{"id":6520,"date":"2025-05-22T08:17:30","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T16:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/?p=6520"},"modified":"2025-05-22T08:19:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T16:19:26","slug":"towards-an-ideal-model-of-education-for-critical-citizenship-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/2025\/05\/towards-an-ideal-model-of-education-for-critical-citizenship-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Towards an Ideal Model of Education for Critical Citizenship (now open access)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The article <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/epdf\/10.1111\/ejed.70010\">&#8220;Towards an Ideal Model of Education for Critical Citizenship. An Analysis of the Spanish Curricular Change in Social Sciences&#8221;<\/a> published in January 2025 in the <em>European Journal of Education<\/em> is now available under Open Access license.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"style__focusable___1Vh1J\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"document\" aria-label=\"The document analyzes the presence and effectiveness of citizenship education in the new Spanish social sciences curriculum, advocating for a model that fosters critical thinking and social engagement among students. **Analysis of Citizenship Education in Spain** This study examines the integration of citizenship education within the new Spanish social sciences curriculum for primary and secondary education, highlighting the need for critical thinking and engagement among students. The research utilizes the ICCS framework to evaluate the curriculum's effectiveness in fostering civic competencies. **Importance of Critical Citizenship Education** Critical citizenship education aims to develop students' abilities to question societal norms and injustices, promoting active engagement in democratic processes. It emphasizes the need for a curriculum that encourages reflective thinking, social action, and an understanding of power dynamics. - Education should foster critical thinking and challenge the status quo. - It promotes an understanding of social justice and the importance of civic engagement. - Pedagogical approaches include dialogical methods, sociocultural criticism, and problem-solving. **ICCS Framework and Its Relevance** The ICCS framework serves as a model for assessing civic and citizenship education, focusing on cognitive skills, civic knowledge, and engagement. The framework is divided into two main components: civic knowledge and civic attitudes and engagement. - The ICCS framework includes content domains (civic institutions, principles, participation) and cognitive domains (knowing, reasoning, applying). - It emphasizes the interconnection between civic knowledge and engagement attitudes. - The framework has evolved to address contemporary issues like globalization and digital activism. **Methodology of the Study** The research employs a qualitative design based on documentary analysis of the Spanish curriculum, specifically focusing on social sciences subjects. The analysis is structured in three phases to ensure thorough examination and reliability. - The study analyzes two Royal Decrees related to primary and secondary education. - It examines specific competencies, evaluation criteria, and basic knowledge in social sciences. - The analysis involved a textual review and triangulation, achieving a 99% interobserver agreement rate. **Findings on Curriculum Correspondence** The results indicate that the Spanish curriculum emphasizes cognitive and content domains over attitudes and engagement in citizenship education. The cognitive domain is the most prevalent, followed by content, attitudes, and engagement. - In primary education, cognitive domain: 34.3%, content domain: 45.1%, attitudes: 14.4%, engagement: 6.1%. - In secondary education, cognitive domain: 71.4%, content domain: 66.6%, attitudes: 20.1%, engagement: 8.5%. - Engagement is the least represented dimension across both educational stages. **Specific Competencies in Primary Education** The analysis of primary education reveals a strong focus on cognitive skills, particularly reasoning and application, with less emphasis on civic engagement. The curriculum aims to develop students' understanding of social and cultural environments. - Specific competencies prioritize reasoning and application over knowledge. - Attitudes towards civic principles are emphasized, promoting respect for diversity and social justice. - Engagement experiences are mentioned but are not a central focus in evaluation criteria. **Specific Competencies in Secondary Education** In secondary education, the curriculum continues to prioritize cognitive skills, with a notable emphasis on reasoning and application. The evaluation criteria reflect a similar trend, focusing on knowledge and civic principles. - The cognitive domain is prominent in specific competencies and evaluation criteria. - Attitudes towards civic roles and identities are highlighted in the specific subject. - Engagement dimensions are less frequent, primarily addressing future civic participation. **Conclusion and Implications for Curriculum Development** The study concludes that while the Spanish curriculum incorporates elements of the ICCS framework, there is a need for a more balanced approach that includes attitudes and engagement in citizenship education. Future curriculum development should aim to enhance critical citizenship competencies. - The curriculum should strive for a more integrated approach to civic education. - Emphasis on critical thinking and social engagement is essential for developing active citizens. - Continuous evaluation and adaptation of the curriculum are necessary to meet evolving societal needs. **Uneven Correspondence in Spanish Curriculum** The analysis reveals significant inconsistencies in the Spanish social sciences curriculum regarding the ICCS domains, emphasizing a need for a more balanced approach to citizenship education. The curriculum currently prioritizes cognitive and content domains over attitudes and engagement, which are essential for fostering critical citizenship. - The Spanish curriculum shows a predominance of cognitive and content domains, lacking emphasis on attitudes and engagement. - No significant differences were found between primary and secondary education stages in this regard. - This trend aligns with other studies indicating a focus on cognitive teaching over developing democratic citizenship skills. - Students are distanced from critical thinking, social action, and engagement due to this imbalance. **Curriculum Elements and Evaluation Criteria** The curriculum presents a coherent proposal for citizenship competencies, yet this coherence is not reflected in evaluation criteria or classroom practices. The lack of assessment for attitudes and engagement leads to a disconnect between curriculum intentions and actual teaching. - The primary education curriculum includes competencies for citizenship commitment, but evaluation criteria do not reflect this. - Skills and habits of critical thinking are often not assessed, leading to a lack of classroom focus on these areas. - The curriculum claims to encompass knowledge, skills, and attitudes, but basic knowledge is primarily knowledge-based. **Limitations in Attitudes and Engagement** The Spanish curriculum shows the lowest correspondence in dimensions related to attitudes and engagement, which are crucial for democratic citizenship education. This limitation hinders the development of critical citizen participation necessary for social change. - Attitudes and engagement are identified as key components of democratic citizenship education but are underrepresented in the curriculum. - The curriculum fails to promote critical citizen participation, which is essential for a healthy democracy. - The lack of focus on these dimensions distances the curriculum from effective citizenship education. **Changes in Curriculum Post-ICCS 2009** The analysis reflects on how the results from ICCS 2009 have influenced the new LOMLOE curriculum, noting improvements in reasoning and application but still highlighting areas needing further development. - The new curriculum has increased references to reasoning and application compared to the knowledge dimension. - Civic principles have seen an increase in references, while civic participation remains the least referenced area. - The curriculum analysis indicates uneven correspondence in attitudes and engagement sub-dimensions. **Future Directions for Citizenship Education** The study emphasizes the need for ongoing research into the practical implementation of the curriculum to ensure it addresses social issues and promotes critical thinking. Researchers are encouraged to examine the ICCS 2022 study results to advance democratic citizenship education. - Future research should focus on how the curriculum is taught in practice and its effectiveness in addressing social issues. - There is a call for a dialectical thinking perspective to resolve social issues through education. - The goal is to progress towards an ideal model of education for democratic citizenship that supports social justice.\">\n<div id=\"fulldoc_summary_copyable\" class=\"gt_copyable\">\n<div class=\"style__markdown___3Er_4\">\n<p>The article examines the integration of citizenship education in Spain&#8217;s new social sciences curriculum, focusing on primary and secondary education. \u200b It highlights the importance of fostering critical citizenship, which involves questioning societal norms, challenging injustices, and engaging in transformative social action. \u200b The study uses the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) framework to analyze the curriculum, revealing a stronger emphasis on cognitive skills and content knowledge compared to attitudes and engagement. \u200b<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"style__markdown___3Er_4\">\n<p>Key findings include:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Cognitive and Content Focus<\/strong>: The curriculum prioritizes cognitive domains (e.g., reasoning and application) and content domains (e.g., civic principles and roles) over attitudes and engagement. \u200b<\/li>\n<li><strong>Inconsistencies in Curriculum Elements<\/strong>: While competencies emphasize citizenship commitment, evaluation criteria and basic knowledge lack coherence, limiting practical classroom implementation. \u200b<\/li>\n<li><strong>Limited Focus on Engagement<\/strong>: Engagement-related dimensions, such as activism and social participation, are minimally addressed, distancing the curriculum from fostering active democratic citizenship. \u200b<\/li>\n<li><strong>Imbalance in Basic Knowledge<\/strong>: Basic knowledge focuses solely on content, neglecting cognitive, attitudinal, and engagement aspects. \u200b<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The study concludes that while the curriculum incorporates cognitive and content domains effectively, it falls short in promoting critical social action and engagement. \u200b Future efforts should focus on aligning curriculum elements and fostering interdisciplinary approaches to empower students as active participants in democracy. \u200b Researchers are encouraged to examine the practical implementation of these curricular changes to advance education for social justice. \u200b<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Navarro Medina, E , Ross, E. W., P\u00e9rez-Rodr\u00edguez, N., &amp; De Alba Fernandez, N. (2025). Towards an ideal model of education for critical citizenship. An analysis of the Spanish curricular change in social sciences.\u00a0<em>European Journal of Education, 60<\/em>(1), e70010.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/ejed.70010\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/ejed.70010<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/files\/2025\/01\/Open-Access-logo.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6518\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/files\/2025\/01\/Open-Access-logo-300x145.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"145\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/files\/2025\/01\/Open-Access-logo-300x145.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/files\/2025\/01\/Open-Access-logo.png 516w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The article &#8220;Towards an Ideal Model of Education for Critical Citizenship. An Analysis of the Spanish Curricular Change in Social Sciences&#8221; published in January 2025 in the European Journal of Education is now available under Open Access license. The article examines the integration of citizenship education in Spain&#8217;s new social sciences curriculum, focusing on primary [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104,73154,4500188,103],"tags":[696103,506311,228253,3306],"class_list":["post-6520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-democracy","category-education-theory-research","category-publications","category-social-studies","tag-citizenship-education","tag-critical-citizenship","tag-curriculum-studies","tag-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6520"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6523,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6520\/revisions\/6523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ross\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}