Using comparative qualitative methodology, this book examines three Chinese societies, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China, as specific cases of democratic, hybrid and authoritarian regimes, presenting the theoretical underpinnings of civic education in contexts other than liberal democracy. It highlights on the concept of ‘good citizens’ in these three regime contexts and explores how these concepts are reflected in civic education and perceived by students in the three societies. The book focuses on three levels of comparison to ensure that all relevant issues can be identified: Level 1: regime “type”; Level 2: curriculum and policy formulations; Level 3: students’ personal experiences. These three levels are linked with each other and form a continuous process of civic education implementation in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China.

Using comparative qualitative methodology, this book examines three Chinese societies, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China, as specific cases of democratic, hybrid and authoritarian regimes, presenting the theoretical underpinnings of civic education in contexts other than liberal democracy. It highlights on the concept of 'good citizens' in these three regime contexts and explores how these concepts are reflected in civic education and perceived by students in the three societies. The book focuses on three levels of comparison to ensure that all relevant issues can be identified: Level 1: regime "type"; Level 2: curriculum and policy formulations; Level 3: students' personal experiences. These three levels are linked with each other and form a continuous process of civic education implementation in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China.

The book highlights current issues influencing civic and citizenship education and their theoretical underpinnings. It provides an overview of the key features influencing ‘democratic deconsolidation’ , suggests ways in which civic and citizenship education needs to be reframed in order to fit this new political environment, and demonstrates how social media will play a significant role in any future for civic and citizenship education. Currently, democratic institutions are under attack, democratic values are threatened, and there is a wide-scale retreat from the liberal consensus that has underpinned liberal democracies internationally. These trends can be seen in events like, Brexit, the election of a right-wing populist President of the United States and, anti-democratic governments in parts of Europe. It is this change in the direction of political ideology that is currently ‘deconsolidating democracy’ and thus challenging traditional approaches to civic and citizenship education. What is urgently needed is an understanding of these current trends and their implications for thinking in new ways about civic and citizenship education in the 21st century.

Civics and Citizenship Education in Australia provides a comprehensive analysis of teaching and learning in this field in Australian schools, drawing on case study material to demonstrate the current practice in the field. Reflecting on the issues and possibilities raised by the inclusion of civics and citizenship education in the new national Australian curriculum, leading national and international scholars analyse the subject's theoretical, curricular and pedagogical bases and approaches. Placing civics and citizenship education within historical and contemporary contexts, the book critically explores a range of issues concerning the development, organisation and teaching of the subject. These include how the subject might include indigenous, global and Asian perspectives, and how it may help students to engage with issues around sustainability, active citizenship, diversity, religion and values. The final chapters written by scholars from England, the USA, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore adopt a comparative approach situating Australian civics and citizenship education in the wider international context.

This book addresses contemporary issues on civic and citizenship education, challenging not just schools but society as a whole. It highlights emerging social influences on civic engagement and democracy in the third decade of the 21st century and analyzes the interaction between these influences and their impact on society. It demonstrates that changes are so complex and the challenges so new that an entirely revised agenda is needed for civic and citizenship education. The book takes society and the changes occurring within it as the starting point and assesses the implications of these changes for schools.

This volume theorizes the concept of citizenship in contemporary China by probing into the formation of Chinese citizenship and synthesizing the practices of citizenship by different social groups. The first section, “Imagining Chinese Citizenship,” analyses how Chinese citizenship was first imagined by means of translation and education at the beginning of the twentieth century. The Chinese citizenship was then compared with the concept of Western citizenship and that of other Asian countries. The second section, “Citizenship of Chinese Migrant Workers,” explains the citizenship status of migrant workers by discussing the relationship between household registration (hukou) system and citizenship of the migrant workers, showing how migrant workers contest their citizenship rights and categorizing the resistance of migrant workers from the perspective of citizenship. Finally, the last section, “Chinese Citizenship Education,” discusses the conditions and challenges of citizenship education in Chinese schools.

This book compares the current status of democracy in selected Eastern European countries. The focus is on young people’s attitudes towards and experiences of democracy, including active political engagement. In many of these countries, democracy has been hard-won and may well need to be defended again in the future. The contributors collectively reflect on young adults exercising their civic rights and how they can influence the political system at both formal and informal levels. The chapters present different issues that arise in unique contexts but overall reflect the changing status of democracy and its effects on young people’s citizenship activity and education. The volume compares perspectives of three groups of Eastern European countries with different traditions and past histories of democracy and citizenship: Central European countries (Poland, Czech, Hungary); Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia); and post-soviet republics (Ukraine, Moldova). These countries differ in the status given to democracy, citizenship action traditions and education. At the same time, many countries have experienced recent turbulence related to democracy and different kinds of actions by young people. Comparing them leads to conclusions about omissions made in current citizenship education provision and what needs to be done for a better understanding of the needs of citizenship education in these difficult times. This volume will be of interest to students and scholars in citizenship and civic education, sociology, political science and Eastern European Studies.