Valuing Civics: Political Commitment and the New Citizenship Education in Australia

The character of civics education is dependent on the worldview in which it is embedded. Thus, citizenship education that is not explicitly committed to a vision of democratic citizenship will be shaped by the dominant ideology of our times: neo ‐ liberalism. After contrasting neo ‐ liberal and radical democratic perspectives on civics education, we examine Australia’s new civics initiative as an example of how citizenship education becomes embroiled in the broader didactic politics of neo ‐ liberalism, thus undermining the democratic values of civics education. We conclude with a call for civics education that is politically committed to the values of radical democracy. Key words: democracy, new civics, neo ‐ liberalism, Discovering Democracy La nature de l’education a la citoyennete depend de la vision du monde dans laquelle elle s’insere. L’education a la citoyennete non explicitement vouee a une vision de la citoyennete democratique sera donc faconnee par l’ideologie dominante de notre epoque : le neoliberalisme. Apres avoir compare les points de vue opposes du neoliberalisme et de la democratie radicale sur l’education a la citoyennete, les auteurs presentent une nouvelle initiative australienne qui illustre comment l’education a la citoyennete se trouve prise dans l’engrenage de la vaste politique didactique du neoliberalisme et porte ainsi atteinte aux valeurs democratiques de l’education a la citoyennete. Ils concluent en pronant une education a la citoyennete qui adhere aux valeurs de la democratie radicale. Mots cles: democratie, nouvelle education a la citoyennete, neoliberalisme, Discovering Democracy