Developing Political Concepts and Skills in the Primary School

Young children are capable of holding fairly sophisticated political concepts and of developing political skills, particularly if both are derived from the direct experience of the child. Political education in Primary schools occurs both through the ethos of the institution itself, as a model of a political system, and in some schools through the formal curriculum, particularly through the 'new' social studies. If teachers were more aware of the possibilities (and desirabilities) for early political education, and had greater confidence in their own abilities to handle such areas, there would be scope for developing a curriculum that included elements of political education through all the Primary school years.