NEED FOR SCHOOL CREATE ACTIVE CITIZAN

Active citizenship means people· getting involved in their local

communities and democracy at all levels , from towns to cities to
nationwide activity. Active citizenship can be as small as a campaign to
clean up your street or as big as educating young people about
democratic values, skills and participation. Active citizenship is one of
the most important steps towards healthy societies especially in new
democracies like Hungary.
The Kurt Lewin Foundation conducted a one and a half
year long research and development program in four schools located in
eastern Hungary examining the relationship between schools and
democratic citizenship. Students aged between 17 and 19 years old ( 11th
– 12th grade) and their teachers took part in the research which examined
the place and impact of active citizenship, democratic values and social
and political attitudes in education.
The report aimed to study the effect of the school as a place to develop
the active citizenship of students. Though the concept of citizenship
grounded in activity, responsibility and democratic values is emphasized
in Hungarian educational policy, the views and opinions of the
younger generation in Hungary are, it appears, changing in
a direction not conducive to bolstering active citizenship. For
this reason the Kurt Lewin Foundation constructed a research and
educational project which comprised on the one hand an endeavour to
enhance active citizenship by means of various developmental activities
and on the other hand data collection around the issue of active
citizenship .
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As we understand it, active· citizenship is a combination of knowledge,
attitude, skills and actions that aim to contribute to building and
maintaining a democratic society. Active Citizenship supports
democratic cooperation that is based on the acceptance of universal
human rights and the rule of law, values diversity and includes the whole
community. Education towards gaining this knowledge· and developing
and practicing the skills take place in all levels of our shared social life,
but schools play a very important role in it .
More and more, we see that extreme solutions are in demand when it
comes to Europe’s problems. Active citizenship has a crucial role to play
in this context to allow citizens to interrogate real solutions to problems
rather than indulging in scapegoating, discrimination and other tactics
peddled by extremists.
We focused on the effect· that organizational culture in schools and
the hidden curriculum (a set of rules , norms , attitudes and behaviors
that are not part· of the national curriculum but students learn· as a kind
of side-effect of the schooling through living and learning in the
community /institution) have on the students’ active citizenship. We
conducted research in two· grammar schools (one maintained by a
church and the other by the government), as well as in two
vocational secondary schools. In general students valued
their relationship· with their classmates, but less than half of the students
are able to share their problems with their teachers.
Regarding minorities, the students did not express· a high· level· of
solidarity . They are disillusioned with politics , democracy· and social
issues . Students prefer a less democratic , stronger-handed ,

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more authoritarian· approach· . They are not interested in any of the
political parties . Still , representatives of radical , extreme political
views are generally more acceptable for them , than mainstream political
parties. Teachers compared to students , find· democratic values
more important· and are more likely to reject anti-democratic activity.
Nonetheless, findings concerning teachers are also characterized
by distrust and disappointment with regard to politics .
Despite these findings , participation and engagement· are
judged important by students and they would welcome a
stronger community· life· in their schools . Through our research· we
found that teachers—for many different reasons—avoid discussing
social and political issues. Without an open and
encouraging environment for students to discuss social and political
experiences and questions, this can only sow the seeds of insecurity
, fear and confusion· and open the way for radical answers often offered
from outside of the school. Citizenship education· has an important
role to play here .
Educational programs need to be· developed to improve· competencies
like co-operation and communication· as well working to increase
critical ability, reduce· prejudice and build tolerance, understanding,
empathy, and an openness to diversity. During the research, tailored
programs were developed to address· these competencies and were
positively received by participants. More widespread endorsement
and implementation· is now required .
Even though there are differences in the definition of active citizenship
education in different countries and cultures , we can say· , that in

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Germany and especially in West-German cities and city-states like
Bremen , a vital civil society· and political culture· has been established
thanks to active citizenship. Exclusionary or extremist attitudes are
condemned by influential institutions. There is strong, official support,
legally and financially, for work with the younger generation in the
public sector (schools, youth centers etc . ) to combat
authoritarian· attitudes and to support the development· of intercultural
and democratic competencies . And while civil society· is on the
one hand· working to positively influence politics, there is also
collaboration between political and civil organizations in running those
programs. Besides Germany, Scandinavian countries can also be marked
as models or leaders in citizenship education.
In Hungary we have witnessed a sharp increase in intolerance in
recent years Anti-Roma , anti-Semitic , nationalistic , racist and
homophobic rhetoric and activity have all increased . The impact of
these tendencies can be· found on many levels of young· people’s lives.
What we found most in need of attention was those schools who lack
the ability to discuss and organize education programs around the
different kinds of experiences that young people live· through In
our program , apart from the research results , we
also offer· solutionsthat can help here , both in schools and at a policy-
making level.

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