Can active citizenship be learned? Examining content and activities in a teacher’s education module engaging with Gandhi and Makiguchi

Abstract

Can active citizenship be learned? In recent years, teaching citizenship issues are becoming popular in schools across various parts of the world. This paper makes reference to India as an example. It argues the need for a pedagogical debate on what makes an active citizen. The complex questions it begins to address are these: who is a citizen?; what does it mean to be an active citizen?; and under what social, political or educational scenario does a person become a citizen? Surely, the question is not just about learning citizenship but also in taking action as a citizen that education within schools needs to address. Based on a published book, this paper makes an eclectic enquiry into the example of the intercultural thinkers Mahatma Gandhi of India and his Japanese contemporary, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, who had both contributed to lead their respective societies into a new trajectory of change. Secondly, this paper discusses innovative methods and activities in teaching citizenship education and the current use of this published research in a post-graduate certificate course in the UK. In addition, this paper argues that there is still a paucity of literature, which develops a broader understanding of thinkers from the East.