Citizenship Education in Wales
Citizenship education is included within the Curriculum for Wales in a number of ways following the curriculum review in ‘Successful Futures’ (Donaldson, 2015) and the introduction of the Wales Future Wellbeing Act (WG, 2015). The Curriculum for Wales has raised the visibility and importance of citizenship education for children and young people.
The Curriculum for Wales (CfW) has identified the four purposes for pupils in Wales to become:
The CfW is divided into six Areas of Learning and Experience (AoLE) which are underpinned by
consideration of the principles at the heart of the four purposes:
Citizenship must be addressed as a cross-curricular aspect of education embedded appropriately in
the various AoLE’s and in particular through the Humanities AoLE which encompasses the discipline of Social Studies, and this includes citizenship. The guidance for Humanities also describes a number of other complimentary disciplines which learners may be introduced to including politics, law, philosophy, sociology and economics.
The curriculum purpose, ‘ethical, informed citizens’ has broader implications for the curriculum and wider societal changes happening in Wales including: the appointment of a Youth Parliament, reduced voting age (16) and the ambition to become an Anti-racist country by 2030.
The development of citizenship education will enable students to become ethical, informed citizens who:
curriculum-design#curriculum-design-and-the-four-purposes)
Useful information:
The Curriculum for Wales (CfW) has identified the four purposes for pupils in Wales to become:
- ambitious, capable learners
- enterprising, creative contributors
- ethical, informed citizens
- healthy, confident individuals.
The CfW is divided into six Areas of Learning and Experience (AoLE) which are underpinned by
consideration of the principles at the heart of the four purposes:
- Expressive arts
- Health and well-being
- Humanities
- Languages, literacy and communication
- Mathematics and numeracy
- Science and technology
Citizenship must be addressed as a cross-curricular aspect of education embedded appropriately in
the various AoLE’s and in particular through the Humanities AoLE which encompasses the discipline of Social Studies, and this includes citizenship. The guidance for Humanities also describes a number of other complimentary disciplines which learners may be introduced to including politics, law, philosophy, sociology and economics.
The curriculum purpose, ‘ethical, informed citizens’ has broader implications for the curriculum and wider societal changes happening in Wales including: the appointment of a Youth Parliament, reduced voting age (16) and the ambition to become an Anti-racist country by 2030.
The development of citizenship education will enable students to become ethical, informed citizens who:
- find, evaluate and use evidence in forming views
- engage with contemporary issues based upon their knowledge and values
- understand and exercise their human and democratic responsibilities and rights
- understand and consider the impact of their actions when making choices and acting
- are knowledgeable about their culture, community, society and the world, now and in the past
- respect the needs and rights of others, as a member of a diverse society
- show their commitment to the sustainability of the planet
- and are ready to be citizens of Wales and the world.
curriculum-design#curriculum-design-and-the-four-purposes)
Useful information:
- Cynefin Report - https://gov.wales/final-report-black-asian-and-minority-ethnic-communities-
- contributions-and-cynefin-new-curriculum
- Hwb Curriculum Design - https://hwb.gov.wales/curriculum-for-wales/designing-your-
- curriculum/developing-a-vision-for-curriculum-design
- Welsh Centre for International Affairs (WCIA) http://www.wcia.org.uk/
- Guidance for teaching citizenship and how practitioners should remain impartial when teaching political issues has been developed by the Association for Citizenship Teaching for Welsh Government and is available via Hwb https://hwb.gov.wales/repository/resource/fc84ea66-becb-481f-a5e4-c73c7a00856b
