The history of citizenship education: A comparative outline

The duties, rights, attitudes and skills of citizenship need to be learned; but throughout history states have not defined their meanings of citizenship or methods of preparation for the role in the same ways. This article examines four main phases: Greece (i.e. Sparta, Athens, Plato and Aristotle) and Rome; the Age of Revolutions (dealing with the English, French and American experiences, and including ancien régime France); Education for Democratic Citizenship (again mainly using those three western countries); and Totalitarianism and After (exemplified by the Soviet Union/Russia and Germany). A brief Conclusion raises the issue of the current problems surrounding the relationship of citizenship and nationality, Both education theory and practices are treated in the survey.