Abstract
This chapter addresses the issue of citizenship education and the role of immigrant students in the Nordic countries from the perspective of liberal theories of citizenshipeducation. Liberal approaches to citizenship education have recently encountered rigorous critique: the critics argue that the supposedly democratic, rational, and neutral principles and ideals associated with liberal theories are in reality rooted in a particular way of life and national identity. Accordingly, inculcating these principles and ideals in citizenship education excludes and marginalizes students belonging to minorities, immigrant students in particular. This chapter aims to respond to this critique by separating between two branches of liberal theories of citizenship education, ‘patriotic’ and ‘political’. The chapter argues that while the ‘patriotic’ approach is vulnerable to the aforementioned critique, it does not apply to the ‘political’ line of thought. Rather, the ‘political’ approach, rooted in John Rawls’ political liberalism and the notion of reasonableness, provides a foundation for criticizing policies and practices that marginalize students with immigrant backgrounds. Finally, utilizing Rawlsian theory of citizenship education as a starting point, the chapter makes some suggestions on how the status of immigrant students could be improved in the Nordic countries.
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Leiviskä, A. (2020). Citizenship Education and the Role of Immigrant Students in the Nordic Countries. In: Strand, T. (eds) Rethinking Ethical-Political Education. Contemporary Philosophies and Theories in Education, vol 16. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49524-4_8
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