A report provided a theoretical framework, together with empirical evidence from the National Child Development Study, on the role of identity and the wider context in encouraging engagement in both adult learning and civil society.
Source: John Preston, Identity, Learning and Engagement: A qualitative inquiry using the NCDS, Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning/University of London (020 7612 6291)
Links: Report (pdf) | Brief (pdf)
Date: 2004-Dec
The government published a guide designed to assist teachers, mentors and other helpers of people seeking British citizenship, by providing a 'better knowledge of our way of life'.
Source: Life in the United Kingdom: A journey to citizenship, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Summary | IRR statement | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Dec
A report made the case for putting local government at the heart of civil renewal. It showed what councils were doing, both to build stronger communities better able to look after themselves, and to strengthen their capacity to participate in local governance. It also identified where councils could do more.
Source: Towards Self-governing Communities: The role of local government in civil renewal, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000)
Links: Report (pdf) | LGA press release
Date: 2004-Dec
The findings from the 2003 Home Office Citizenship Survey (for England and Wales) were published. The government said that the survey showed signs of a growing commitment to civic activity, neighbourliness and community life.
Source: 2003 Home Office Citizenship Survey: People, families and communities, Research Study 289, Home Office (020 7273 2084) | Press release 30 December 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Study (pdf) | Home Office press release
Date: 2004-Dec
A new official advisory board, the Advisory Board on Naturalisation and Integration, was established to provide independent advice to the government on its citizenship and integration programme.
Source: Press release 19 November 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Home Office press release
Date: 2004-Nov
An article presented the findings from a case study into the views of parents on citizenship education in schools. Most supported the work of the school in social and moral education, and wanted more information about what was done. There was less support for community involvement and for the teaching of political literacy, although this varied according to the age of the child and social class.
Source: Cathie Holden, 'Heaven help the teachers!: Parents' perspectives on the introduction of education for citizenship', Educational Review, Volume 56 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2004-Nov
A collection of papers (commissioned by the Home Office) developed initial thinking about the shape of an academic research agenda on civil renewal. There were four groups of papers, covering: theory, concepts and methods; communities and cultures; young people; and institutions and governance.
Source: Researching Civil Renewal, Civil Renewal Research Centre/ University of Birmingham, available from Active Citizenship Centre (duncan.prime@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk)
Links: Report (pdf) | ACC press release
Date: 2004-Nov
Research found that most people found citizen-state encounters to be frustrating or alienating experiences. A magazine reporting the research results explored a range of ways - 'some modest, some more radical' - of improving the way the state treated citizens when they got involved.
Source: Touching the State: What does it mean to be a citizen in the 21st century?, Design Council (020 7420 5200)
Links: Report (pdf) | Design Council press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Oct
A working paper considered the challenges and opportunities created by the civil renewal agenda for improving racial equality.
Source: Rob Berkeley, Civil Renewal for All: Delivering civil renewal in a multi-ethnic Britain, Runnymede Trust (020 7377 9222)
Links: Working paper (pdf)
Date: 2004-Sep
A new book examined civic values and behaviour, based on the Citizen Audit conducted in 2000 and 2001.
Source: Charles Pattie, Patrick Seyd and Paul Whiteley, Citizenship in Britain: Values, participation and democracy, Cambridge University Press (01223 312393)
Links: Book summary (pdf) | ESRC press release
Date: 2004-Sep
The government published community cohesion standards for schools - practical measures to help schools develop common values of citizenship, and contribute to building good community relations.
Source: Community Cohesion Education Standards for Schools, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Standards (pdf) | Home Office press release
Date: 2004-Sep
Research (based on 68 English schools) revealed an 'urgent and ongoing need' for practical support to implement effective citizenship education, despite strong support for the subject from teachers and pupils.
Source: Citizenship in the Curriculum: Two years on, Community Service Volunteers (020 7278 6601)
Links: Report (pdf) | CSV press release
Date: 2004-Aug
The proportion of the population in England engaged in active community participation at least once a month rose from 48 per cent in 2001 (around 18.8 million people) to 51 per cent in 2003 (around 20.3 million people).
Source: Tony Munton and Andrew Zurawan, Active Communities: Headline Findings from the 2003 Home Office Citizenship Survey, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report (pdf) | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jul
A report said that schools needed to review the way they taught citizenship education. Although citizenship education was highly successful in some schools, most schools had not recognised the broad scope of the subject. Provision was uneven, patchy and evolving, and there was 'considerable work' to do in the majority of schools.
Source: David Kerr, Eleanor Ireland, Joana Lopes, Rachel Craig with Elizabeth Cleaver, Making Citizenship Education Real, Research Report 531, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report (pdf) | Brief (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jun
An article examined 'manufactured' civil society - groups that looked like civil society, but were in fact a mixture of state and voluntary sector organisations. The article concluded that civil society paid a high price for involvement with the state.
Source: Lesley Hodgson, 'Manufactured civil society', Critical Social Policy, Volume 24 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2004-May
A new book examined citizenship from a social policy perspective. It described the history of citizenship, and also the key theoretical debates that had informed contemporary understandings of the concept. It outlined competing perspectives and considered the influence of factors such as class, gender, ethnicity and disability on social rights and citizenship.
Source: Peter Dwyer, Understanding Social Citizenship: Themes and perspectives for policy and practice, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2004-May
A report aimed to identify, measure and evaluate best practice in citizenship education developed in schools. It suggested that successful implementation required a 'holistic' and coherent approach, based around three interrelated components: citizenship education in the curriculum, in the school as a community, and in partnership with the wider community.
Source: David Kerr, Eleanor Ireland, Joana Lopes and Rachel Craig with Elizabeth Cleaver, Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study: Second annual report - First longitudinal survey - Making citizenship education real, Research Report 531, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report (pdf) | Brief (pdf)
Date: 2004-May
Researchers who examined civic organisations in Glasgow and Bristol found deep distrust of top-down approaches to consultative democracy: but critical engagement in the political process increased social bonding.
Source: Mario Diani and Isobel Lindsay, Networks of Civic Organisations in Britain, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2004-Apr
A literature review examined definitions and approaches to citizenship education in the first year of national curriculum citizenship in schools in England. It found that there were competing models and approaches to citizenship education in schools, and elsewhere, and that many questions as to what citizenship education entailed remained unanswered. But some schools were more advanced in their thinking about, and development of, the subject.
Source: David Kerr and Elizabeth Cleaver, Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study: Literature Review - Citizenship Education One Year On What Does it Mean?: Emerging definitions and approaches in the first year of national curriculum citizenship in England, Research Report 532, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Apr
A study of people who were active in voluntary associations found that their largely positive experiences of voluntary associational life, including relations of trust and reciprocity towards others, did not fuel a wider trust and confidence in the world of politics. These findings suggested that explanations for the seeming decline of confidence in the political system should not be sought in changes in civic society but in the political sphere itself.
Source: Fiona Devine, A Qualitative Study of Democracy and Participation in Britain, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2004-Apr
A report presented the findings and key practice and policy implications from two research studies undertaken with children and young people living in areas of high crime and high deprivation.
Source: Jean Hine, Francesca Lemetti and Sara Trikha, Citizenship: Young people s perspectives, Development and Practice Report 10, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Apr
A report summarised the findings of a study (based in deprived, high-crime communities) designed to to explore children s understanding of social and moral responsibility, community involvement, and political literacy. Children generally understood the reasons for rules and accepted their legitimacy. The biggest complaint by children, particularly about the school environment, was that they were not listened to. Children were quick to spot unfairness, especially where they felt that rules were not being applied reasonably.
Source: Jean Hine, Children and Citizenship, Online Report 08/04, Home Office (web publication only)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Apr
A think-tank report proposed a scheme designed to develop the concept of civic involvement and active citizenship among young people aged 16-24. It would provide opportunities for young people to work for up to a year in the service of the community on genuine work programmes and earn credit to offset university fees, help buy a first home or help set up a new business.
Source: Ruth Fox and Thieu Besselink, Connecting People, Fabian Society (020 7227 4900)
Links: Fabian Society press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Mar
The second year of a three-year evaluation provided evidence that post-16 citizenship development projects were developing 'a range of innovative approaches to active citizenship'.
Source: Julie Nelson, Pauline Wade, David Kerr and Graham Taylor, National Evaluation of Post-16 Citizenship Development Projects: Second annual report, Research Report 507, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report (pdf) | Brief (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jan
A new book of essays examined citizenship education in secondary schools. It focused on three particular areas: young people in their immediate school community; the links between young people, schools and the wider community; and the wider political culture for young people s participation in formal politics.
Source: Benjamin Linsley and Elisabeth Rayment (eds.), Beyond the Classroom: Exploring active citizenship in 11-16 education, New Politics Network (020 7278 4443)
Links: Summary
Date: 2004-Jan
A discussion paper considered the ideas of citizenship, community and social capital, and the related ideas of civic renewal and responsibility, and applied them to the position of ethnic and cultural minorities. It concluded that those concerned about racial equality, and the position of minorities in society more generally, should not only challenge discrimination and hostility wherever it occurred, but also take an active part in policy debates on wider issues such as child poverty, healthcare reform, education, policing, housing and urban regeneration.
Source: David Faulkner, Civil Renewal, Diversity and Social Capital in a Multi-Ethnic Britain, Runnymede Trust (020 7377 9222)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jan