‘Active Citizens’ or ‘Irresponsible Truants’? School Student Strikes against the War

Abstract

This article looks at the development of citizenship education within schools and assesses its impact on the school strike wave against the war on Iraq that took place during February and March 2003, in part utilizing interview material drawn from active strikers. Although citizenship, as outlined in the Crick Report, should have welcomed young people's active engagement with the political process, the overwhelming response of the educational establishment was to castigate and punish those who took part in the strikes. In conclusion, the article argues that the actuality of citizenship classes focuses on individual aspects of responsibility and moral education and had little influence on the engaged 'active citizens' who demonstrated against war by walking out of their schools.

Young people and political (in)activism: why don't young people vote?

“…Such findings have been challenged in a number of recent studies which suggest that young people are interested in political matters, and do take part in differing forms of political action (Bhavnani, 1994;White et al, 2000;Henn et al, 2002;Roker and Eden, 2002;O'Toole et al, 2003;Cunningham and Lavallette, 2004;Weinstein, 2004). Research conducted by Norris (2003) indicates that young people are more likely to engage in 'cause-oriented' styles of politics (or what Pattie et al (2003) refer to as 'micro-politics') than they are in 'formal' politicsparticipation that uses less institutionalised methods such as demonstrations, boycotts, and direct action.…”

Citizenship, learning and education: themes and issues

“…Scholars have also pointed out that not all types of "activity" are equally valued by teachers, politicians and other adults and that, in some cases, this has led to the privileging of "depoliticised" forms of citizenship (Ahier et al, 2003). In their analysis of responses to young people"s participation in protests against the Second Iraq War in 2003, for example, Cunningham and Lavalette (2004) suggest that this form of community involvement was widely condemned by many of those in authority and seen as largely out of step with the forms of active citizenship encouraged by school curricula. They go on to argue that:…”

Negotiating participation and power in a school setting: the implementation of active citizenship within the undergraduate sociology curriculum

“…However, according to Davies (2001: 307), the school has contradictory functions vis-à-vis citizenship education: 'on the one hand, to foster compliance, obedience, a socialisation into social norms and citizen duties; and on the other, to encourage autonomy, critical thinking and the citizen challenge to social injustice'. These contradictions were dramatically highlighted in the draconian response to the school student protests against the Iraq War in the U.K. (Cunningham and Lavalette 2004). As Cunningham and Lavalette argue, the striking students were labeled 'irresponsible truants' rather than 'active citizens' and were reprimanded by educational authorities via school exclusions and suspensions for taking part.…”

“…As Osler and Starkey (2003: 243) emphasize, 'since citizenship is a contested concept, education for citizenship is also a site of debate and controversy'. The controversial nature of citizenship education is indicated both at a pedagogical level by teachers' own anxieties about content and strategies vis-à-vis the teaching of 'controversial issues' (Oulton et al 2004), as well as at a wider societal level by the school strikes against the war in Iraq (Cunningham and Lavalette 2004). The implementation of active citizenship programmes, as advocated by the Crick Report, does not efface such controversy but if anything enhances it as students are expected to become involved in local communities.…”