Suchergebnisse

In order to generate higher levels of interest in politics and participation in political processes, political, or citizenship, education, in schools must be at the heart of the curriculum and be characterised by active, learner-centred approaches. This paper hypothesises that, when compared with Germany, a more limited form of political education in Irish post-primary schools may be impacting negatively on the extent to which it is achieving such aims. In order to begin to explore this hypothesis, the results for seven items relating to interest in politics and participation in political processes from the most recent (2010) round of the European Social Survey (ESS) are compared for the Irish and German populations. In addition, the nature and status of political education in the German and the Irish school systems are compared. Conclusions are drawn and the implications for future research in this field and for political education in both countries considered.

Several studies suggest that some post-communist states or regions such as, for example, the former German Democratic Republic engage in a narrower form of civic education in schools which focuses on the transmission of facts. They also indicate that such civic education produces citizens more likely to accept the status quo than to criticially analyse and attempt to transform it. This paper posits, however, that this is also the case in the Republic of Ireland, a state with an apparently very different historical background. Attitudinal data from the European/World Values Survey and the European Social Survey is used to investigate this possibility by comparing eastern Germany and the Republic of Ireland on key items relating to attitudes towards politics and society. The results provide tentative support for this notion indicating that attitudes in both eastern Germany and the Republic of Ireland tend towards the compliance end of the compliancetransformation spectrum underlining the importance of broader forms of civic education for democratic socialisation both in post-communist states and more generally.Einige Forschungsergebnisse zeigen, dass Staaten, die den Kommunismus durchlaufen haben, eine begrenztere Form von Politikunterricht an Schulen durchfuhren und auf diese Weise Burger heranziehen, die dazu tendieren, den Status Quo zu akzeptieren anstatt politische Entscheidungen kritisch zu hinterfragen und die Politik aktiv mitzugestalten. Die Moglichkeit, jedoch, dass dies auch in einem Staat mit einem ganz anderen geschichtlichen Hintergrund, wie zum Beispiel die Republik Irland, der Fall sein konnte, wird zur Diskussion gestellt. Mit Hilfe von Daten zu politischen Einstellungen aus der European/World Values Survey und der European Social Survey soll diese Frage untersucht werden. Die Ergebnisse unterstutzen zum Teil diese Idee und zeigen, dass Einstellungen in sowohl der fruheren Deutschen Demokratischen Republik als auch in der Republik Irland eher eine Tendenz zu Anpassung aufweisen, was die Wichtigkeit der politischen Bildung für demokratische Sozialization nicht nur in Staaten, die den Kommunismus durchlaufen haben sondern im Allgemeinen betont.

This article presents an approach the development of national policies for foreign languages in education and applies it to the case of Ireland, a small, primarily Anglophone, EU member-state with a highly open economy and an increasingly diverse population. The approach proposes an analysis of the language ecology and language ideology of a state in its broader socio-economic context in order to create a basis for determining the optimum linguistic landscape. This process in turn assists in the identification of the language policy decisions and initiatives capable of encouraging individuals in the creation of such a landscape. The findings for Ireland indicate that a suite of measures are required to ensure that competence in at least one foreign language is fostered at every stage in the education system. These include the introduction of languages in a creative and holistic manner as compulsory elements at primary and secondary levels and their retention as a requirement for entry to university. In addition, university language policies and an awareness raising campaign regarding the need for increased foreign language competence nationally are required. Key words: Language policy, education, foreign language competence, European Union, plurilingualism, multilingualism

This paper investigates whether states, which are post transition from dictatorship to democracy, engage in a narrower form of political education in schools, focussing on the transmission of declarative knowledge, with the result that they produce citizens more likely to accept the status quo than to critically analyse and attempt to transform it. Attitudinal and behavioural data from the European/World Values Surveys is used to test this hypothesis with regard to the five new eastern states in Germany, i.e. the former German Democratic Republic. The data was collected at three points in time during the decade directly following its reunification with West Germany in 1990. Three of the WVS items selected for the purpose of this research relate to reported attitudes towards politics and society, including expressed level of interest in politics. Three are behavioural and relate to reported previous political action and expressed likelihood of engaging in future political action. The results indicate that there was an initial period directly following the fall of the Berlin Wall which was characterised by positive attitudes towards the possibility of effecting political and social change together with high levels of interest in politics and engagement in political action. However, seven and nine years later, the picture was somewhat different with a tendency towards more passive, compliant views reflected in an increased desire for order and authority and lower levels of motivation to participate politically and to effect change. Implications are considered.

"Counter-discourses express new and alternative views of the world, in contrast with more established discourses which embody mainstream values, norms, beliefs and attitudes. The essays in this volume assess the role of counter-discourses as non-violent forms of resistance to the status quo in core domains of Irish social, cultural and political life. These domains encompass the Northern Ireland conflict and peace process; law enforcement, policing and surveillance; parliamentary debate and obstructionism; identity formation, marriage, divorce and the family; and institutional abuse, authoritarianism and the Catholic Church. The discourses are drawn from a diverse range of media including political and parliamentary speeches, ethnographic accounts, social media, short stories, song lyrics, poetry and novels, including those written for young adults. The essays highlight the power and significance of counter-discourses as vehicles of independent thought, capable of both reflecting and driving social and political change"--

This paper considers the impact of geopolitical factors, and in particular the collapse of Communism and EU accession, on language education policy and practice in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). CEE is understood here as referring to the former soviet-controlled, eastern bloc counties of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. A particular focus is placed in this paper on the teaching of English and Russian as foreign languages in Hungary and the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). The paper begins by reviewing current thinking in the field of language education policy and practice. It then provides an overview of developments in language education policy and practice in CEE more generally before focussing on two case-studies of language education policy and practice in Hungary and the former GDR. Implications both for language education policy and practice in CEE and for the nature of research in this field are discussed.

Specialized journals examine the teaching and learning of the social sciences in Higher Education . These include, for example, the highly regarded Teaching Sociology, or, more recently the Journal of Political Science Education, Journal of Legal Education and International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, to name but a few. These journals capture a significant amount of knowledge and experience. However, there is little coherence in terms of research and a lack of a well-developed academic sub-discipline around Higher Education in the social sciences. Furthermore, most of the discourses within the cited journals.