Approaching the political in citizenship education: the perspectives of Paulo Freire and Bernard Crick

Abstract: 
 The forms that political education should take, and indeed its very presence in
 schools, are strongly contested questions. This paper explores these ideas in the light of
 the work of two theorists, Bernard Crick and Paulo Freire. There is first an analysis of
 their conceptions of politics and the political, their justifications for political education and
 their proposals for the curriculum. While the two theorists share the aim of political
 empowerment for all, there are significant differences in their understandings of society
 and of the potential of education for social transformation. The juxtaposition is seen to
 raise some important issues for citizenship education provision in England and Wales,
 concerning, in particular, its existence as a separate subject, its role in promoting
 conformity, the dangers of indoctrination and the means of promoting political agency