hij Teacher Resource Bank GCE Citizenship Studies Schemes of Work: CIST2 Democracy, Active Citizenship and Participation The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723) and a registered charity (registered charity number 1073334). Registered address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX. Dr Michael Cresswell, Director General.
Schemes of Work: Unit 2 (CIST 2) Unit 2 Democracy, Active Citizenship and Participation 15 weeks Key Question Issues Suggested Learning Activity Learning Outcomes Resources Who can difference? Who holds power in the UK? Starting with a basic understanding of the terms power and authority develop clear usage through a number of different scenarios from the personal to the international. Study the power of the state through the impact on their lives from birth to death. The role of Political parties can be studied via group research and presentations on their core ideology and their current policy in key areas. The relationship of the UK to others can be discussed via the Commonwealth, the EU, NATO, the UN and the WTO. Understanding of the following concepts: - of power, authority, influence, democracy and mandate. The scope of the power of the modern state and its impact on the daily life of its citizens. Understanding of the many levels within the UK that make up government. Critical awareness of the political positions taken by various political parties. Appreciate the role of multinational groups. www.directgov.uk Websites of the political parties. Local authority websites, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland devolved bodies websites. www.europarl.europa.eu www.politicalcompass.org Useful for students in regard to introducing political ideology. Starting exercise of word association in regard to economic power. Are there ways these can be grouped? Why is economic power important to the citizen? Group research and presentation activities relating to; role of government, financial sector, Bank of England and MPC, importance of local, national and international companies to the economy. The economic power of the citizen and groups of citizens, eg GM foods, union action on jobs, customer power eg organic foods, food miles. Understanding of the concepts of economic power and control. How powerful is the state? Understanding of the main sectors of the economy and how they inter relate. Understand the economic power and the citizen as employer, employee and customer www.bbc.co.uk for case studies of consumer action. Also study sites relating to fair trade and ethical trading. www.bankofengland.co.uk Refer to Trade Union sites for current campaigns, eg www.amicustheunion.org klm 1
Key Question Issues Suggested Learning Activity Learning Outcomes Resources What do we mean by the media? Ensure they have an understanding of the current types of mass media. Choice a fixed date and study of wide range of national / international media and get the students to draw up the new agenda. Case studies of global media influence e.g. News International Group. Web research on the work of the various regulators. Carry out a research project of fellow students about the influence of the media on their views. Understand what is meant by the term the media. How public opinion is created. Understand the power, influence of the media. The impact of the globalisation of the media. Understand the role of media regulation. Statutory regulatory bodies (eg Independent Broadcasting Authority) and non-statutory regulatory bodies (eg Press Complaints Commission). The use made of Political spin. Appreciate the influence of the media on forming and influencing the political attitudes of citizens. www.mediauk.com www.theory.org.uk www.guardian.co.uk/media http://www.wrx.zen.co.uk/b ritnews.htm 2 klm
Study the impact of public services upon society. Construct a society without any public services then ask students to suggest roles for the state regarding public services. Seek a justification for their inclusion. Exercises relating to which services should be delivered at what level of government. Does the current pattern of local/regional and national government make sense? Debate about too much government or more power to local government, or regional government for England? Understand the role of government, its functions and responsibilities; and the interrelationship between the different levels of government within the UK. Understand how government and its actions impact on the lives of citizens. www.local.gov.uk http://www.lgiu.gov.uk www.lga.gov.uk The citizen and political power in the United Kingdom. Who has power in the UK: central or local government? Why is central government the most powerful? How can we be involved in local government? Voter, Councillor/mayor, campaigner, voluntary worker. What do Councillors do? Arrangement to meet local councillors or hold a class/school local issues forum Understand the nature of the different tiers of government within the UK. Appreciate the roles of those elected to public office. Establish a clear understanding of the nature of the EU, brief history, size, economic power and its future growth. Why has the UK appeared to be the awkward partner? How does the EU work understanding of the various interconnected bodies? Contrast this with elements of the UK system to reinforce similarities and differences. What impact does the EU have on the lives of ordinary citizens ie Euro, safety regulations, water quality, freedom of movement to get a job, transferrable qualifications. Understand the relationship of UK to Europe since the founding of the Treaty of Rome. Appreciate the political, economic and social and legal impact upon the UK of EU membership Understand the contrasting workings of the government of the UK and the EU. www.directgov.uk http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/fcoin-action/institutions/britainin-the-european-union http://europa.eu/index_en.ht m klm 3
Look at different forms of government in different countries. Pose the question what makes the UK democratic? Use the class as a means of demonstrating different ways of making decisions. This allows for an understanding of representative democracy. Arrange a debate on democratic values. Ask groups to research an agreed key democratic value and organise the debate to decide if there is a rank order of values. Then test these values against the UK system. Through case studies consider how open the UK is to citizen participation. Understand the concepts of democracy: direct and indirect democracy; liberal and representative. How can I difference? Playing your part: how the citizen can get involved and difference. How does one vote? Basic account of registration and the voting processes. Using materials form the electoral reform society use the range of systems currently operating in the UK to hold class elections. Does the system impact upon the result? Which system do they support and why link back to the democracy concepts. Why do some people not bother to vote study patterns of voter turnout? Election Campaigning. Use recent local and national elections to study campaign methods. Hold a class / school election. Study the role of the media in reporting elections web based research. Explain what is meant by Democratic values: rights, freedoms, equality. Understand the opportunities and barriers to citizen participation in the UK. Knowledge of the electoral process: different types and frequency within the UK. Understand the nature of election campaigning and its impact on citizens including ideas like participation and turnout Be able to explain the role of the media, opinion polling and focus groups in forming political opinions. www.directgov.uk http://www.electoralreform.org.uk 4 klm
Playing your part: how the citizen can get involved and difference continued Starter. Identifying pressure groups why are these known to the students? What makes successful pressure groups? Student research into individual pressure groups, ask them to link the group to set criteria when reporting back to the rest of the group. Do pressure groups improve the democratic process or do they have an unfair influence? Understand the nature of different pressure groups. Understand the tactics of pressure groups. Be able to explain the role of pressure groups. Do they weaken or strengthen the ability of citizens to influence Be able to deploy a range of case studies regarding pressure group activity. http://www.uknetguide.co.uk/ News_and_Weather/Organis ations/pressure_groups.html http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/pressure_groups.htm http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/c itizenship/creativeteaching/th emes/politics/pressure.asp http://www.liberty-humanrights.org.uk/ How can I difference? Citizenship in action: citizens working together to bring about change. How do citizens bring about change? Through case studies students compare and contrast a range of differing groups that have been established by ordinary citizens. The impact of the internet as a campaigning tool should be studied. Why are some groups unsuccessful? Candidates need to develop awareness through contemporary case studies of the range of factors that are required for a campaign to succeed, ie membership, finance, role of the media, and nature of the cause, status and methods used. Awareness of e-democracy and the role of new technologies in democratic participation and debates. Candidates should be able to drawn upon examples of both successful and unsuccessful campaigns which can be locally or nationally or internationally based. Understand the range of factors that are required for a campaign to succeed, ie membership, finance, role of the media, and nature of the cause, status and methods used. Be able to explain why different factors can impact upon the success of a specific campaign. Candidates need to study recent and ongoing campaigns and study their impact regarding bringing about change, eg the Stop the War coalition, the Countryside Alliance, Fathers4Justice, Heathrow Airport, Jamie Oliver s School Dinners Campaign. How do these campaigns interact with the political process, ie campaign against plastic bags: from one small town in Devon, to national supermarkets, to a pledge from political parties. Candidates should be able to draw upon recent and ongoing campaigns and be able to explain their impact regarding bringing about change, eg the Stop the War coalition, the Countryside Alliance, Fathers4Justice. Candidates are aware of the impact of various campaigns on political decision making and political attitudes. klm 5
Active Citizenship Key Questions Issues Content Outline Active citizenship Skills and participation. Becoming an Informed Citizen, The Participating Citizen, Being an Active Citizen. Students are required to be involved in a range of citizenship activities, from developing their own knowledge to working with others demonstrating citizenship skills, and working alone or with others to bring about a change. These activities should take place within and/or outside their educational establishments and students should use the Active Citizenship Profile to record their participation. Students should also explore the concepts and theories of participation and action in relation to their Active Citizenship Participation. As part of the assessment for Unit 2, candidates should bring their completed Active Citizenship Profile into the examination and the information contained in the profile can be used by candidates to analyse and evaluate their own evidence and reflection in response to the questions set. Candidates Active Citizenship Profiles should be kept securely by centres until after the deadline for enquiries about results and may be requested by AQA. There are a variety of routes available regarding the delivery of this aspect of the course. It could be delivered via classroom activities that occur during the teaching of the course A distinct scheme of work relating to the development of the three elements could be developed and taught alongside or as a component of the course. Stand alone events could be organised or planned that demonstrate the range of skills, knowledge and participation required. Where possible try to involve members of the wider community to take part in active citizenship work Further guidance is available at www.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/citizenship_new.php General resources The following websites relate to the needs of this unit www.post16citizenship.org/ has ca wealth of free resources that link directly to the AS course. Many of the materials are linked to active citizenship tasks. http://www.citized.info/pdf/induction/pb_resources_for_teaching_citizenship.pdf This download is a valuable resource for teaching Citizenship. It was produced by Dr Peter Brett on behalf of CitizED in 2005. The main CitizED website can be found at www.citized.info The site is designed for those involved in Citizenship Teacher Training. It does contain many examples of schemes of work that relate to the AS course. 6 klm