Question reference: S2W-18575
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 19 August 2005
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Current status: Answered by Robert Brown on 8 September 2005
Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it means by its plans to promote citizenship education in schools across Scotland.
Answer
A Curriculum for Excellence establishes that the purposes for education are to enable all young people to become responsible citizens, effective contributors, confident individuals and successful learners. Citizenship education is accordingly a central aim of the Scottish Executive. However, Education for Citizenship is not a specific subject but cuts across various areas of the curriculum.
Currently the National Guidelines 5 – 14 offer a number of opportunities for pupils to learn about citizenship education under personal and social development, religious and moral education and, in particular, under social subjects within environmental studies.
In addition, Learning And Teaching Scotland promotes citizenship education through its “Education for Citizenship” website. The website includes examples of cross-curricular approaches to citizenship and features items such as the J8 and G8 summits, the youth parliament and mock elections.
Many schools run mock elections, often in association with the Hansard Society, and engage with MSP’s and other elected representatives.
Work on the implementation of A Curriculum for Excellence is moving ahead and will ensure that cross-curricular issues such as citizenship education are reflected fully in new guidance on all curricular areas. There will be ample opportunity for wide debate, testing, refinement and consideration of any proposals which emerge.