A new subject—civic education— it introduced this school year in all secondary schools in Poland. It replaces the subject ‘History and the Present’ (HiT). What is it, that makes it practical and innovative?
A new subject—civic education— it introduced this school year in all secondary schools in Poland. It replaces the subject ‘History and the Present’ (HiT). What is it, that makes it practical and innovative?
The team developing the curriculum for civic education, which I had the pleasure of leading, we asked ourselves one fundamental question: ‘How can we make civic education a practical subject?’ We sought answers among teachers (half of the team teaches or has taught Social Studies or HiT), participation practitioners, and academics. We tried to reconcile the constraints of educational law, the ambition to make the subject practical, the needs of students and teachers, and recommendations from research. What, for me personally, is most important in this subject?
When developing foundations of the subject, we recognized that its most important element is preparing young people for responsible civic engagement. Already as sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds, young people can influence what happens around them, and shortly thereafter, upon reaching adulthood, they will also gain full voting rights.
We defined responsible civic engagement as action that is:
What, then, can build such responsible engagement? We concluded that it requires:
When shaping the goals of the new subject, we referred to three spheres.
First, understanding. After civic education classes, young people should understand the most important processes and phenomena of public life. They should also be able to analyze them, including verifying acquired information.
Second, interest. We want young people to take an interest in selected issues in this sphere, to have their own opinions based on facts, verified information and their own values, and also to be able to respectfully discuss with people holding different views. In a society where polarization is growing year by year, we considered this particularly important.
Third, engagement. We want civic education classes to prepare young people to solve selected social problems at grassroots level, as well as to influence public authorities to address those that cannot be solved from the bottom up. It is also important for us that young people could handle their own matters in interactions with state institutions and officials, including defending their rights.
When designing the new subject, we proposed three complementary and mutually reinforcing elements of the educational process:
Civic education is the first subject in Polish schools to combine these elements. In addition to the standard acquisition of knowledge and skills using various teaching methods, students will be required to engage in real civic actions and to complete an educational project in a small group. We are convinced that such a combination of three elements creates an opportunity to effectively build student engagement, particularly their civic agency.
It was very important to us to move away from the classical structure of learning outcomes that focus only on knowledge. Our goal was to combine knowledge and skills in each and every learning outcome. For example, in the outcome:
‘Uses research results to analyze what unites and divides Polish society, identifies what we can be proud of as a state and society, formulates an opinion on this matter, and engages in discussion,’
we expect the student to formulate their own opinion and present it in a discussion. In another learning outcome:
‘Identifies behaviors that build cooperation and trust in a group, as well as those that lead to conflicts and divisions, and applies practical methods of conflict resolution in a group,’
we require that classes prepare the student to practically resolve group conflicts.
In this part of the curriculum, we introduced another innovation—disciplining for us as authors and clarifying for teachers—every learning outcome was assigned to a general goal and concrete skills. For authors, this meant that the curriculum could not include outcomes that did not realize general goals, and vice versa—each general goal had to be matched with a number of learning outcomes. For teachers, this means that the way of working on a given learning outcome in class should allow students to acquire a specific skill.
The most significant innovation of the curriculum is undoubtedly real civic actions. Civic agency cannot be developed merely by discussing the need for engagement. Therefore, we proposed a list of 18 simple but real civic actions, from which young people, over two years of study, should undertake four (three in trade schools). The list includes various initiatives such as active participation in a debate, volunteering in a nonprofit or public institution, running in school elections, interviewing a witness of history, creating a petition, conducting a survey, organizing a fundraising campaign or analyzing an election campaign. Students will decide for themselves what action they want to undertake and what it will concern—for example, whether to organize a collection for a classmate in need, a hospice, or a social organization.
The second practical element of the course is the implementation of an educational project in a small group (up to five people). We assume that each student, during the two-year cycle of this subject, will complete at least one such project. This may be a research project, in which the group seeks answers to a selected question by consulting various sources, or a social project, in which young people attempt to solve a specific social problem. Students themselves will define the project’s goal (although it must be approved by the teacher), plan and carry out activities, and then present the results.
As authors of the curriculum, we want the subject to allow for the discussion of current social and political issues and to give teachers and students the opportunity to adapt it to their interests. Therefore, about half of the learning outcomes in this subject are mandatory, while for the remaining 36, the teacher decides (alone or with students) on which to work on. We assume that in each of the seven sections of the course, the teacher will select at least one optional requirement.
There is even more flexibility. In many mandatory learning outcomes, the teacher will choose the law to be discussed, the ministry whose actions students will analyze, or the public policy to be debated. We also leave a lot of flexibility to students, who will choose the civic actions and the topic of their own project.
While respecting teacher autonomy in selecting teaching and assessment methods, we recommend that student civic actions and the educational project be included in the assessment of this subject. We assume that students should receive feedback on the actions undertaken and on their project. However, we also suggest that these elements be considered in the final grade.
As Poles, we share many things that unite us, but also many that divide us. The number of controversial issues is growing year by year. We are convinced that schools should not shy away from controversy; on the contrary—they should prepare students to understand controversial issues, form opinions on them, and discuss with people of different views.
In civic education, we will therefore encourage the discussion of controversial issues, but without persuasion and while maintaining teacher neutrality. This means that in matters on which society disagrees, the classroom should be a space for presenting all opinions that fall within the Polish legal order, as defined by the Constitution. Thus, we can differ as long as we do not deny the principles of democracy or spread hate.
When creating the civic education curriculum, we were aware that this subject does not exhaust the need for civic education in schools. Equally important for building students’ agency and the foundations of their civic engagement is the daily experience of functioning in school. This includes student self-government, participation in school decision-making, respecting students’ rights and reacting when they are not fulfilled, as well as social activities such as volunteering. The subject of civic education will be of little use if students are not treated as active participants in school life—as citizens (because they are citizens even before turning eighteen). But this is a task for the entire school community, not just for the civic education teacher.
No curriculum changes students’ everyday experience. In order for this subject to be successful we need quality textbooks, and above all, teachers that are well prepared and confident in running the course in accordance with the approach presented in the curriculum.
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