Appendix 21

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary:

A citizen is:

1: an inhabitant of a city or town; especially : one entitled to the rights and privileges of a freeman.

2 a: a member of a state
2 b: a native or naturalized person who owes allegiance to a government and is entitled to protection from it.

3: a civilian as distinguished from a specialized servant of the state.

Citizenship is:

1: the status of being a citizen

Section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America defines citizenship as: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

According to Keith Faulks, “…Citizenship is an active rather than passive status. In short, citizenship is incompatible with domination, whether the source of that domination be the state, the family, the husband, the church, the ethnic group, or any other force that seeks to deny us recognition as an autonomous individual, capable of self-governance. The appeal of citizenship, however, is not just the benefits it gives to the individual. Citizenship is always a reciprocal and, therefore, social idea. It can never be purely a set of rights that free the individual from obligations to others. Rights always require a framework for their recognition and mechanisms around which they can be fulfilled. Such a social framework, which includes courts, schools, hospitals, and parliaments, requires that citizens all play their part to maintain it. This means that citizenship implies duties and obligations, as well as rights. Indeed, it is conceivable that society could function justly without a formal expression of rights. It is, however, difficult to imagine a stable human community without some sense of obligation between its members. Citizenship is therefore an excellent basis for human governance.…” (pp. 4-5).

Faulks, K. (2000). Citizenship. New York, NY: Routledge.

Joel Westheimer & Joseph Kahne (2004) suggest the concept of citizenship can be broken into three categories: (1) personally responsible citizen, (2) participatory citizen, and (3) justice-oriented citizen. The personally responsible citizen views her role in society as a law-abiding citizen who works and contributes to society through her responsible actions. The participatory citizen is committed to civic participation and action. Beyond being law-abiding, the participatory citizen is active in community organizations and is willing to take on leadership roles in those organizations to better society. The justice-oriented citizen takes a critical lens to her civic action and examines the “social, political and economic structures to see beyond the surface causes and seeks out areas of injustice” (p. 240).

Westheimer, J. & Kahne, J. (2004). What kind of citizen? The politics of educating for democracy. American Educational Research Journal, 41 (2), 237-269.

Sir Ralph Dahrendorf (1997) contends that citizenship is “not just an attitude of mind or even a subject of political education:”

“Citizenship is above all a set of entitlements common to all members of society.…I like to think of citizenship as a set of chances – life chances – that define a free society. [This] involves basic rights, equality before the law, due process, the integrity of the person, freedom of expression and association. It also involves chances of participation, universal suffrage, of course, but equally importantly market access including labour market access, and social movement in the numerous opportunities of civil society. This is what citizenship means in the full sense of the word.…(Citizenship) provides an instrument for living with difference with regard to how people act with and toward other citizens, societies and cultures within a global community.…” (pp. 62-63).

Dahrendorf, R. (1997). After 1989: Morals, revolution and civil society. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press.

Richard Bellamy (2008) argues that:

“Citizenship is tied to democratic politics. The components of citizenship include

•  membership in a democratic political community

•  the collective benefits and rights associated with that membership

•  participation in the community’s political, economic and social processes” (p.12).

Bellamy, Richard. (2008). Citizenship: A very short introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

John Cogan and Ray Derricott (1998) suggest the concept of the multi-dimensional citizen for the 21st century: A global citizen who has: (1) the ability to look at and approach problems as a member of a global community; (2) the ability to work with others in a cooperative way and to take responsibility for one's role/duties in society; (3) the ability to understand, accept, appreciate, and tolerate cultural differences; (4) the capacity to think in a critical and systematic way; (5) the willingness to resolve conflict in a non-violent manner; (6) the willingness to change one's lifestyle and consumption habits to protect the environment; (7) the ability to be sensitive toward and to defend human rights; and (8) the willingness and ability to participate in politics at local, national and international levels.

Cogan, J.J. & Derricott, R. (1998). Citizenship for the 21st century: An international perspective on education . London: Kogan Page.

The Virginia Department of Education in its Standards of Learning identifies key duties, responsibilities and personal character traits that undergird the concept of citizenship.

Walter Parker (2008) sees that active citizenship and civic engagement is a form of “enlightened political engagement” or “wise political action” (p. 68).

“…Political engagement refers to the action or participation dimension of democratic citizenship, from voting to campaigning, boycotting, and protesting. Democratic enlightenment refers to the knowledge and commitments that inform this engagement: for example, knowledge of the ideals of democratic living, the ability to discern just from unjust laws and action…and the ability and commitment to deliberate public policy in cooperation with disagreeable others. Without democratic enlightenment, participation cannot be trusted…(and) can be worse than apathy.…” (p. 68).

Parker, W.C. (2008). Knowing and doing in democratic citizenship education. In L.S. Levstik and C.A. Tyson (Eds.), Handbook of research in social studies education (pp. 65-80). New York, NY: Routledge.

Below is a Wordle word cloud made from this series of definitions – What key characteristics and elements of citizenship do you see?