Citizenship in the Primary School: Going Beyond Circle Time

This is a postprint of an article whose final and definitive form has been published in Pastoral Care in Education © 2003 Copyright NAPCE. The definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.com. This journal is now being published by Routledge. Pastoral Care in Education is available online at http://www.informaworld.com.Education for citizenship is now recommended for all primary schools. Whilst primary teachers have long covered social and moral education, they have been less likely to cover teaching about community and political literacy (including the discussion of topical, controversial issues). This paper reports research findings on current practice and identifies key areas for discussion. It argues that there is great scope for enriching and enlivening the primary curriculum through the introduction of education for citizenship, by extending current practice in social and moral education and incorporating the newer themes of community and political literacy into existing teaching