethinking Social Movements: Structure, Meaning, and Emotion, Rowman & Littlefield
    • ·  Ravitch D., Vietritty J., 2003, Making Good Citizens: Education and Civil Society, Yale University
    • · Tilly Ch. (2004), Social movements 1768-2004, Paradigm Publishers.   


      View only 'Topic 4'
    • Rationale and Objectives: One of the keys to maintaining a proper civic education is a vision of a better society and a belief in social engagement. This is not possible without knowing what motivates people and what discourages to be active in the public sphere. Therefore, one of the objectives of the course is to equip future teachers in the belief that active and engaged society is possible and the second goal is to teach them to recognize motivators and social restraint so to be able to appropriate them to use.

      1.      1. Factors that  motivate people  to be active (eg. sense of agency, a sense that their action and opinion are important, sense of influence, identity)-mandatory

      2.     2.  Factors that restrain people form active (eg. sense of   not being  a part of society)- mandatory

      3.     3. Pedagogy tools which will be helpful in motivation eg. Critical thinking

       

      ·       Learning outcomes:

      ·     Understanding the connection between motivation and refraining from active citizenship  in context of people activism

      Activity 1 : Case study: 

      Students should find an example  of a situation when people don’t participate in society activism eg. low election frequency or environmental protection .

      Assessment : discussion about reasons of the situation and possibilities of making it better.

      Making a list of reasons avoiding social engagement and a list of possible conditions to improve social engagement.

      Activity 2 role  playing method

      http://thetrainingworld.com/resources/Training_Methods_and_Activities/Role_Playing/


      Compulsory Literature:
       English:
       1.            Goodwin J., Jasper J.M., (2004), Rethinking Social Movements: Structure, Meaning, and Emotion, Rowman & Littlefield
      2.     Ravitch D., Vietritty J., 2003, Making Good Citizens: Education and Civil Society, Yale University
      3. Tilly Ch. (2004), Social movements 1768-2004, Paradigm Publishers.   
       

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      •  Rationale and Objectives:

        Diversity Education: A right to be different:  Multiculturalism and learning social cooperation: the personal is political and the political is personal personal experience - religion, language ,   Families, empathy, and learning democracy.    Multicultural education, intercultural education, nonracial education, antiracist education, culturally responsive pedagogy, ethnic studies, peace studies, global education, social justice education, bilingual education, mother tongue education, integration – these and more are the terms used to describe different aspects of diversity education around the world. Although it may go by different names and speak to stunningly different conditions in a variety of sociopolitical contexts, diversity education attempts to address such issues as racial and social class segregation, the disproportionate achievement of students of various backgrounds, and the structural inequality in both schools and society.

         Learning outcomes:

        • Outline the major aspects of  multicultural education
        • Outline the results of cooperation and  relationship of other groups and  minorities
        • Examine the history and narratives and the  different perspectives of the students
        • Recognize the structural differences between human rights and democracy in different countries
        • Recognize the challenges of diverse groups in other countries

        Suggested Activities: 

        Activity 1:  Debate   : 

        1.  View these you-tube clips and have your students debate about the different issues raised:  The History of American Diversity:     and The Immigration History of the United States

        Activity 2:  Have students discuss and analyze their views on diversity immigration and different narratives

        Activity 3:  Ask students discuss in pairs a time they were witness to an act of abuse of any type against minorities. Ask them to describe if they were to go back in time how they would do things differently

         Recommended Literature:

         
        Literature on Multicultural education

          View only 'Topic 6'
        • 4.1 The Media in a Democratic society 

           Rationale and Objectives:

          The media in a democratic society is a meaningful and important authority and a functional sector. The media  can be treated as positive and negative especially in relating to how it can influence different issues.   Media has the potential to raise civic awareness and enhance civic issues  and values.  It can done  through different means of communication (traditional and new, social, etc.).     

           Learning outcomes:

          The students will be able to analyze the impact of the media through case studies such as:

          • ·         Watergate
          • ·         Chernobyl
          • ·         War Crimes
          • ·         Environmental disasters

           The students will be able to explain why certain issues are “news worthy” and others are not.

           Suggested Activities:

          Activity 1:

          • Have students form small groups of 4-5 people.  Have them ask the questions:
          • ●       What is the importance of the media in a democracy?
          • ●       Have you ever been influenced by the media?how? and why?
          • ●       What is The importance of the  media  in raising civic awareness?

           

          Activity 2:

          • Watch the following trailers:
          •  "The Post" trailer:
          •  All The President's Men – Trailer
          •   Spotlight TRAILER 1 (2015) - Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton Movie HD 
          • Discuss how the news reported and had an impact on these events.

           

          Activity 3

          Using the VaKE or Dilemma-based learning model, discuss the case studies above and the morale issues involved in reporting on these events.  Show the media report events or create events?

           

          Suggested Literature:


            View only 'Topic 7'
          • 4.2 Media literacy and civic engagement

            Rationale and Objectives:

             Young people are making active use of the Internet in ways that may or may not contribute to civic engagement. While some scholars believe civic engagement arises naturally from digital media use, others believe that media literacy education is needed to provide the cognitive and social scaffolding that systematically supports civic engagement.  This unit shows how media can be used as a tool in promoting active citizenship and as a means of shaping ideas and ideology.

             Learning outcomes:

            • ·         Students will be able to categorize different types of media
            • ·         Students will be able to recognize fake news and factual news.
            • ·         Students will be able to analyze advertisements, news, news commentary.  
            • ·          Students will be able to present information in an objective manner and also analyze this information in a news commentary.

            Suggested Activities:

            Activity 1:

            • Discussion of what is media literacy based on viewing these video:
            •  

             

            Activity 2:  View these videos:

            Activity 3:  

            Do you think of “Saturday Night Live” as propaganda? What about those commercials of sad-looking puppies in cages that can’t be helped “without your support”? media literacy and contemporary propaganda. [ 1,122 more word ]
            http://mediaedlab.com/2017/04/07/distracted-and-distractable


            Suggested Literature:


            View only 'Topic 8'
          • Civil disobedience  - The Role of Educators in Prevention and Intervention of moral reasoning and civic action

            1.     Rational and objectives

            Civic engagement can consist in civil disobedience. Questioning existing laws and regulations is a crucial task in a functioning democracy, and a functioning democracy must be able to deal with this questioning. How­ever, according to Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King (the main thinkers about civil disobe­dience) and others, civil disobedience can be ethically justified only under the following con­ditions:

            a)     A thorough moral-ethical justification: To what degree is this law or rule unjust? It is important that it is not only unjust to me personally (i.e., I feel treated unjust), but that the lack of justice is in some way general, that is that several people are concerned. It is advisable, therefore, to consult other competent people and to justify the decision for them before acting – however, in some cases there is no time for this.

            b)    Violence must be avoided if ever possible. There are situations in which the protagonist has to decide on actions that may involve violence (e.g., destroying an airplane that threatens to fall on a football stadium full of people).

            c)     In most cases it is also required not to flee from the legal consequences of the disobedi­ence, e.g., to admit to have done so, to stand trial and, in case of conviction, to accept the sentence. However, if the laws governing the court are unjust in themselves (e.g., death penalty for opposition), one cannot require the protagonist to stand trial. It must be underlined, though, that deliberate acceptance of the sentence does not mean accept­ing the law. Gandhi and Martin Luther King went to jail although they did not support the underlying laws.

            2.     Learning outcomes

            ·   Knowledge about the possibility and of practical examples of civil disobedience;

            ·   Sensitizing about issues of civil disobedience, including sensitivity when civil disobedience is a possibility (see the statement of Hannah Arendt above) or even a duty (see the statement of Martin Luther King above);

            ·   Acquiring competence to argue about civil disobedience situations (informed moral decision-making) with reference to appropriate values at stake for and against either option (civil dis­obedience yes or no) at least for concrete (personalized) situations, if not in general;

            ·   Knowledge and competence to apply appropriately the three principles a to c above, includ­ing recognizing when civil disobedience is inappropriate (rule a), what issues need to be taken into account when deciding to practice civil disobedience (rule b) and what the consequences have to be faced in the case of civil disobedience (rule c);

            ·   Understanding the position of someone of different opinion with respect to agreeing or disa­greeing with civil disobedience in the specific situation (empathy while possibly still disa­greeing);

            ·   Understanding the role of civil disobedience in a democratic society (see the statement of Rawls above) and that civil disobedience might be necessary;

             

            Suggested Activities:

            Activity 1:   Look at this short video clip on  Civil disobedience: Thoreau and Civil Disobedience : 

            "It is better to have your head in the clouds and know where you are, than to breathe the clearer atmosphere below them and think that you're in paradise."

            Divide into groups with one group arguing for this quote and the other against this quote.

            Then they need to choose again and explain why they chose that position

            Categorize the different types of civil obedience and disobedience

             

            Activity 2:

            1. Have the students discuss their opinion about civil disobedience and under what situations and conditions would they be willing to be civilly disobedient? 
            Listen to the following talks:
            1. Ted Talk:  Matt Damon on Civil Disobedience: 
            2. Martin Luther King Jr. Speech Civil Disobedience and obeying Just vs. Unjust laws :  
            Lead a discussion about how the students’ own attitudes differ or agree with the ones presented in these video clips.

            Activity 3

            Students should find original texts from Thoreau, Gandi and Martin Luther King and present two ideas from each which they agree with and which they do not agree with.

            Recommended reading for the VaLe and Dilemma-Based Learning Models:


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            • Promoting active citizenship through Education

              Rationale and Objectives:

              The need for active citizenship is associated with education for citizenship.  There has been a re-emergence of citizenship education as an important part of curriculum for all ages.   This means that the notions underpinning the idea, including the meaning of active citizenship, are once again under scrutiny. This topic will examine different understandings of the relationship between Education and  citizenship and how this relationship may  give rise to different beliefs about what the rights and responsibilities of education as well as of citizenship.

              Learning Outcomes:  Students will be able to  

              •  Outline the major aspects of education for active citizenship  
              •  Outline the history and narratives and the  different perspectives of the students and active citizenship.  
              •  Recognize the role of education in presenting the structural differences between human rights and democracy in different cultures
              •  Recognize the role of education in presenting the challenges of diverse groups in organizations

               Methods for teaching:

              World Cafe :  

              Suggested Activities (based on the World Cafe)

              • Have the students break into groups of 3-5.
              • One person in each group is the coach and presents each of these questions seperately writing down the ideas of the group in relating to these questions.
              • Outline the major aspects of  active citizenship 
              • Outline the results of cooperation and  relationship of other groups and  minorities  for civic engagement
              • Examine the history and narratives and the  different perspectives of the students
              • Recognize the structural differences between human rights and democracy in different cultures
              • Recognize the challenges of diverse groups in organizations
              • The groups share their ideas in a class discussion.

              Activity 2:  Watch the Movie Crossroads: Labor Pains of a New World View and discuss why this is relevant for educators

              Dis

               


               Recommended Literature: 

                View only 'Topic 10'
              • Rationale and Objectives:  

                Public Sphere is a sort of environment in which a person can effectively fulfill the role of a citizen in a democratic society. In different societies it can be more or less developed. There are even societies that do not know it at all. Citizenship Education in the context of Public Sphere appeals to an understandable and accessible environment in which person can use what they have learned in a practical way. In this way Civic Knowledge will be useful for them and they also will consider it as such. But in the context without Public Sphere educated man is suspended in a structural vacuum. Civic knowledge is not useful for them, and what they learned they can consider only as a beautiful utopian ideals. So education can even discourage them any civic action. This unit aims to understand what Public Sphere is, why it is so important in building democratic society and how to build it.

                Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to:                                

                •  Define different aspects of the Public Sphere and explain why it is so important in making people socially active
                • Apply specific tools to create social activity with the community in the public sphere.                                    

                 Teaching Didactics:

                • Lecture and discussion
                • Gamification
                • Theater tools
                • Student Council method

                Suggested Literature:

                •  Calhoun, C. (1993) Civil Society and the Public Sphere, in: Public Culture 1993, 5: p. 267-280, University of Chicago
                •  Gordon Finlayson,  J. (2005). Habermas: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, Chapter 8: Politics, democracy, and law, p. 106-122.
                •  Sennet, R. (1974). The Fall of Public Man, Cambridge University Press

                Suggested Activities: 

                Activity 1:   Discussion:

                • what is Public Sphere
                • why it is so important
                •  example of existing Public Sphere
                • example of non-existing Public Sphere
                •  how to build Public Spher 

                Activity 2: : Verbatim theater method:

                Divide group of students in pairs; Give them a topic of the story from their life (e.g. “the best moment in my life”, “the most difficult thing I have ever had to deal with” etc.); in each pair each person is a storyteller and then a listener; when everybody tells their story, each person has to tell the story of their partner, trying to act them.

                 Activity 3:  Gamification

                Use specially prepared educational games to teach students how to cooperate with others and solve problems together

                 Activity 4: Student Council method

                Use SCM to discuss and solve problems between students

                  View only 'Topic 11'
                • After common mapping of the place involved by main actors in the field, main groups of community, advantages and disadvantages of the place.

                  Inspire for projects by the method of Place making :

                  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bym-XvUX1TJtXzdCbjJQLXY1dG8/view?usp=sharing

                   

                   The students will held a world café by 3 questions based on the mapping they preformed for choosing projects -

                  http://www.theworldcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Cafe-To-Go-Revised.pdf

                   

                  After world cafe the students will choose and present (groups of 5) issue for local activism and presenting it in project card in a PowerPoint presentation.

                  The project card structure:

                  1.     purpose- the core value

                  1.     the community involved

                  2.     the target

                  3.     the impact

                  budget, time table for doing, place and outcomes of the initiatives


                    View only 'Topic 12'