Helping pupils understand social issues: new report launched on active citizenship education in primary schools

Young Citizens has been delighted to work with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) over the past few years, contributing our expertise in youth-led social action and primary school citizenship education.

Their new landmark study into active citizenship in schools has found that more needs to be done to help pupils understand the root causes of societal problems.

Participatory citizenship education

Educating for Social Good critically explores the provision of active citizenship education in England’s primary schools.

The study, carried out by Dr Alison Body, Dr Emily Lau and Dr Lindsey Cameron, identified several barriers to schools’ provision of active citizenship, with schools in the most disadvantaged areas facing the biggest restrictions. These included financial constraints, limited curriculum time and institutional biases towards literacy and numeracy.

Though schools regularly run fundraising campaigns and encourage small-scale acts of kindness, researchers found that fewer than 10% of primary schools consistently provided “participatory and justice-oriented” modes of citizenship education.

“These models, which involve children in planning and understanding systemic issues, have been shown to deepen citizenship learning”, the report said.

The vital role of teachers

“Teachers play a pivotal role in fostering active citizenship learning”, the report said. “Their moral purpose and professional identity are closely tied to the belief that education should prepare children for active, socially responsible citizenship.”

“Early engagement in citizenship activities fosters empathy, teamwork, critical thinking, and a commitment to social justice. These skills not only enhance personal development but also prepare children for lifelong citizenship engagement.”

The report has called on active citizenship to be embedded into the curriculum, reframed around wider societal issues and strengthened by partnerships in the civil society sector.

Many educators were found to adopt a “quiet activism”, discreetly incorporating active citizenship lessons into their teaching.

How you can get embed active citizenship into school life

Since 2010, our programme The Make a Difference Challenge has been helping teachers to deliver child-led social action projects in school and their local communities.

All projects take a participatory and justice-oriented approach, enabling pupils to understand issues on a deeper level, and have a huge impact on their local area.

Find out how you can get involved in the Make a Difference Challenge.