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Teachers' ideological discourses and the enactment of citizenship education
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Teachers' ideological discourses and the enactment of citizenship education

B. Down, G. Ditchburn and L. Lee
Curriculum perspectives, Vol.28(2), pp.1-25
2008
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Abstract

This article reports the findings of a small qualitative study of teachers' ideological discourses on citizenship education in Western Australian schools. In the context of the broader policy debates about citizenship education in Australian schools and the significant financial investment by the Federal Government in curriculum development, research and professional development there is a surprising lack of attention to the way that teachers' ideological discourses shape their understanding, experience and enactment of citizenship education. The article examines three competing discourses (conforming, reforming and transforming) organised around five emergent themes from the interview data, namely, the role of schooling, student voice, the role of the teacher, curriculum, and decision-making. The article concludes by arguing that if we are going to build a truly democratic society it is essential that teachers move beyond conforming and reforming discourses to rediscover the radical potential of transformatory education.

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