Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Civic and Citizenship
Civic and Citizenship
Barbara Leigh
University of Technology, Sydney
Abstact
lntrcduction
The policy of using citizenship education as a means of unifying he counby and
of inslilling wihin its population an orientation trat lies beyond ib own geognphic
region and/or ib own ehnic group of orfuin is one trat has been used by counfies
round the vrlorld for generalions. Somelimes tre policy has been benevolenl;
sometimes massive rewriling of history ho taken place and largescale crucial evenb
have been ignored or discredited. Usually, here has been some combination of frese
praclices as govemmenb seek to use tre educalion sector to legitimate tre nation and
ib system of govemment, but which at times has been used to legitimate parlicular
leaders. ln ofter rivords, fte history of citizenship education has many permutations.
1 TIis paper ws initially presented to Unilre6itas Negeri Yogyakarta, May 5, 2001 at lhe kind invitation d
Pofessor Cholisin and Drs Samsuri.
2 Jumalqvic, Vd. 1 Juni 2004
intent on lhrowing off the yoke of colonialism, the education system (often itself a
colonial legacy) was an important means of instilling a notion of nalional unity by way of
a nalional language and a nationally shared history amongst the new generation. The
second major aim cf lhe educalion system w6 to supply bureaucrats for all he
services fiat lhe state needed b provide, but tom he statemakers' perspective, this
aim was usually of ancillary significance; national unity being of prime concem. The way
in which hese goals were achieved was by he infusion of an ideology trat would
provide he energy for growfi and commitrnenl.
The historical roots of tris legilimating link between the state and the
development of an educational system br he masses can be seen in Europe in tre
nineteenth century. lt was then copied or absorbed in many new states in the twentieth
century. The heoretical interpretation bat Ramirez and Boli (19 give is that education
was part of he process of he nation-buiHing efiorb of states competing witr one
anoher wihin he intentate system.2
Ramirez and Boli ask: "Why wre he social innovalion of mass slate-sponsored
educalion adopted in virtually evay Wetem European cornby... from Prussia (1763) to
2 ln his andysis of intemalional politi6, Ralph Petman (1990. htendiotal Dd/tlics: Balane of pw*/
8€iaiffi d Ndtniviby' Bdane d id€fia1rts. ldboumq Longrnars Cheshfie) has examined the
dl.rent o{Fgdng globd intectate mmpetlim. Ihe groffi of a $ale's educatim sedor is immanent in
he overall gms. Tle dynamic he has metiobusly teas€d apart consisb d fi6 sane hree broad
Fcesses, namdy $e balance of poier, he bd ce d Foductivity atd t\e bdance d ideotogies. He
sees these processes occuning within the respeclive dcrnains d datsmakng, \,tr€alth-making and
ideology+naking. State{aking is a potiticd proc€ss and has to do wih he way $e $odd's peoples and
t€rdtodes har/e been and are being divided. Wedh{aking is an economic process which refers to $e
movement d globd resources and he proc€ss d dasemaking. As v€ move into $e sfudy, we are made
aiEre that he political and econdnic dim€ndo0s are in fac,t ",fused'. The bdanced-pofler and the
bdanced{rodudivity ate linked. lf po,\,e, is ho{ht of in terms of its functionat dimensons (pditicat,
economic, military and ideological) and $/e take produdion (rat\ei then .iust e(dlang€) to be the core of
€conomics, then productivity is a dimension of po,ver, and the balanceof+roductvity is a dimension of
tie balanced+o$,€t' (p.108). lt !€s precisety tlis dtudion wttici occlned in the early stdes. Finay,
fie. pre and @ dtemativ€s is exsnin€d ritlin Sre contod of idedogy-
FedgSy of modemity and its
making. Running as integrd hemes hrulghqit he study are fiose d gender and militariEn. patmads
ftameilork provides us with a mmprehensi\re story d he way in vfiidl states make, and continue to
make fiemsehcs on the world stage.
3 Francisco O. Ramirez and John
Boli. (1984. The Pditical Constuction of Mass Sdrooling: European
Odgins and Worldwide ln$itulionalization.' in@y d Edudiur. Vd 60. (Jan):2J 7, p. 3.
4 Jumalgvic, Vd. 1 Juni2004
Belgium (1914), despite great variation in socielal characterislics and histories?"r Their
contention is hat he European states became engaged in funding, managing and
accoding legitimacy to mass schooling as part of an endeavour to construct a unified
national polity. Wihin he shte, individuals nrere expected to give beir prime
identification to he national unit. From lime to lime extemal challenges to he shte's
ranking on he world stage stimulated state action in education in hat efforb and funds
would be devoted to internal obstacles such as $e power of tre clergy, state or class-
based privileges or regional autonomy.
The earliest example ue have of a nalional education system is that of Prussia.
ln writing of Prussia, lGrl Schleunes states hat:
The legacy of tris Prussian mass schooling venfure was fiat tre 'bwer orders' were
seen to be made up of educable beings and secondly hat he state, rather han the
church, was seen as he auhority in matters of educalion.
Ramirez and Boli drew attention to what hey saw as two important aspects of
tre union of he making of he Prussian sbte and he groudr of ib education system,
namely a unificalion of ib populace and a means of increasing ib stafure on he world
stage.
Finst, he stateattempted lo use mass schooling 'lo create a more unified
national citizeruy and hereby coraolidate sbte pourer boh wihin he nation
and relative to oher national sbtes, as enunciated explicity by Fichte.
Second, the union was sparked by a clear challenge to Prussia's posilion in tre
European state system - ib defeat at he hands of tre French after a period
during which Prussia had managed gnadually to increase ib intemational
shture and poucr. Prussia saw ib rise in tre European system blocked. lb
response was statecontrolled educalion, and he system it constructed !rcuH
t lbid.,p.2.
sKarl A. Schl€unes. (1979). Enlight€nment, Rtrrm, Readion:"lhe Sdrcding Revoluton in Prussia.'
Cetud Euryan Hidwy. Vol.Xll. No4. Decsnber., p. 317
Barbara Leigh, Oivic hrt &izen$ip Edlf,,lion 5
before most of Europe. Secondly he sees tre development of $e pdnt media as critical
in providing $re means for disseminating information to large numbers of people.
More recenlly, radio and television have leapfrogged print media as global means of
1
information dissemination.l
Universal compulsory education wihin individual nalion-states made the
extension of tre franchise to he masses easier. lt was initiated and organized by the
sbte as a means of creating loyal citizens, citizens br whom their shte would be as
'natural' as tre hmily into which ftey were bom,
A major function of education herebre, even in consumer-sponsored systems
such as in the United Shtes was to provide legilimacy and loyalty to he state.
10
B.R.OG. An&lsoo (1 98il). ,magrned Cdnmuriaari lffiisrs ut tlr o&in a1d Wd d ndionelisfli.
Lmdon, Veso.
lndonesia h6received sub6tanlial aid frdn Ausfdia in he settng up of sophisticated
Ebcdrxiunicatioo satellite nduorks.
12
Eoce Cudis.(1988\. Buildi| lhe Educationd Safei Canada w&, 18381871. London, ontatio, The
Altrore Pcss. , p. 1 3.
Barbara Leigh, Aft A N C izenship Educatidt 7
. .The treorist who expresse tris most potenfly is pouranEas. He recognizes fre
gradalion or mntinuum of violence inherent in he monopoly
of sfucfures of p6wer. This
monopoly "underlies fre techniques of pwer and mechanisms of consent: it is woven
]:.Ienn9t' Barkin. (1983). "Sodd Confd and Vdksscfrule in Voma.z prussia.'in &nlnl Eunpean
Hrgoy. VolIUt, Nol. March., 0.32.
lrlbrd. p. 35
,,]an Branson, and Don Mifler. (r99i]. 'sdooring and he hp€rid rransfocnarion of Gender A post
:Aqp'll Ap.rd'.t9 n9 qtudy of Sdroding in Bdi, tndqEda.' in R.J. Bums and Wetch, A.R.
vmlenwary perlr€{'ives in Oqnwathe
Edu@tjon Narr yoR, Garland..
DD. S.7.
J.B€rban Leigh (1999),
Leaming and r$ofling Borndarks: sdroding in New'0rder rndoflesia,
sqbum.
Vd 14, No 1.
8 Jumal Ovic, Vd. 1 Juni 20(N
intohe disciplinary and ideological appara$, and fashions tlre materials of be social
body on which domination depends, even if his violence doesn't get exercised direcfly".
17
' For PoulanEas, lhe capihlist State neiher separates law from violence nor
substifu tes mechanisms of manipulalion-persuaion (ideology) br repression.
To the contrary, lhe capitalist State develops a monopoly on legitimate physical
violence: be capitalist State's accumulation of he means of corporal control
goes hand in hand witr ib character as tre State of law and order. He argue
hat... disciplinary instifutions and tre emer{ence of ideological institutions like
he parliament and he school assume he monopoly of violence by fie State,
and his violence, in fum, is obscured by tre displacement of legitimacy toward
-legality"
and the law. Not only trat, but the maior insfument of legal violence -
he army - sewes as he model for he oqanizalion of schools and bureaucralic
hierarchies bofr wihin he State and in he private corporations.ls
The violence hat is often embodied in stab educalion systems is most ftequenty
a non-physhal manifestation which can present he hce of ,naturalness,
wihin tfre
intemationally legilimated phenomenon of compulsory attendance or UpE (univasal
primary education). Once in school, studenb are ofien subjected to military history trat
presenb a glodfied picture of war and ib heroes and heroines. Sometimes militarism
wiftin fte educalion system takes a more overt form in trat school sfudenb are enlisted
for proto-military aclivilies such as cadeb or tre equivalent. Wifiin he cuniculum, war-
galing is usually glon'fiedte because of ib integral link witr tre project of statemaking.
As Tilly (states so succinfy and graphically, "States make war and wars make states,.i
As is often he case, it is he story, rafpr fran tre social science text, which
qroyldes ys wih fie most graphic pbture of he porver of tre educalion system. ln
C.H.lGne's short story "Ambiguous Advenfure , a fictional new school in a new nation,
Diallobe, is described:
The new school shares at he same lime fre characteristics of cannon and of
magnet. From he cannon it drarira effcacy aF an arm of combat. Better than
he cannon, it makes conquest permanent. The cannon compels lhe body, tre
school bewitches lhe soul. Where the cannon has made a pit of rshes and of
deah, in he slicky mould of which men would not have rebounded from lhe
ruins, he new school establishes peace. The morning of rebirfr will be a
moming of benediclion trrough tre appeasing virlue of tre new school.
Only such an upheaval in tre natural order can explain how, witrout eitrer of
hem wanting it, he new man and he new school come bgetrer just he same.
For neither of hem wanb tre other. The man does not waht he school
because in order hat he may live - trat is, be free, feed and clohe himself - it
imposes upn him he necessity of sitting hencefortr, for tre required period,
upon ib benches. No more does tre school want fte man because in order to
survive - that is, extend ibelf and take roob where ib necessity has landed it _
it is obliged b take account of him.zt
It is not he aim of tris section to paint a bleak picfure of schoob, but ratrer to allow
some ventilalion br he complexity of fie issues involved in an examination of tre state
and ib relationship to tre education syslem,
. within schools in NSW, tre aim is to integrate he civics and citizenship terms
and concepb hroughout the syllabus content. At secondary level, civics educarion is
taught hrough an elective unil witrin tre history syllabus foi years 7-10. The syllabus
was last revised in 2001. while sfudents may have dilierent experiences and
understanding of citizenship to which bachers need to be sensitive, civics and
citizenship education in the History syllabus is underpinned by fie bllowing values:
21 As quoted in
[g!9' c H. "Anbiguois Adventure" in Geo{ge Lamming (ed), cannon srrol and Grass
Baads, Pic€dor, 1974.
2 Munay Print and wdry Mo'oz and pat Reyndds (edJ). (2001)
Dis@venng den.'racy in c,,cs and
citiz9nship educaton, Katmmba, NSW: Social Science press. 2001.
l0 Jumal Ovic, Vd. 1 Juni 2004
how young people influence govemment, local govemment, lhe flag, human rights and
voting in elections. Pedagogical suggestions for tre teachen are the use of debates,
rol+play, writing of petilions, engagement in online discussions with oher sfudenb,
and fre overall fostering of awareness witrin fie individual sfudent as an aclive citizen.
These cunicula, are evidence of he sorls of material trat is being hught witrin
Australia. During he New Order in lndonesia, Pancasila educalion was tre subject trat
encouraged sfudents to be aware of their 'lndonesian-ness'.26 lt was compulsory at
every level of schooling from kindergarten through to terliary educalion, as well as
pancasila courses being compulsory for all civil servan6. The need for civics and
citizenship education remains potent when govemmenb wish to instil he values of
active engagement within he community, wtrilst at the same time wishing to control hat
engagement. The dialectic of trat govemance is botr dynamic and contexfual.
The history and sociology of civics education involves he examinalion of
o he ways in which ib education system (as a system) has developed - tre mix
between public and private, religious and secular, ceeducation and single sex
schools
r he system of govemance and he practices of democracy in conhxt
. he degree of cenfalizalbn; conbol of cunicula conbnt
r control of examinations; means of entry into the counby's universities
r budgetary allocalion as a proporlion of GDP
. wEFs
r infrastucture
. system of teacher faining
. career strucfure for hose employed in tre education s€ctor
Solutions hat may be suibble in one context are not alu,ays appropriate in anoher
context.
lf a counhy is committed to democralization, tren tris will be evident in fie
pedaSosy available to he sfudenb. There will be opporlunities br discussion; grqrp
!'rork will be parl of lhe school day, as leaming to respect he vieua of others, to iisten
and to be able to engage in dialogue is essenlial leaming witrin a democracy. Most
importanty, assessment hsls will examine fie students capacity for oitical reisoning,
active parlicipalion and an ability to view problems from a range of perspeclives.
These are tre values hat urere emphasized in the conference on civic education
held in Bandung, lndonesia. As Professor Dr Endang Sumanfi stated, .frre ultimate
goal of... citizenship education is h provide people wih tre capacity to ... ttrink and
make intelligent and socially responsible decisions".zz
None of hese processes take place qubkly. The leaders of a county can show
heir commitment to he development of a civil society hrough providing every sfudent
wih he opportunity for leaming heir rights and rcsponsibilities tluough relevant and
appropriate school-bmed activilies. Educationally, sfudenb witr a strong sense of civic
responsibility show that hey have somehing to contibute to heir own leaming, tre
leaming of heh peers and as aclive citizens, to he groudr of a civic society.
Refercncee cited
Education for Avil S&iety. Dsnouatic dizens in a Civil Scr,iet Buifdiry Rationafx fu the Z1s
cf'turfs civic education, Bandung, Mardl 1&17. p. 7.
Barbara Leigh, C;ivic AN Citizenship Edrcdion l3
Leigh,. Barbara (!999), Leaming and Knowing Boundaries: &hooling r New Order
lndonesia, Sojoum, Vol '14, No 1.
Petknan, Ralph. (1990). Intemational pollics: Balance of power/ Balance of
_ productivity/ Balance ofideologies. Melbourne, Longmans Cheshhe,
PoulanEas, Nicos. (1975). Polilical power -classeq
and social London, Humanities
Press.
Print, Munay and Wally Moroz and Pat Reynolds (eds). (2001) Disnveing dema;rev
in ciuia aN citizenship education, Katoomba, NSW: Social Science Fress, 200t1
_
Ramirez, Francisco, o and John Boli. (19s7). "The polilical construction oi Mass
Sciooling:
.Eupq.q Origins and Woddwide lnstitutionalizaton ! in Sociology ol
Education. Vol 60. (Jan):2-17.
Schleunes,. A
lGrl (1979). "Enlightenment, Reform, Reaclion: The Schooling
Revolution in Prussia." Central EurcpeanHisfory. Vol.Xll. No.4. December.
Tilly' charles (1985).'war Making and state Making as organized crime" in p. Evans
et al (eds). &inging the State Back /n. Cambridge, Univenity press.