Pedagogy in citizenship education research: A comparative perspective

The author of this article argues for using a comparative and international perspective to understand the role of pedagogy in civic education. Drawing on her own research in England, Germany and Denmark, the author demonstrates that pedagogical cultures vary. Next, she discusses what international researchers have learned about civic education pedagogy from the large cross-national assessments and what individual researchers have learned from small case studies within diverse countries, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Philippines and Singapore. She then discusses recent research programmes in the United States that have yielded important information related to pedagogy, including the use of discussion, simulations and digital/social media. The author concludes by proposing a list of needed comparative and international research on civic education pedagogy.