Active Citizenship Education for a Better Tomorrow - History, Challenges and Perspectives across Europe

This publication offers a reflection on citizenship education in Europe. By bringing together experts from various countries, it illustrates how historical events, national contexts, and European policies shape the way citizenship is taught in schools.

Global events, such as the migration crisis and the increasing, ongoing environmental issues have demanded and continue to demand international responses. These changes and crises influence identities, provoke us to ask what citizenship means in our societies and lead us to question how citizenship education is perceived today. Countries can no longer solely focus on national values; rather they now emphasize international democratic values and encourage citizens to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to become active and critical members of society. Bringing together an overview of citizenship education opportunities and challenges this book provides substantial food for thought and helps us to better understand the international perspective on citizenship education.

Each chapter of the book provides a synthesis of how citizenship education is organized within specific national contexts. Furthermore, the results of a comparative study on citizenship in Flanders (Belgium), Czech Republic, Greece, The Netherlands, Spain and Turkey, is illustrated in this publication.

About the author

Oliver Holz, Prof. Dr. phil., M.A. (1970); MA in educational sciences and psychology; PhD in educational sciences; coordinator and organiser of European network(s); research with the emphasis on comparative educational science; employed at the KU Leuven, various publications on relevant educational subjects.D’HERDT, Katrijn is project officer for ITTS at KU Leuven. Apart from that, she is internationalisation coordinator and policy officer for education at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy. She has a Master degree in Languages and Literature: German – Swedish, an advanced Master in Journalism and a teaching degree. She has a background in language teaching (secondary and adult education) and was a lecturer and program coordinator in teacher education at Odisee University of Applied Sciences. Katrijn D’Herdt is co-author of ‘Taalweb’ (course book Dutch for secondary education) and is engaged in several higher education networks. Her work focuses on international and intercultural learning in higher education.Dr. Vana Chiou is a faculty member (Laboratory Teaching Staff) at the Department of Geography, University of the Aegean, Greece. Her research interests focus on contemporary teaching methods, assessment, teacher training, and inclusion in education. She is also a co-editor of the book series Voices from the Classroom (Waxmann Publications). She has contributed to various publications, including edited volumes, book chapters, and articles in both Greek and international journals. Additionally, she has participated in and co-coordinated several European projects.D’HERDT, Katrijn is project officer for ITTS at KU Leuven. Apart from that, she is internationalisation coordinator and policy officer for education at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy. She has a Master degree in Languages and Literature: German – Swedish, an advanced Master in Journalism and a teaching degree. She has a background in language teaching (secondary and adult education) and was a lecturer and program coordinator in teacher education at Odisee University of Applied Sciences. Katrijn D’Herdt is co-author of ‘Taalweb’ (course book Dutch for secondary education) and is engaged in several higher education networks. Her work focuses on international and intercultural learning in higher education.Ondřej Duda, Master’s degree in English and Arts teaching, PhD candidate in Education, is Assistant Professor of the English language at the Institute of Foreign Languages at the Faculty of Education, Palacký University in Olomouc. He teaches sociolinguistics, language practice, language skills, culture and history courses as well as ELT courses. In his work, he focuses on developing professional competences of English teachers. His recent academic interest involves the theme of developing the sociolinguistic competence of future teachers of English and learners’ motivation to learn foreign languages. He is a member of the Czech Pedagogical Society and an author of academic articles on the issue of English language teaching methodology.Oliver Holz, Prof. Dr. phil., M.A. (1970); MA in educational sciences and psychology; PhD in educational sciences; coordinator and organiser of European network(s); research with the emphasis on comparative educational science; employed at the KU Leuven, various publications on relevant educational subjects.Alena Jůvová, PaedDr. in Didactics of Biology, PhD in Education; is Assistant Professor and International coordinator at the Institute of Education and Social Studies, Faculty of Education, Palacký University in Olomouc and an Executive editor of e-Pedagogium – An independent scientific journal for interdisciplinary research in pedagogy. Her sphere of scientific interest is communication and soft skills in education, environmental education, social pedagogy and pedagogical constructivism. She is a member of the Czech Pedagogical Society and a member of the Czech Educational Research Association. She has published three textbooks and selected articles on the issue of education, teaching methodology and social pedagogy.Working at Izmir University of Economics, School of Foreign Languages since 2008, Nesrin Oruç Ertürk has earned her PhD degree from Anadolu University in 2007, assigned as an Assoc. Prof. Dr. in 2014 and appointed as Prof. Dr. in 2019. Her main interest areas are Lifelong Learning, teacher training, and second language acquisition. She has published many books and has many articles published in national and international journals. She has carried research and taught abroad in departments of linguistics at different universities (State University of New York, SUNY, USA; Universidad de Alcala, Spain). Since 2015, she has been assigned as the director of EKOSEM (İzmir University of Economics, Continuing Education Center) and is a member of the Executive Board of TUSEM (The Council of Turkish Universities Continuing Education Centers).

Summary

This publication offers a reflection on citizenship education in Europe. By bringing together experts from various countries, it illustrates how historical events, national contexts, and European policies shape the way citizenship is taught in schools.

Global events, such as the migration crisis and the increasing, ongoing environmental issues have demanded and continue to demand international responses. These changes and crises influence identities, provoke us to ask what citizenship means in our societies and lead us to question how citizenship education is perceived today. Countries can no longer solely focus on national values; rather they now emphasize international democratic values and encourage citizens to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to become active and critical members of society. Bringing together an overview of citizenship education opportunities and challenges this book provides substantial food for thought and helps us to better understand the international perspective on citizenship education.

Each chapter of the book provides a synthesis of how citizenship education is organized within specific national contexts. Furthermore, the results of a comparative study on citizenship in Flanders (Belgium), Czech Republic, Greece, The Netherlands, Spain and Turkey, is illustrated in this publication.

Product details

• Assisted by: Katrijn D’Herdt (Editor), Katrijn DHerdt (Editor), Katrijn D'Herdt (Editor), Oliver Holz (Editor), Dorien Sampermans (Editor)
• Publisher: Waxmann Verlag GmbH
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.03.2025
• EAN: 9783818800055
• ISBN: 978-3-8188-0005-5
• No. of pages: 152
• Dimensions: 169 mm x 9 mm x 242 mm
• Weight: 300 g
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Education > School education, didactics, methodology; Pädagogik, Schulpädagogik, Geschichte der Pädagogik, Erziehungswissenschaft, Politics, Democracy, TEACHER, School, Flanders, Citizenship Education, Active citizenship, Europe, Greece