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Character Education or Citizenship Education?

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The Rise of Character Education in Britain

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Young People and Politics ((PSYPP))

Abstract

The resurgence of interest in character education in the UK, and the forms it has taken, reflect a general trend in education to promote a narrow kind of individualised and responsibilised citizenship. This chapter considers character education as a form of self-work, whereby individuals are expected to develop their individual capacity to confront the demands of the global economy, and to become ideal neo-liberal citizens. In England, in particular, the turn to character education corresponds to the decline in the fortunes of citizenship education, which has been marginalized by policymakers in recent years. The chapter reviews evidence about the impact of citizenship education and argues that it provides a tried and tested alternative to character education—an alternative which is far more likely to strengthen British democracy by enabling young people to engage in civic and political activities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health and Education, Middlesex University, London, UK

    Lee Jerome

  2. School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

    Ben Kisby

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  1. Lee Jerome
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  2. Ben Kisby
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Correspondence to Lee Jerome .

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Jerome, L., Kisby, B. (2019). Character Education or Citizenship Education?. In: The Rise of Character Education in Britain. Palgrave Studies in Young People and Politics. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27761-1_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27761-1_6

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-27760-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-27761-1

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

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