Citizenship and the Curriculum

These materials are suitable for use at Key Stage 4 of Citizenship studies within the National Curriculum. Citizenship becomes a national curriculum subject for all pupils at both Key Stages 3 and 4 from August 2002. A number of awarding bodies have introduced a GCSE Short Course in Citizenship for which these materials are ideally suited. Many of the issues addressed in the Citizenship curriculum are relevant to other subjects, e.g. History and R.E., and these materials may be suitable for use in such programmes of study.

The official guidance for teachers states that "there is no statutory requirement for end of Key Stage 4 assessment in Citizenship and that schools should decide on the most appropriate methods of assessing progress and recognising the achievement of pupils". These materials are ideally suited to systems of peer assessment as well as teacher feedback and pupils' portfolios.

Learning Outcomes

The curriculum for Key Stage 4 in Citizenship sets a number of learning outcomes. These materials are directly relevant to Units 1 (Human Rights) and 8 (Producing the news), and of use also in Units 3 (Challenging racism and discrimination) and 12 (Global issues, local action). The following aspects of the programme of study are addressed.

Knowledge and understanding about becoming informed citizens

1. Pupils should be taught about:
   1. the legal and human rights and responsibilities underpinning society and how they relate to citizens, including the role and operation of the criminal and civil justice systems
   2. the opportunities for individuals and voluntary groups to bring about social change locally, nationally, in Europe and internationally
   3. the importance of a free press, and the media's role in society, including the internet, in providing information and affecting opinion
   4. the wider issues and challenges of global interdependence and responsibility

Developing skills of enquiry and communication

2. Pupils should be taught to:
   1. research a topical political, spiritual, moral, social or cultural issue, problem or event by analysing information from different sources, including ICT-based sources, showing an awareness of the use and abuse of statistics
   2. express, justify and defend orally and in writing a personal opinion about such issues, problems or events
   3. contribute to group and exploratory class discussions, and take part in formal debates

Developing skills of participation and responsible action

3. Pupils should be taught to:
   1. use their imagination to consider other people's experiences and be able to think about, express, explain and critically evaluate views that are not their own
   2. reflect on the process of participating