The Cult of Citizenship Education by A. Sears and E. Hyslop-Margison. A Review

Literature Review from the year 2006 in the subject Pedagogy - Science, Theory, Anthropology, grade: none, Concordia University Montreal, language: English, abstract: Alan Sears and Emery Hyslop-Margison, in "The Cult of Citizenship Education", illuminate the driving discourse behind the seeming explosion in democratic citizenship education reform with particular attention to the last decade.Sears and Hyslop-Margison lay a solid foundation of scholarship to support their claim of a climate of educational reform driven by mere slogans and dogma, rather than any meaningful research or reliable data. Calling on Janice Gross Stein's 2001 Massey Lectures, "The Cult of Efficiency", Sears and Hyslop-Margison, in accessible terms, explain that meaningful dialogue around issues of educational reform is precluded by the participants being caught up in a maze of rapid-fire rhetoric. As a result, "The Cult of Citizenship Education", is a call for a more careful, thoughtful, and nuanced approach in understanding and promoting democratic citizenship education and its reform.