Citizenship
in the National Curriculum | What
is Citizenship as a subject? | The
link with values | Using
F-files case studies | Curriculum
mapping | Other materials|
Citizenship
and values education: developing key skills for a consumer society
Citizenship
in the National Curriculum
(England)
Citizenship
contributes to the overall school curriculum by:
- giving students
the knowledge, understanding and skills to enable them to participate
in society as active citizens of a democracy
- enabling them
to be informed, critical and responsible and aware of their
duties and rights
- providing a
framework which promotes the social, moral and cultural development
of pupils
- enabling them
to become more self-confident and responsible in and
beyond the classroom
- encouraging
students to become helpfully involved in the life of their
schools, neighbourhoods, communities and the wider world
- promoting their
political and economic literacy through learning about our
economy and our democratic institutions
- helping students
to gain a disposition for reflective discussion
- showing students
how to make themselves effective in the life of the
nation, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
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What
is Citizenship as a subject?
Citizenship became a compulsory National Curriculum subject for KS3
and KS4 in England from August 2002. The Programme of Study provides
the knowledge, skills and processes that should be taught and provides
a basis for planning units of work. The attainment target for Citizenship
consists of an end of key stage description for each of KS3 and KS4
that states broadly what level of attainment students might reach.
Teaching should
ensure that knowledge and understanding is acquired and applied in order
to support students when:
- becoming informed
citizens
- developing
skills of enquiry and communication
- participating
and taking responsible action
Citizenship teaching
should contribute to learning across the curriculum. It may be organised
in a cross-curricular way, taught from within a dedicated timetable
slot, or both. Ofsted will expect to see specific instances and units
of work addressing the Citizenship Programme of Study, ie. citizenship
knowledge, skills and understanding that is planned, taught and delivered
as such. All subjects will have contexts to offer for developing the
knowledge and skills needed to operate effectively as a citizens.
Citizenship
teaching should promote:
- students'
spiritual, moral and cultural development - egs. fostering awareness
of meaning and purpose in life and of differing values in human society,
developing critical appreciation of rights and responsibilities, fairness
and justice, taking a role as effective members of society, promoting
respect for cultural diversity
- key skills:
- communication,
egs. researching, discussing and sharing information and ideas
- application
of number, egs. collecting, analysing and interpreting data,
dealing with ratios, proportions and costs
- IT,
egs. using databases and spreadsheets for modelling, nutritional
analysis, using Internet and CD-ROMs for research, using electronic
equipment for measuring and controlling aspects of production
- working
with others, egs. group and team work, sharing ideas, consulting
expert sources, peer mentoring
- improving
own learning and performance, egs. setting and meeting targets,
reviewing work
- problem
solving, egs. dealing with technical issues and processes,
applying thinking skills (modelling, engineering)
- thinking
skills - egs. reasoning, enquiry, evaluation, critical analysis
- financial
capability - egs. understanding the nature and role of money in
society, value for money, managing financial resources
- enterprise
and entrepreneurial skills - egs. understanding the importance
of these skills for a successful economy and democracy, a critical
understanding society from a consumer perspective, and from the perspective
of business and commerce
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The
link with values
Values lie at the heart of understanding the technological world. Products
are developed in response to needs, wants or opportunities. The development
and use of technologies involves decision making, by individuals or
groups who take on the role of designers, makers, users, consumers,
manufacturers or retailers. This process is influenced by the values
held by the decision maker, whether or not this is realised or explicit.
D&T is a curriculum
area that involves students in decision making. This might be in relation
to materials and solutions, weighing up possibilities, considering the
most appropriate course of action, being open to alternatives. Students
should be able to articulate and discuss their thought processes, rationalise
their decisions and justify the values on which these are based.
"Education
for Sustainable Development (ESD) enables people to develop the knowledge,
values and skills to participate in decisions about the way we do things
individually and collectively, both locally and globally, that improve
the quality of life without damaging the planet for the future"
(National Curriculum for England)
Within D&T,
students should be given opportunities to explore the values aspects
of decisions made about the use of materials, processes and resources.
These include human, moral, social, cultural, political, economic, technical
and environmental aspects and their impact.
There are many
areas of overlap between Citizenship and Values education, as with Education
for Sustainable Development:
Key
Concepts of Edcucation for Sustainable Development
|
Examplesfor
students in practice
|
Interdependence
- understanding connections and links between all apsect of our
lives, and those of other people and places |
Understanding that what
people do affects themselves, the places they live and others
(KS1)
Being aware of the global
context within which trade, industry and consumption patterns
operate (KS3)
|
Undertainty
and precaution - realising that because we are learning all
the time and our actions may have unforseen circumstances we should
adopt a cautious approach in the welfare of the planet |
Being able to listen carefully
to arguments and weigh up evidence (KS2)
Understanding the value
and use of the precautionary principle in personal, economic,
scientific and technological decision making in the light of uncertainty
(KS4)
|
Citizenship
- recognising that we all have rights and responsibilities to participate
in decision making and that everyone should have a say in what happens
in the future |
Being able to work with
other members of the school community and being responsibility
for making it more sustainable (KS2)
Understanding how values
and beliefs influence behaviour and how some lifestyles are more
sustainable than others (KS4)
|
Sustainable
change - understanding that there is a limit to the ways in
which the world, particularly the richer countries, can develop
and that the consequences for unsustainable growth are increased
poverty and hardship, and the degradation of the environment, to
the disadvantage of all |
Understanding how the home
and school may be managed more sustainably (KS2)
Questionning decisions,
practices and processes that affect sustainable development issues
and investigating alternatives (KS4)
|
Quality of
life - recognising that for any development to be sustainable
it must benefit people in an equitable way, it is about improving
everybody's lives |
Understanding the basic
difference between needs and wants (KS1)
Understanding the difference
between quality of life and standard of living (KS3)
|
Needs and
rights offuture generations - learning how we can lead lives
that consider the rights and needs of others, and that what we do
now has implications fr what life will be like in the future |
Being able to work with
other members of the school and community and feeling responsible
for making it more sustainable (KS2)
Being able to assess the
sustainability of their own lifestyle (KS3)
|
Diversity
- understanding the importance and value of diversity in our lives
- culturally, socially, economically and biologically - and that
all our lives are impoverished without it |
Beginning to distinguish
between actions and products that are wasteful or more sustainable
(KS2)
Appreciating the nature
of the changes that have affected economic, cultural and biological
diversity in their locality over past generations (KS3)
|
Students should
be encouraged, within their D&T work, to critically evaluate ideas,
products, processes and their impact, to ask questions about what is
and what might be. The aim of this is to promote thinking skills, egs.
analytical, evaluative about the products and processes of design and
technology. Whether this is as part of a focused task, during a product
evaluation activity, or within a design and make assignment, students
should learn to grapple with questions of the following type. Increasingly
they should pose these, and other questions, for themselves:
- does it meet
a real need?
- does it improve
quality of life for anyone?
- is it fit for
its purpose?
- is it designed
and manufactured to the appropriate quality?
- whose priorities
were at work?
- who benefits?
does anyone lose out?
- is it a worthwhile
investment of time and resources?
- what might
be the impact beyond what was intended?
- could it be
improved in any way?
- are there alternative
solutions to consider?
- what is the
cost (monetary and other) and does it represent value for money?
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Using
the F-files
As well as providing information and activities that help to develop
students' knowledge, skills and understanding in relation to food, the
case studies in the F-files provide opportunities for addressing values
issues and citizenship through real contexts. They feature familiar
products that students can relate to. Each case study includes things
for students to think about and do. These are activities that help them
to examine values issues through food contexts, including:
- nature and
sourcing of raw materials
- production
processes and technologies
- methods of
packaging and marketing
- role and function
of food
- dietary habits
and trends
- consumer and
food safety
and hygiene
Case
study title |
Issues
and values raised |
Be
Good to Yourself Range |
healthy
eating issues, smart materials, technical issues |
Being
a New Product Developer 1&2 |
issues
of business and commerce, design and development, consumer issues |
Cheesecake
Manufacture |
technical
issues, hygiene and quality issues |
Fresh
Creations |
consumer
issues |
HACCP |
food
safety, hygiene and quality issues, technical issues |
Microban |
smart
materials, food saftey, hygiene and quality issues |
New
Covent Garden Soups |
organic
issues, consumer issues |
96%
Fat free Carrot Cake |
smart
materials, food labelling legislation and claims |
Unit
Operations |
consumer
issues, technical issues |
Wrights
Bread Mixes |
consumer issues, technical issues |
Yeo
Valley Organic Yogurt |
organic
issues, sustainability, consumer issues |
Divine
fair trade chocolate |
organic
issues, sustainability, consumer issues,
technical issues |
All the case studies
were written around a set of questions about design, production, use,
marketing, issues and values. These are set out in the F-files
user notes and may be a useful reference when evaluating products
with students.
Curriculum
mapping
Click here
to go to a table summarising opportunities for teaching aspects of Citizenship
in Food Technology at KS3 and KS4.
Other
materials
Check
out the Intermediate Technology Sustainable Development Project site
- www.stepin.org - for a
case study on organic food (authored by Ali Farrell).
Also
look out for a forthcoming new publication from Intermediate
Technology, written by Ali Farrell, addressing technology and sustainability
issues through the context of peanut butter processing in Zimbabwe.
This is for use at KS4.
©foodforum.org.uk 2003. All rights
reserved
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