The foundations of critical questioning in citizenship education
Tristan McCowan
View article (In English)
Abstract
An important question in citizenship education concerns
the extent to which learners are encouraged to conform to authority and
existing political structures, or alternatively to question and challenge
them. This article puts forward an argument for a critical questioning
approach, in which the ability and disposition to subject political issues
and institutions to critical scrutiny is fostered. This framework is seen
to be justified in terms of its intrinsic educational benefits and its
extrinsic benefits to democratic society. A distinction between weak and
strong forms of criticality is made, with the latter seen to be preferable
on account of its questioning of underlying societal structures. However,
implementation of this framework in a public education system presents
significant problems. Three of these problematic issues are raised, namely:
the difficulty of establishing allegiance and cohesion around abstract
principles; the extent to which it is possible for an authority to promote
critical scrutiny of itself; and the risks of indoctrination. These tensions
are not insurmountable but place considerable demands on teachers and
state education systems.
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