Our world relies on a democratically-orientated sense of citizenship, writes Maria van der Hoeven
Until recently "citizenship" was a concept from a history book. The word "citizen" called up associations with a society made up of the aristocracy, the clergy and common citizens.
That has now changed dramatically. Today politicians consider citizenship, or rather the lack of it, to be the largest social problem. Citizens lack a sense of civic responsibility. Immigrants have to be naturalised or made "true citizens" of a country. If we do nothing to ensure this, our societies will slowly disintegrate.
Developments such as globalisation and immigration are raising questions, and sometimes even fear among citizens. They ask themselves: what is the identity of the country in which I live? How much pluralism can our society take? What values should we hold in common?
These questions are leading to sharp political debates in many countries. There is a sense of urgency to reinvent the concept of citizenship. And, of course, people look to education to take up the challenge. Education is seen as by far the best way to make young people into good citizens.
This is why the role of education for democratic citizenship plays a key part in my policy. I will give this area considerable attention in the second half of this year during the Dutch presidency of the European Union.
Citizenship is one of the core values of society. But the content of citizenship can vary with time and place. Current political and social circumstances call for a re-evaluation of the old concept of "citizenship". And for a re-evaluation of the contribution that education can make to meeting this new challenge. Let us examine these two points further.
When we speak of citizenship, what are we actually talking about?
Citizenship is about participation of people in public life. It is about sharing the rights and obligations that arise from this participation. And it is about the personal skills that are necessary for this participation in public life.
The classic idea of citizenship primarily focuses on the relationship between the state and its citizens. But with a view to the future, our concept of citizenship must entail more than this. Citizenship is also just as much about the relationships between individual citizens without involvement of government.
Because of this understanding of citizenship, parents are indispensable on school boards, pupils and students are indispensable in student councils and business people are indispensable on school boards of vocational education institutes.
We cannot achieve this social participation on our own. So it is a part of the social education we give to young people.
The next question is: what contribution can we actually expect from schools?
Learning modern citizenship is not only about acquiring knowledge and cognitive skills. It is also about the development of a particular attitude, learning through the example of others, and learning by doing something yourself.
This is why in the Netherlands we have changed our direction. Schools will receive the explicit instruction, through legislation, to contribute to the development of citizenship among young people and thus to their social integration.
Schools must achieve this contribution on three levels: at the level of the school itself, of the school in relation to the local environment, and of the school in relation to society.
Developing a sense of citizenship at the level of the school: school citizenship - the development of a sense of citizenship must start at the internal relationships formed at school. Pupils should learn to be good "school citizens". This requires socially-acceptable behaviour, such as showing respect for others, conducting themselves according to generally accepted values and norms, and respecting differences in world views.
Developing a sense of citizenship at the level of the school environment: social citizenship - A school is not an island. A school is located in a neighbourhood, that can only flourish if there is some social connection between its residents. During their years at school, pupils become aware of the necessity for this.
I introduced the community service internship in secondary education. This requires students to perform work in nursing homes, at day nurseries, at a public library or similar institution. It is an internship akin to volunteer work, an experience in serving other people.
Developing a sense of citizenship at the level of society: civic responsibility - In addition to school citizenship and community-based citizenship, a sense of civic responsibility is also relevant.
This means learning about the democratic form of government, about one's own country and about the larger international relationships. It requires explaining what the UN is, the OECD, and what European citizenship means. Education must ensure that the idea and values of the democratic, constitutional state are accepted and internalised, not least by students who are reared with other world views outside of school.
Our world relies on a democratically-orientated sense of citizenship. We rely on citizens who not only obey the law and regulations, but who are also socially involved. Citizens who collectively take responsibility for solving problems in their immediate environment - whether that be at work, in schools or in neighbourhoods. This is essential for ensuring the social cohesion in a modern society such as ours.
Our motto should be: moving from being good school citizens to being good national and world citizens.
• Maria van der Hoeven is Minister of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands. Her article is based on a speech she is to deliver today to the OECD Ministerial Conference on Education in Dublin