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Defining Democratic Citizenship Education
Citizenship education is the approach of facilitating civic/democratic competence development. In different countries and organizations there are other terms in use, most often "civic education" or "citizenship education". The NECE network (Networking European Citizenship Education) examined the different concepts for European countries (The Making of Citizens in Europe).[1]
Definition: Education for democratic citizenship (CoE)
"Education for democratic citizenship means education, training, awareness-raising, information, practices, and activities which aim, by equipping learners with knowledge, skills and understanding and developing their attitudes and behaviour, to empower them to exercise and defend their democratic rights and responsibilities in society, to value diversity and to play an active part in democratic life, with a view to the promotion and protection of democracy and the rule of law." (Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education)[2]
The Council of Europe treats the from this definition derived concept of "competence for democratic culture" as the main subject of "Human Rights and Democratic Citizenship Education". The competence model itself sets is goal as enabling "citizens to participate effectively in a culture of democracy."[3]
The set of competences can be described in the following way: "The heart of the Framework is a model of the competences that need to be acquired by learners if they are to participate effectively in a culture of democracy and live peacefully together with others in culturally diverse democratic societies."[4]
Key Competencies for Lifelong Learning (EU)
The EU Key Competencies for lifelong learning define citizenship as a competence in the 2018 revision as "the ability to act as responsible citizens and to fully participate in civic and social life, based on understanding of social, economic, legal and political concepts and structures, as well as global developments and sustainability."[5]
This marks a shift from a more knowledge-centered understanding of citizenship education ("Civic competence, and particularly knowledge of social and political concepts and structures")[6] in the first version from 2006 toward the concept of active citizenship.
In particular, the definition of the Council of Europe emphasizes the unconditional connection of the idea of citizenship with democratic principles and rights. Put simply, this distinguishes a democratic notion of the competencies for engagement and co-creation from an authoritarian regime's or an undemocratic organization's notion of the "active citizen".