Civics

Civic Education ( translated into German: Civic Education ) is a arisen in the Anglo- American language educational model with the aim to practice through lifelong social and multicultural learning democratic action and thinking and thereby ensure that democracy and civil society work in practice.

Civic Education (including Citizenship Education ) can be translated as " Learning for Democracy and Civil Society ". It is about the possibility of shaping the society in terms of a future democratic, just and peaceful world. Therefore, the National Curriculum looks since 2002 before the mandatory task "Education for Citizenship " and the EU has declared this in its recommendations.

Civic Education is to promote a political commitment and social skills and help others to understand fundamental democratic principles and to work for them.

Definition

Civic Education is a response to specific social problems ( immigration problems, racism, intolerance, selfishness, globalization, cultural loss ) and tasks ( gender mainstreaming, ethics ) and the need that the youth should actively shape the democracy and society. Communicative teaching and social learning are at the center. According to this method of education, not only tolerance should be practiced; The goal is rather a conscious promotion of pluralistic views and divergent thinking. It is meant to introduce youth to the task of shaping the society consciously and actively. With offers and new perspectives humanistic imprint to be made, which ultimately produces moral courage.

Recent content expansions learned Civic Education because of the latest findings in genetic and brain research: Life Science and Self Science. The evolutionary epistemology ( Popper / Lorenz ), partly also anthroposophy ( Steiner / Beuys / Krishnamurti ), the theory of the neuroses Erwin Ringel and logotherapy Viktor Frankl, as well as the dialogue pedagogy Martin Buber were there significant precursor. As a whole, it comes to combating prejudice, stereotypes and illusions, including the acquisition of media literacy has become much more recently. Finally Civic Education also means the departure from the previous dominance of the environmental theory and Kulturdeterminismus.

Civic Education is based inter alia on the educational theory of John Dewey and the philosophy of pragmatism. This puts a high priority on learning behavior in comparison to the mere reception of content. Civic Education provides experiential learning situations in the democratic speech and the assumption of responsibility in action.

Civic education is also a reaction to the Böckenförde - dictum: " The liberal secular state lives on conditions that he can not itself guarantee. This is the great risk that he is, received the sake of liberty. " When individuals can acquire from the religions no more social capital in secular society, then this approach could remedy this.

Two approaches

Within the Civic Education, two approaches can be distinguished. The first approach (by John Rawls, Ronald Dworkin, Bruce Ackerman ) emphasizes the task ( the school), the communicative competence of citizens ( students) to promote and not to convey normative specifications of the good life.

The second approach (Benjamin R. Barber) emphasizes less the promotion of communicative competence, but to actively shape the everyday world. School shall here convey normative virtues and these should then be applied to the public to solve social problems.

Demarcation on Political Education

In contrast to the " political education " to civic education not only engaged with politics, history, economics and law, but with an expanded concept of democracy learning, ie with the whole person and his environment, its origin and future, as well as with its biology and culture.

Political education is based in the German speaking primarily on contemporary history and institutionenkundlichem knowledge. Your goal is primarily through cognitive learning to improve the capability for democracy.

Civic Education is the older se discipline that goes back to Thomas Jefferson and John Dewey. CE seen since the " Fall of the Wall " due to a variety of social problems ( everyday fascism, bullying, racism, migration issues, consumerism, ...) a renaissance. CE works almost always a team-and project-oriented. CE is an important aspect of the so-called lifelong learning. The acquisition of emotional, social and democratic competencies is the focus.

Political education is:

• More subject- centered scientific
• Created more knowledge and less on skill and action
• More focused on systematic and state level, the government and the rule
• Susceptible or vulnerable to instrumentalization

Civic Education and Democracy Education is the umbrella term for the task, which is connected with the preservation and renewal of democracy, an overarching category, which can be classified as partial aspects of political education, democratic education and democratic action. you

• Has more the overarching task of education in view
• Viewed school as a whole - beyond classes
• Designed more for competence and action
• Is invested primarily in terms of human rights universalism
• Summarizes more the whole of culture and focuses on democracy as a living, society and form of government

Recent Developments

Civic Education modern blank uses in particular the method of implicit social learning, which among other things bringing together different scientific disciplines and their application is. Learning how to learn and the teaching / learning by brain -friendly (brain compatiblen ) scales forms a solid frame. So the latest findings in brain and genetic research are within the scope of school-based and non-formal learning, for example, ( learning to learn, cognitive science, aggression research, language acquisition, ...) harnessed. This opens the door to a still in the construction of new scientific discipline, social neuroscience. A leader in this newer development in the context of 'brain compatible learning " is the team's European Civic Education Foundation.

Methods of Civic Education

Methods of Civic Education are, inter alia:

Learning through Talk

• Cooperative learning Apollo Technology
• Peer mediation
• Mind Mapping
• Jigsaw Method
• Three -Step Interview
• Placemat Activity

• Deliberative Polling
• Parliamentary simulation, Model United Nations

Learning by doing

• Social learning
• Service Learning
• Youth Leadership