Multidimensional Citizenship: A Conceptual Policy Model

 

 

 

 

 

 

John J. Cogan, PhD

University of Minnesota

159 Pillsbury Drive, S.E. (Room 125A)

Minneapolis, MN 55455-0208  USA

Phone: (612) 625-1896

Fax: (612) 624-8277

Email: cogan002@tc.umn.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright, 2000

 

 

 

Introduction

 

          As we cross into the next millennium, the planet and the human family are facing an unprecedented set of challenges, issues and problems.  These include the globalization of the economy and growing economic disparities; a rapid deterioration in the quality of the global environment; inequities regarding access to and use of information technologies; increased regulation and control by governments over the lives of people; increasing levels of consumerism; regional and national conflicts based upon race, religion, and ethnicity; migrations of massive numbers of peoples due to these conflicts; the loss of political efficacy; a decline in moral and political leadership; and a multitude of other ethical and social issues.

How does one respond to these challenges both as a member of a particular nation state as well as a member of the community of nations in a manner that is thoughtful, active, personal and yet with a commitment to the common good?  This was the underlying question as the 26 researchers of the Citizenship Education Policy Study project (CEPS) began to explore citizenship education policy needs over the next two decades.  CEPS is an international research network project involving nine nations: England, Germany, Greece, Hungary and the Netherlands in Europe, Japan and Thailand in Asia, and Canada and the United States of America in North America.  It was a four year cross-national, cross-cultural study which utilized a cultural futures delphi methodology to solicit trends and opinions from policy shapers in the nine nations.  These data were then formulated into policy and strategic implementation recommendations by the researchers for use by policy makers and educators and are reported on in this brief chapter.  It is intended to serve as a conceptual framework we have termed multidimenstional citizenship to guide future research, policy, curriculum and pedagogical development in the area of citizen education.

Background

The past decade has seen increasing attention to democratization and the development of civil society worldwide, eg, (Whereas the People, Civics Expert Group, 1994; Active Citizenship Revisited, Commonwealth of Austraulia, 1991; Guidelines for Civic Education (Hong Kong), 1996; Council of Europe, 'Education for Democratic Citizenship' (website:

http://culture.coe.fr/-postsummit/citizenship),1997; Education for Citizenship and the Teaching of Democracy in Schools  (Advisory Group on Citizenship, 1998), National Standards in Civics and Government, USA, Center for Civics Education, 1994).  These and many more developments signal an unprecedented level of activity in the last half century in terms of reconsidering and in some cases reconceptualizing citizen education both in formal (in school) and non formal/informal (outside of the school) environments.  These developments have been stimulated by a variety of phenomena but perhaps none moreso than the democratization movements in central and eastern Europe, East and Southeast Asia, Central and Latin America, and in parts of the African continent as well.  Indeed, this author has just returned from a major conference on 'Citizenship in Emerging Democracies' in the Netherlands which focused on these very issues and regions of the world.  New models of citizenship education are being put forth for consideration and conventional wisdom regarding formal study and preparation for becoming adult citizens is being questioned.  This chapter examines one such model or framework that is based upon research findings.  However, before turning to an examination of what we term a multidimensional citizenship model, let us first examine what the extant research literature suggests are traditional attributes of citizenship.

Attributes of Citizenship

Modern political systems depend for their successful functioning upon a conception of citizenship. This is sometimes spelled out explicitly in a constitution, a bill of rights, or other written document; other times it is left implicit within national traditions and institutions.  Generally it is a combination of these. But whichever is the case, any conception of citizenship contains a sense of the knowledge, skills, values and dispositions that, ideally, citizens should possess.

Attributes of citizenship vary according to the nature of the political system of which they are a part, but in general terms they can be classified into five categories:

a sense of identity;

the enjoyment of certain rights;

the fulfillment of corresponding duties and obligations;

a degree of interest and involvement in civic and public affairs; and

an acceptance of basic societal values.

A Sense of Identity

The first attribute of citizenship, a sense of identity, is usually defined in national terms, though not necessarily exclusively so, since most countries acknowledge the existence of multiple and overlapping identities, be they local, ethnic, cultural, religious, or whatever. This is especially true in the case of societies that are multicultural in their composition. A sense of national identity and patriotism is usually seen as a fundamental ingredient of citizenship. Some commentators argue, however, that national citizenship alone will not be enough to meet the challenges of the 21^st century as globalization take full effect. Rather, a multidimensional approach to citizenship educaton is needed as outlined in this chapter.

Some commentators reject national citizenship as obsolete and perhaps even dangerous. Rather, they argue for a globally oriented cosmopolitan citizenship that cuts across national loyalties. (Nussbaum, 1996). Usually though, it is argued that the demands of national citizenship should not be denied, but  rather must be combined with an understanding that no nation can operate in isolation in today's world; citizenship must contain both national and multinational dimensions (Boulding, 1990; World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987; Ramphal, 1992; Commission on Global Governance, 1995). This interest in combining national and multinational dimensions of citizenship is clearly reflected in the data emerging from the Citizenship Education Policy Study project (CEPS) reported herein.

Citizen Rights and Entitlements

A second attribute of citizenship is the enjoyment of certain rights or entitlements. To be a citizen is to be a member of a group and thus to be entitled to the benefits that group membership confers, e.g. the protection of their government when they are traveling outside the boundaries of their own country.

T.H. Marshall (1950), has argued that in the Western world citizenship rights can be classified into three categories, listed in the order in which they were won historically.

Legal rights, e.g. freedom from arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, the entitlement to a fair trial and due process under the law.

Political rights, e.g. the right to vote, to run for public office, to participate in public affairs.

Economic and social rights, e.g. the right to organized trades unions, to attend school, to obtain social security (Marshall, 1950).

There is a good deal of debate about these rights: How extensive should they be? What is the appropriate balance between public and private provision? How much should be the responsibility of the individual citizen and how much of society as a whole? These questions remind us that citizenship is not a static set of practices; rather it is an ongoing process of debate, disagreement and dispute. 

Duties, Obligations and Responsibilities

Citizenship also embodies a set of duties, obligations and responsibilities. These constitute the third set of citizen attributes.  Some commentators in the West argue that the pursuit of individual rights is no longer in balance with the responsibilities of being a citizen, the latter being neglected (Gwyn, 1995).

It is universally accepted that citizenship carries with it the obligation to perform certain duties, including the responsibility to vote, to obey the law, to pay one's taxes, to respect the rights of other people, and generally to fulfill one's social obligations, including participation in public affairs. But it is more than these.  Citizenship is a social process and necessitates public work for the common good (Boyte & Kari, 1996; Parker, 1996).

Being Active in Civic and Public Affairs

The fourth attribute of citizenship is to be an active participant in civic and public affairs. This builds upon a long tradition, dating back to the Ancient Greeks, that distinguishes between a good person and a good citizen. A good person is said to live his or her life virtuously and honourably, but not necessarily with involvement or interest in public affairs. A good citizen, on the otherhand, is decent in his or her private life and is also committed to participation in civic and public life.  As with citizenship rights and responsibilities, involvement in public affairs is to stimulate the deliberation and debate of important civic issues. To repeat, it is doing the public's work.  Readiness to engage in this work for the common good constitutes an important aspect of multidimensional citizenship.

Acceptance of Basic Societal Values

The fifth and final attribute of citizenship is the acceptance of basic societal values. These will vary depending upon the nation and are often the subject of debate in which honest and principled differences of opinion are revealed. Sometimes they are described, directly or indirectly, in constitutional documents; at other times they are left unstated. But they always exist in some form. Examples include trust, cooperation, respect for human and civil rights, operating within the rule of law, and others. Broad-based societal values are seen as helping to constitute the distinctive identity of a country and making social living possible. They are an important ingredient of what we term multidimensional citizenship. 

All five elements or attributes of citizenship give rise to debate and dispute from time to time. Rights can conflict with each other. The interpretation of rights and duties is not always clear cut. Citizens can differ with each other over solutions to public issues. Certain groups within society can sometimes be denied the benefits of citizenship, e.g.as historically in the case of women, racial and ethnic minorities and even children.  Citizenship is not a matter of unquestioned obedience or loyalty to the regime in power or to the forces of tradition. Nor is it conformity to majority opinion. Rather, citizenship involves thinking for oneself while concurrently listening to and respecting the viewpoints of other people, to become engaged in the 'public work' of one's society (Boyte & Kari, 1996).

Some commentators speak of deliberative citizenship, arguing that citizens must be able to think, to reflect, to discuss, and to act in ways that are rational, reasonable and ethically defensible (Cohen, 1989; Miller, 1993; Mathews, 1996, Parker, 1996). This concept of deliberation, of reflective action, becomes a fundamental principle in the implementation of what we term multidimensional citizenship.

These five attributes of citizenship have educational implications.  Historically, compulsory public education has been assigned a central role in the education of citizens. A primary function of schools was to give the young citizens a sense of identity, of national pride; and to teach them the rights and responsibilities of citizenship within a given national context. However, some research suggests that the schools have not been as effective in this role as we might have hoped (Oppenheim, Torney, et.al., 1975; Hodgetts, 1968). Rather, these findings suggest that the conception of citizenship taught in many, perhaps most, schools has often been unduly passive and conformist, with patterns of discrimination against girls and minority students (Hess and Torney, 1968; Crick and Porter, 1978; Anyon, 1980; Oakes, 1985; Curtis, Livingstone and Smaller, 1992; Phillips, 1989 & 1993).

Further, other studies suggest that citizenship education in schools has often reflected the interests of those in power in a particular society and thus has been a matter of indoctrination and the establishment of ideological hegemony rather than of education (Snyders, 1976; Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977; Apple, 1979 & 1982; Whitty, 1985). As a result, we have recently seen a number of proposals for the strengthening of citizenship education in the schools (Shaver, 1977; Newmann, 1970 & 1975; Crick & Heater, 1978; Engle and Ochoa, 1988; Ichilov, 1990; Center for Civic Education, 1991; Janowitz, 1983; Osborne, 1994; Parker, 1996; Kennedy, 1996; Advisory Group on Citizenship, 1998; Hahn, 1998; Cogan and Derricott, 1998 & 2000).  The concept of multidimensional citizenship  put forth herein is part of this forward looking trend. 

There is also an increasing literature that argues for a global conception of citizenship in which people will identify less with their own nations and more with the planet as a single entity. This is not, of course, a new concept but with the rapid development of globalization it is receiving a new emphasis as it becomes more and more obvious that the world's problems and the solutions to them can be dealt with only on a multinational basis (Boulding, 1990; Ramphal, 1992).

These five attributes of citizenship, derived from the extant research and theoretical literature, give us a conceptual context as we explore new frameworks and possibilities.  But there is another context we must examine as well before continuing with the explication of our multidimensional citizenship model.  It centers on important global trends shaping citizens.

The Global Context

As we enter the millennium, several trend lines dominate that will need to be addressed by citizens many of whom are now in their formative years in school. These trends are interrelated. We can group them into four broad categories: the Global Economy; Technology and Communication; Population and Environment; and Global Movement: Migration, Diversity and Refugees.

The Global Economy.  Globalization of the economy is already a given.  Recent

events in Asia confirm this.  Economist, Robert Reich, comments on this trend.

We are living through a transformation that will rearrange the politics and

economics of the coming century.  There will be no national products or

technologies, no national corporations, no national industries.  There will no

longer be national economies, at least as we have come to understand the concept. 

All that will remain within national borders are the people who comprise a nation. 

Each nation's primary assets will be its citizens' skills and insights.  Each nation's primary political task will be to cope with the centrifugal forces of the global

economy which tear at the ties binding citizens together-bestowing ever greater

wealth on the most skilled and insightful, while consigning the less skilled to a declining standard of living.  As borders become ever more meaningless in

economic terms, those citizens best positioned to thrive in the world market are

tempted to slip the bonds of national allegiance, and by doing so disengage

themselves from their less favored fellows (Reich, 1992, 3).

Or as Japanese commentator Kenichi Ohmae states, "Words such as overseas operations,

affiliates, and subsidiaries are disappearing.  Nothing is 'overseas' any longer" (Ohmae, 1990, viii).  And production, at least in the industrialized world, is moving quickly away from the production of goods to services (McRae, 1995).  

Technology and Communications. The rapid growth of the service sector will be driven by continual advances in technology and communications.  We are already 'online' to the world although the key unspoken here is, 'if you have access'.  Information is a commodity; it is wealth and power.  And there are dangers.

Since information is a key economic asset and speed in moving information gives an economic edge, wealth increasingly means access to information. The global gap between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' is increasingly a question of the information access that makes material wealth possible (Snyder, 1995, 43).

This concern is echoed by Hauchler and Kennedy in their book, Global Trends.

New technologies promise solutions to global problems such as hunger, environmental destruction, and disease; but they also raise questions about the ethical and social problems associated with an automated world.  In addition, they widen the technological gap between industrial and developing countries (Hauchler  & Kennedy, 1994, 15).

And then there are questions surrounding genetic engineering raising all kinds of ethical and moral questions.

Population and Environment.  As the planet's population continues to rise, enormous pressures are placed upon the environment. The list of problems globally includes desertification, destruction of arable lands, depletion of major aquifers and other sources of fresh water, acid rain, disposal of nuclear and chemical waste, resource depletion, erosion, salinization due to poor irrigation practices, poisoning of the atmosphere, ozone depletion and global warming, a growing list of endangered species and the loss of biodiversity, especially in rainforest regions and a host of other problems.  While there are many contributors to the overall decline in the state of the global environment, it is the pressure of larger and larger populations that appear to be the root problem. 

Of all the forces that will change the world over the next generation, demography is probably the most important. The numbers of mouths to feed, the relative sizes of the populations of the industrial world and the less developed countries, the age distribution in the west-all of these forces will have a profound effect not just on the world economy, but on societies both rich and poor¼Population shifts have an inexorable effect on the world's living standards, it politics, its environment, and on how people behave towards each other¼. (McRae, 1995, 97).

Given that most of the future population growth will occur in the non-industrialized world in the near term future, migration pressures will increase significantly as people in the less developed, marginalized regions seek to move to more affluent areas.  Hauchler and Kennedy contend that only if "extreme poverty is eliminated, health and education improved, and the social status of women enhanced will it be possible to put a brake on the growth in population" (Hauchler & Kennedy, 1994, 12).  

Global Movement: Migration, Diversity and Refugees.  Some have described the late twentieth century as 'the age of migration'.  Numbers of people are moving across borders, making virtually every country more multiethnic in composition.  More racial, ethnic and national groups throughout the world are asserting their identity.  As a result, the settled rules of political life in many countries are being challenged by a new 'politics of cultural difference'.

Kymlicka, in his book, Multicultural Citizenship (1995) suggests that,

 

These parochial allegiances were supposed to fade as the world becomes increasingly integrated both economically and politically.  In reality, 'globalization' has often created more room for minorities to maintain a distinct identity and group life.  Globalization has made the myth of a culturally homogeneous state even more unrealistic, and has forced the majority within each state to be more open to pluralism and diversity.  The nature of ethnic and national identities is changing in a world of free trade and global communications, but the challenge of multiculturalism is here to stay. (p.9)

Globalization threads through each of these trends and indeed is a primary connector of the four. Yet this concept is not without considerable controversy.  For example, some critics of globalization question both the inherent nature of globalization and its impact. Summarizing some of these critical views, Baylis and Smith (1997) remind us that globalization

is often equated with a stage of capitalism or western imperialism and as such carries a lot of baggage with it;

is uneven in its effects producing both winners and losers, the latter especially amongst the poor;

obscures accountability in that it is difficult to trace and specify responsibility;

gives rise to paradox and even processes of counter-globalization, e.g., more global homogeneity engenders fierce reactions that strengthen local identities, be they religious, ethnic or national (9-11).

Still, if most experts agree that the global trends we have described are the kinds of global realities that will shape the world of the early 21^st century, then what kinds of citizens are needed to function in this world?  What kind of knowledge, skills, and behaviors will they need to exhibit?  What kind of education and schooling will be needed to develop these citizens?  With these and other important questions, we turn now to the explication of the concept of multidimensional citizenship that underlies our reconceptualization of citizenship education for the early part of the 21^st century.

The Study

 

The Citizenship Education Policy Study (CEPS) was carried out by four national or regional teams totaling 26 researchers, all specialists in citizenship education and/or research methodology, and was a pioneering effort with respect to research networking among exchange partner universities in Asia, Europe and North America.  A total of 182 policy experts and scholars from across the broad range of fields noted below participated in this study, either in the initial interview round and/or the subsequent two Delphi survey rounds over an eighteen month period. The goal was to use policy shapers from politics and government, business, industry and labour, science and technology, health and education, and cultural and academic fields as the informants in the study across the nine nations, as these were the fields of endeavor which emerged as important from background reading undertaken by the researchers at the outset of the study, particularly in the area of emerging global trends.   Each of the potential panelists had to meet all of the following criteria in order to be eligible for inclusion:

(1)        Future Orientation as demonstrated by one's ability to envision changes and                opportunities in the future;

(2)        Leadership in one's field of expertise as demonstrated through public addresses,                       published remarks, and one's level of esteem amongst peers;

(3)        Interest in civic and public affairs as demonstrated by one's writings, speeches,                     policies implemented, or participation in civic and other public groups; 

(4)     Knowledge of global trends and issues as demonstrated by one's writings,     speeches or policies (Cogan, 1997,4-5).

The Interview Round 

Once the final pool of experts was established, a subset of 110 panelists were interviewed in order to generate the data to be used in formulating the survey round questions.  Three major questions were asked of these panelists in the initial interview round. 

(1)        What are the major global trends likely to have a significant impact upon the lives of people during the next 25 years?

(2)        What will be the characteristics required of individuals in order to cope with and/or manage these trends?

(3)        How might these characteristics be developed, i.e. what approaches, strategies or innovations might best implement these characteristics? (Cogan, 1997, 5)

The data generated from these 110 interviews were then used to develop Cultural Futures Delphi survey round instrument items.  The statements were organized around the areas of global trends, citizen characteristics, and the strategies, innovations, and approaches required to implement the development of the characteristics.

Delphi Survey Rounds

This resulted in a final instrument of 106 items including 60 trend statements, 20 characteristics and 26 suggested strategies/innovations/approaches for implementation.  Panelists were asked to rate each of the trends on a six-point scale both with respect to the desirablility of the stated trend and the probability of it actually occurring during the next 25 years. They were then asked to rate each of the 20 identified characteristics in terms of their importance. And finally they were asked to recommend what they believed to be the most critical educational strategies.  The instrument was then translated into Dutch, German, Greek, Hungarian, Japanese and Thai.  Backtranslation was carried out in each instance to assure validity of the instrument for use in the native language.

The Delphi survey instrument was then sent in two further rounds to all policy shapers and opinion makers who had agreed to participate in the study.  The Cultural Futures Delphi method utilized was designed to move the respondents toward as much consensus as possible over the several rounds of a study to best inform public policy.  Accordingly, the third and final round survey instrument was mailed back to the panelists and contained the range and the statistical median indicating where most other panelists responded as well as their own personal response to each item.  They were then encouraged to consider this new evidence in terms of possibly modifying their final response.  Once the final round data were received, they were analyzed and prepared for use in summarizing the study findings and generating policy recommendations.

The Findings

 

Upon analysis, there were 19 trends, eight characteristics, and 16 strategies, approaches, or innovations that reached a predetermined level of consensus among the respondents.  

Global Trends Findings

The 19 global trends on which the 182 expert respondents reached consensus have been grouped into three categories: increasingly significant challenges, areas to monitor, and areas to encourage.  Each category constitutes a particular level of consideration and attention required on the part of policy maker in order to develop appropriate educational policies. The first category includes seven trends identified by the experts as undesirable but highly probable.  

Increasingly Significant Challenges

The economic gap among countries and between people within countries will widen significantly.

Information technologies will dramatically reduce the privacy of individuals.

The inequalities between those who have access to information technologies and those who do not will increase dramatically.

Conflict of interest between developing and developed nations will increase due to environmental deterioration.

The cost of obtaining adequate water will rise dramatically due to population growth and environmental deterioration.

Deforestation will dramatically affect diversity of life, air, soil, and water quality.

In developing countries population growth will result in a dramatic increase in the percentage of people, especially children, living in poverty (Cogan, 1997, 7).

A dominant theme emerging across these seven trends is that of increased inequalities.  If these seven undesirable and highly probable trends are not addressed, the data suggest that citizens are highly likely to face a future characterized by greater social conflict, increased inequities, reduced privacy, and a rapidly deteriorating environment.

Areas To Monitor

The second category is also composed of seven trends identified by the experts as either undesirable but only moderately probable or only moderately desirable but very probable.  They were still negative in direction.  They included areas such as the domination of consumerism; increase in crime; loss of political influence and a sense of the common good; global migration and poverty and the complex implications of genetic engineering (Cogan, 1997, 1-8).  The dominant theme emerging from these trends is citizen disempowerment and a loss of community. 

Areas To Encourage

The third category included five trends that provided some grounds for optimism and constitute areas which policy makers need to nurture and develop

Highly desirable and highly probable:

Economic growth will be fueled by knowledge (ideas, innovations, and inventions) more than by natural resources.

Very highly desirable and moderately probable:

Corporations will increasingly adopt measures of environmental conservation in order to remain competitive.

Systematic inequalities (e.g., racism, ethnocentrism, sexism) will decrease significantly.

Highly desirable and moderately probable:

Previously marginalized groups of individuals (e.g., women, ethnic minorities, etc.) will occupy more positions of power.

More regional alliances will be developed as a way of achieving peace and security (Cogan, 1997, 8).

The trends identified suggest a more positive direction and should be encouraged. Taking these measures would likely begin to reduce the severity of many of the previously noted 14 negative trends.

Citizen Characteristics

The experts reached consensus on eight citizen characteristics which are presented in descending order of importance and include the

ability to look at and approach problems as a member of a global society;

ability to work with others in a cooperative way and to take responsibility for one's roles/duties within society;

ability to understand, accept, and tolerate cultural differences;

capacity to think in a critical and systemic way;

willingness to resolve conflict in a non-violent manner;

willingness to change one's lifestyle and consumption habits to protect the environment;

ability to be sensitive towards and to defend human rights (e.g., rights of women, ethnic minorities, etc.); and,

willingness and ability to participate in politics at local, national, and international levels (Cogan, 1997, 9).

The overlap of these characteristics with the educational strategies noted next is striking.

Educational Strategies/Approaches/Innovations

There was consensus among the expert respondents that 16 educational strategies, approaches, and innovations should be very highly or highly recommended for urgent consideration and action by policy makers during the next 25 years.  

 

 

Very highly recommended:

Support the teaching of subject matter in a manner that encourages children to think critically.

Emphasize students' ability to critically assess information in an increasingly media-based society.

Highly recommended:

Establish a curriculum which uses the potential of information-based technologies.

Establish extensive international links among educational institutions at all levels to support international studies, and research and curriculum development focusing on citizenship education.

Cultivate a population of teachers with international experience and cross-cultural sensitivity.

Implement programs of international student exchange in order to promote mutual understandings among different cultures.

Increase attention to global issues and international studies in the curriculum.

Establish extensive liaisons and joint projects among schools and other social institutions (e.g., industry, NGOs, churches, community groups) to support education.

Require that opportunities for community action and involvement be an important feature of the school curriculum.

Promote schools as active centers of community life and as agents for community development.

Decentralize decision making so that local communities and individual schools have considerable control of curriculum and educational administration.

Increase opportunities for students to be involved in cooperative learning activities.

Require that the mass media act in a socially responsible, educative manner.

Implement programs that effectively use the talents and skills of an aging population.

Demand that all major social institutions and their officials set high standards of civic responsibility

Ensure that all social institutions (including the family, and educational and religious institutions) have an abiding respect for the basic rights of children and contribute to their well-being (Cogan, 1997, 10-11).

These strategies suggest that educators and policy makers will need to develop innovative curricula and instructional approaches that help learners to critically assess the information to which they are exposed.  Further, they will need to constantly keep in mind the citizen characteristics noted above in doing so.

Toward the Formation of Educational Policy

 

 To meet the challenges of the next century, we have developed a more comprehensive vision of citizenship that we term multidimensional citizenship. This will require citizens to address a series of interrelated dimensions of thought, belief and action.  We describe these various dimensions as personal, social, spatial, and temporal.

 The Personal Dimension

The personal dimension of citizenship involves developing a capacity for and commitment to a civic ethic characterized by socially responsible habits of mind, heart and action.  As citizens we must enhance our capacity to think critically and systemically; our understanding of and sensitivity to cultural differences and issues of human rights; our repertoire of responsible, cooperative and non-violent conflict-resolution and problem-solving; and, our willingness to protect the environment, to defend human rights, and to engage in public life.  None of this will be possible unless individual citizens are committed to this principle and govern their personal lives accordingly.  

The Social Dimension

It is recognized that although personal qualities are essential they are not sufficient in themselves, i.e. that there is a social dimension of citizenship as well.  Citizenship is a social activity that involves people living and working together in a variety of settings and contexts.  They must be able to engage in public debate and discussion, to participate in public life, to deal with the problems and issues that face them, in ways that at the same time equip them to deal respectfully with people whose ideas and values differ from their own.  Social involvement is an important element of citizenship. The strictly political arena of political issues, elections, and political parties is only one element of this social dimension of citizenship.  The challenges of the 21st century will necessitate that citizens extend their civic participation to encompass thoughtful involvement in a complex range of economic, cultural, social, and political domains.

The Spatial Dimension

Citizens must also see themselves as members of several overlapping communities: local, regional, national and multinational.  We refer to this as the spatial dimension of citizenship.  What emerges from this study, and indeed from the global studies literature, is that the world is becoming increasingly interdependent and the world of the 21st century is likely to be even more so.  This is in part the result of changes in technology, communications, trade patterns, immigration, and so on.  The challenges of the next century transcend national boundaries and will require multinational solutions. However, people's sense of identity is and is likely to remain rooted in the local and the personal in terms of nation and culture.

The Temporal Dimension

Finally, the temporal dimension of citizenship means that citizens, in dealing with contemporary challenges, cannot be so preoccupied with the present that they lose sight of the past and the future. Multidimensional citizenship requires that we pay appropriate attention to the past as citizens need a rich knowledge of their own and the world's history to give them the sense of connectedness and rootedness.  At the same time, their actions will have an impact upon the citizens of the future.  Multidimensional citizenship requires that the present and its challenges be located in the context of both the past and the future, so that purely short-term solutions to problems can be avoided wherever possible.

The Interconnectedness of the Dimensions

Although these four dimensions of citizenship, the personal, social, spatial, and temporal, have been discussed separately in the above paragraphs, in reality they are all closely interwoven. Educational policy must address them more or less simultaneously.  These four dimensions of citizenship are not dissimilar from the attributes of citizenship described in the introduction to this chapter.  It was argued that, traditionally, citizenship education has been concerned with the development of a sense of identity, usually at the national level; understanding of rights and responsibilities; adherence to broad societal values; and involvement in civic and public affairs.  The data obtained in this study indicate that in the early decades of the 21st century, citizens' sense of identity must be located at a variety of levels, from the local through national to the multinational.  This concept of multiple, interlocking identities pervades all four dimensions of citizenship.  Perhaps an real life example will help to illustrate the concept.

Soccer Balls and Child Labour

A teacher of a group of 10-11 year olds in an Upper Midwestern urban area was sharing in their social studies class an article that she had read recently in an Amnesty International newsletter.  It was about children there own age in other parts of the world who were not in school but working in factories making various products which the American students used.  One boy asked, "Like what"?  "Like the soccer balls you use every day on the playground", the teacher responded.  The discussion continued and the students became increasingly interested.  "Why weren't these children in school"?  "How could people so young be required to work"?  "Why didn't they just leave"?  The teacher passed out copies of the article and asked the children to read it overnight and come back the next day to discuss it further.

The next day's discussion was very animated.  Several of the children had discussed the article with their parents.  Other students asked what they could do to change this practice.  Anticipating this, she had collected a variety of print, website and other resources for the students to examine first along with a listing of the many products produced by children in this situation worldwide.

Over the next several weeks the children examined a great deal of literature about the issues involving child labour, the abuse of children their own age through this practice, and the difficulty in changing the practice.  They discovered that these were mostly very poor children whose families depended upon them for the meager income they earned.  They shared their findings with each other and the teacher and repeatedly asked what they could do.  After some deliberation they decided to focus on the soccer balls the school district was purchasing.  Their investigation had uncovered the fact that only FIFA (the international football association) could be guaranteed as not being made by child labour.

To make a long story very short, the children fully researched the issue of soccer balls, developed a proposal to local school district board, got on the agenda, presented their findings and their recommendation that only FIFA certified balls be purchased in the future and obtained an affirmative response.  Further, the school board members were so impressed with the courage, hard work and wisdom of these students that they authorized a task force to examine district wide purchasing decisions to see if there were other areas where child labour was being utilized in producing products schools utilized.

This true story illustrates the concept of multidimensional citizenship  in that these young students acted personally and communally on an injustice they uncovered which involved children their own age in another part of the world (spatial) and used evidence, past and present, to attempt to impact future behavior (temporal) of those engaged in this practice as well as political and policy leaders.  In doing so, they demonstrated that multidimensional citizenship requires that citizens possess certain competencies including,

approaching problems as a member of a global society;

working cooperatively with others;

taking responsibility for one's roles and responsibilities in society;

thinking in a critical and systemic way;

resolving conflict in a non-violent manner;

adopting a way of life that protects the environment;

respecting and defending human rights;

participating in public life at all levels of civic discourse; and,

making full use of information-based technologies (Cogan, 1997, 15).

Educational Challenges

Children and youth in schools today can expect to live and work in a century much different from ours.  The pace of change is enormously rapid; the list of problems and issues to be confronted and resolved long and challenging. The findings of this study suggest that a conceptually different approach to citizenship education, one centered in the multidimensional citizenship model.  Accordingly, we suggest five key implementation strategies to implement the multidimensional citizenship  model outlined above.

The School as a Model Community

We believe that the task of preparing citizens for the future can best be addressed by structuring the school itself in such a way that it becomes a model of multidimensional citizenship. The school structure and organization, its faculty and staff, the curriculum, assessment measures and the general atmosphere within the school, must be focused upon the

development of cooperative working relationships;

development of critical and systemic thinking;                                                                    

development of appreciation and tolerance for multiple perspectives;

development of respect, appreciation and tolerance for multiple points of view;

defense of human rights;

development of the ability to view problems and issues from a global perspective;

willingness to change one's lifestyle and consumption habits to protect the environment; and,

willingness and ability to participate in civic and public affairs at multiple levels (Cogan, 1997, 17)

The School Within the Larger Community

Given the need for increased linkage between school and community, we recommend that the school and community recognize and act upon their shared responsibility to contribute to the education of citizens with a global and future-oriented vision by developing a school culture in which students experience and participate in an environment that embodies the values, knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for the development of multidimensional citizenship.  In this context, schools and their communities should assess their educational culture with respect to the following questions:

To what extent does local school policy and practice foster and/or demonstrate

sound environmental practices?

sensitivity to human rights?

respect for the opinions and ideas of others?

cooperative, collaborative working relationships?

open communication and the peaceful resolution of conflict? (Cogan, 1997, 18).

The School as an Environmental Model

Given the concerns of the panelists for issues and problems surrounding the environment, we recommend that schools formally adopt and abide by a code of environmentally-minded behaviors including the careful use of water, energy, and other resources, as well as appropriate waste disposal and recyling procedures.  Teachers and students within schools must also be willing to play active roles in their communities in promoting awareness and action to support sustainable development to ensure the future of the planet.  The area of the environment provides multiple opportunities to become actively involved in ongoing projects in the community as well as to establish new ones. It would also provide a natural avenue for these community activists and experts to be brought into the school curricular activities in this important area.  This would expedite dialogue and debate regarding key environmental issues and how they might be resolved.  It would further the process of deliberation within the formal school curriculum and thus help to develop critical thinking and analytical skills.

A Deliberation-Based Curriculum

Finally, we recommend that a deliberation-based curriculum be implemented within the school.  The goal is the development of global and civic-minded citizens.  It would apply to all grade levels and, as appropriate, to all subject areas.  Further, we would suggest that this curriculum be organized around six major ethical questions or issues that cut across the breadth of the curriculum.

What should be done in order to promote equity and fairness within and among societies?

What should be the balance between the right to privacy and free and open access to information?

What should be the balance between protecting the environment and meeting human needs?

What should be done to cope with population growth, genetic engineering and children in poverty?

What should be done to develop shared universal values while at the same time respecting         local values?

What should be done to empower learners to act upon the above, both in their schools and wider communities? (Cogan, 1997, 18-19)

We believe that these questions are best addressed in multiple learning environments and through interdisc