Civic Education for Democratic Citizens: To What Extent do Civic Education Curricula and Textbooks Establish Foundations for Developing Active Citizens in the Republic of Macedonia?

• Main Author: Ana Mickovska-Raleva
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: Bielefeld University 2019-03-01
• Series: Journal of Social Science Education
• Online Access: http://www.jsse.org/index.php/jsse/article/view/915

Purpose: The paper presents a review of the process of inclusion of ‘civic education’ as part of the formal education system in the Republic of Macedonia, from its beginnings as project activity in the late 1990’s to its current implementation as a mandatory subject in the primary grades.  Comparison is made between what was initially planned and what has been achieved in the area of civic education during this 20-year period, with a critical review on the potential of the subject for developing civic competencies. Method: The findings are based on content-analysis of curriculum goals and textbook tasks, through their classification in an indicators’ matrix of ‘Civic Key Competencies’ (as defined by the EC’s key competence framework for lifelong learning). Findings: The analysis provides insight into the frequency of curriculum goals and textbook tasks which relate to manifesting ‘civic competencies, from ‘knowledge’, ‘skills’, ‘attitudes’ and ‘values’, to the ‘behavior’ indicators, which should ideally be the goal of civic education.