Politics: interest, participation and education. Comparing the Republic of Ireland with Germany.
Bruen, JenniferORCID: 0000-0002-9279-2978
(2014)
Politics: interest, participation and education. Comparing the Republic of Ireland with Germany.
Irish Educational Studies, 33
(1).
pp. 37-55.
ISSN 0332-3315
In order to generate higher levels of interest in politics and participation in political processes, political, or citizenship, education, in schools must be at the heart of the curriculum and be characterised by active, learner-centred approaches. This paper hypothesises that, when compared with Germany, a more limited form of political education in Irish post-primary schools may be impacting negatively on the extent to which it is achieving such aims. In order to begin to explore this hypothesis, the results for seven items relating to interest in politics and participation in political processes from the most recent (2010) round of the European Social Survey (ESS) are compared for the Irish and German populations. In addition, the nature and status of political education in the German and the Irish school systems are compared. Conclusions are drawn and the implications for future research in this field and for political education in both countries considered.
Metadata
Item Type:
Article (Published)
Refereed:
Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:
Germany; Republic of Ireland; Political Education; Comparative Education; Teaching and Learning; Civics; Citizenship Education; Educational Policy