Character and Citizenship Education: Conversations between Personal and Societal Values

Overview & Synopsis

The theme of this special issue is "Character and Citizenship Education: Conversations between Personal and Societal Values." Character education and citizenship education, taken separately or as a single entity are currently riding high on the political and educational policy agendas of several governments (Arthur, 2003; Berkowitz & Bier, 2007; Likona, 2011). In this special issue, the authors put together two distinct but closely connected domains, and argue for a view of character education that is essential in the development of good citizenship. This issue pulls together several papers presented at the inaugural Character and Citizenship Education Conference jointly organized by the National Institute of Education and the Ministry of Education in Singapore in 2011. The aim is to deepen the conversation on what constitutes character education and citizenship education. Here, the authors consider the claim that character education supports citizenship education. In this respect, they ask what and why particular values are emphasized, and identify the approaches to developing character for citizenship.