Diversity, Group Identity, and Citizenship Education in a Global Age

Abstract

Worldwide immigration and quests for rights by minority groups have caused social scientists and educators to raise serious questions about liberal assimilationist conceptions of citizenship that historically have dominated citizenship education in nation-states. The author of this article challenges liberal assimilationist conceptions of citizenship and citizenship education. He argues that citizenship education should be reformed so that it reflects the home cultures and languages of students from diverse groups, and he contends that group rights can help individuals to attain structural equality. In the final part of the article, he discusses the implications of his analysis for transforming citizenship education.

Ethnic diversity in schools and bi-ethnic Dutch students’ educational outcomes and social functioning

“…Piaget argues that when students interact with other students who hold different perspectives, and when they have an equal relationship, they develop intellectually and morally (Piaget, 1965). Ethnically diverse schools that foster positive interethnic interactions provide opportunities to learn from and to discuss different backgrounds, perspectives, values, and experiences and to understand common goals (Banks, 2008;Gurin et al, 2002). Through these opportunities, students may become accustomed to different norms and values (Banks, 2008) and learn to evaluate and explore different perspectives, accept conflicts, and develop social sensibility and involvement (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006).…”

“…Ethnically diverse schools that foster positive interethnic interactions provide opportunities to learn from and to discuss different backgrounds, perspectives, values, and experiences and to understand common goals (Banks, 2008;Gurin et al, 2002). Through these opportunities, students may become accustomed to different norms and values (Banks, 2008) and learn to evaluate and explore different perspectives, accept conflicts, and develop social sensibility and involvement (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). These opportunities foster an environment that encourages citizenship competences (Gurin et al, 2002), such as societal interest, prosocial ability, reflective thinking, assertiveness, and a deeper knowledge of the social world.…”

“There is still peace. There are no wars.”: Prioritizing unity over diversity in Botswana’s social studies policies and practices and the implications for positive peace

“…Multicultural education researchers within and outside of Botswana fault curriculum that encourages assimilation to a dominant group with alienating students from minority cultures and contributing to just such achievement disparities (Banks, 2008;Boikhutso & Jotia, 2013;Lubinda, 2010;Nyati-Saleshando, 2011;Pansiri & Jotia, 2013). In these ways, the formal school curriculum's construction of national identity in Botswana may be standing in the way of positive peace.…”

Sinifying Joyce: Appraising Second-Language Confucian Readers’ Constructions of Meaning in Ulysses

“…English has become a shared and negotiated space, dominating world discourse but no longer belonging to native speakers (Crystal, 2000). Globalisation has a clear tendency to redefine personal, local and national identities (Banks, 2008). Tertiary students share aspects of a transnational identity (Levitt, 2001).…”