Citizenship Education Research Journal/Revue de recherche sur l'éducation à la citoyenneté

Ciitizenship Education Research Journal Introduction

2016-05-15T17:30:46-07:00

Editorial introduction to CERJ 2015.

Introduction to Youth-led Civic Engagement Project for Tikkun: A Developing Partnership Across Borders (Canada, South Africa and Kosovo)

2016-05-20T21:58:01-07:00

This paper serves as a brief introduction to a compendium of papers that focus on a Canadian-led collaboration for youth-led praxis (informed committed action) for Tikkun (healing and reconciliation) in local communities. This project and partnership crosses borders to include five sites, youth researchers, various community organizations, and university researchers from different disciplines. This participatory action research partnership promotes the skills that participating youth require to further their civic engagement and leadership potential. The specific objectives of this project are: (1) identifying the places and resources from which marginalized youth (in urban, rural, and indigenous milieus) become aware of injustices and seek opportunities for reconciliation in order to facilitate youth-led advocacy; (2) exploring the ways that these understandings are translated into their embodied experiences; (3) informing the development and mobilization of pedagogical models to repair injustices through youth civic engagement; and (4) expanding the partnership.

The Complexities of Researching Youth Civic Engagement in Canada with/by Indigenous Youth: Settler-colonial challenges for Tikkun Olam—Pedagogies of repair and reconciliation

2016-05-15T17:30:46-07:00

We discuss the first stage of our Tikkun research study that focuses on an indigenized approach to youth participatory action research in a northern Ontario context. Our research design began with an Indigenous youth-generated report, the Feathers of Hope (FoH): A First Nations Youth Action Plan (2014), highlighting the needs of Indigenous youth in their own words and experiences. Readings of the report has led to deep theorizing on questions of a university-based research model for indigenized youth participatory action research (I-YPAR) as well as our ongoing deep ethical dilemmas of settler researchers co-collaborating on research by/with Indigenous youth. We raise these issues as we theorize the possibilities and complexities of a pedagogy of repair and reconciliation (tikkun olam) during our reflexive dialogues as settler-researchers and with Indigenous youth.

Rethinking space, participation and gender: unpacking barriers and opportunities for girls in the urban milieu

2016-05-15T17:30:47-07:00

Although the literature on youth civic engagement is copious, not much light has been shed on impeding and enabling factors of girls’ civic participation in urban settings. In this paper, we examine girls’ motivation for and spaces of community involvement in the Greater Toronto Area. Particularly, we highlight the drivers and patterns of girls’ civic engagement using the findings from a research study entitled [name of project 1]. The data illustrated that girls cited lack of opportunities and encouragement; disconnect to community members; cultural and/or religious barriers; gender biases; antipathy towards community; low self-esteem; and time as the reasons hindering community participation. Moreover, the data also pointed to the importance of family/adult support in nurturing girls’ leadership aspirations. Finally, we conclude this paper with discussions on the implications associated with girls’ civic participation which is characterized by an adult-informed paradigm.

Unsettling the Mind/Body Dualism: Embodied Learning, Tikkun Olam, & Progressive Citizenship Education

2016-05-15T17:30:47-07:00

Progressive citizenship education aims to reclaim and renew our democratic institutions, this is predicated on a critically informed, engaged, and active citizenry. I first consider the nexus of progressive citizenship education and the ancient Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam, which has become synonymous with pursuit of social justice. Addressing the noted deficit in the literature of how educators learn to teach social justice, this article explores the transformative potential of embodied pedagogies in teaching for social justice. Emerging from interdisciplinary questioning of the mind/body dualism or ‘disembodiment’, feminists have stressed the importance of embodied pedagogies to the creation of educational spaces that simultaneously challenge dominant systems of knowledge (i.e. the universal), while affirming corporeal ways of knowing (i.e. experiential). I provide a brief overview of studies documenting the integration of embodied learning, emphasizing the importance of contemplative practices and ‘unsettling’ to the transformative potential of social justice education.

Towards a Theory of Decolonizing Citizenship

2016-05-15T17:30:47-07:00

In this paper, we consider the (im)possibilities of thinking about a decolonizing citizenship. Specifically, we work through a theorization of citizenship and decolonial theory as a means of considering the difficulties of talking about citizenship, a concept tied to nation-statehood and European liberal tradition, amidst a larger conversation about attending to decolonizing educational praxis. In working through this, we argue that, ultimately, the two are largely incommensurate without rethinking what citizenship is taken up to mean, what its purpose is and largely what it entails including, primarily, pluriversality or the multiple conceptions of being and knowing that characterizes life in a shared context.

Teaching Controversial Issues in the Classroom

2016-05-15T17:30:47-07:00

Today's young people will grow up to be the citizens of the future, but what that future holds for them is uncertain. I am quite confident, however, that they will have to make crucial decisions about various issues on which people have different and contradicting views. In this paper, I will focus on the issue of teaching controversial topics in order to explore the following question: How can teachers best handle controversial issues in the classroom? Through this literature review, I will define the term controversial issues, justify teaching these touchy topics, and provide some suggestions on dealing with these issues in the classroom. Moreover, I will discuss some techniques to handle contentious subjects and look at the vital roles teachers play when teaching them. Furthermore, I will examine different approaches that show how teachers’ views can influence their teaching of multi-faceted issues, as well as perspectives on the role teachers should assume in controversy. Additionally, I will demonstrate the importance of both democratic education and education for global citizenship in teaching about divisive topics in the classroom. I will also state my own position on the various issues discussed in this paper. Finally, drawing on my own experience and some previous related research, I will conclude the paper with a discussion of implications and suggest recommendations for further studies.