A Reconsideration of “Citizenship Education Theory”: Its History and Present

<p> Why does citizenship education cause so much confusion in the classroom? What do we need to do in order to conduct citizenship education without the confusion? This research clarifies this point.</p><p> A citizen is a person who has sovereign rights as defined by the Constitution of Japan, which adopts the principle of popular sovereignty. The principle of popular sovereignty is necessary to ensure the existence of a nation that guarantees human rights. The current state of education, however, is alienated from the Japanese Constitution, which is closely linked to citizenship education. That is because the “Amended” Basic Education Law is in violation of the Constitution with regard to the infringement of human rights. In addition, although the Japanese Constitution first came into being in reaction to Japan's war of aggression, the people do not have a shared awareness of the facts of that aggressive action, which was the very point of departure of the Constitution. That is because of the historical revisionist standpoint of the government. In addition, the current political situation has also moved away from a Constitutional basis. Citizenship education, therefore, arouses confusion in the schools and the history of citizenship education is forgotten.</p><p> Citizenship education has been a topic of discussion since the late 1950s. Regarding educational content, Nagai Kenichi raised the issue of the rights of citizenship education calling for guarantees of pacifism and democracy. In response, there was also criticism that the government should not be allowed to interfere in the content of education, rather deciding thereupon through the route of cultural autonomy. In addition to this, educational debate on the issue of “fostering citizenship” was already evident during the latter half of the 1950s in the discussions of the Education Research Conferences of the Japan Teachers’ Union and the Institute for National Education, further enhanced by private education research institutions. As in the case of the classroom practices of Yasui Toshio since the end of the 1970s, there were also signs of further intensification as human education in the citizenship education debate, including teaching methods as well. During the 1990s, however, facing the age of educational crises and reforms, the foundation of the cultural autonomy route began to fall apart.</p><p> “Strengths required as a citizen” are cited as one of the “qualifications and capabilities required in order to respond to the various current issues” presented in a report of the Central Council for Education. Efforts by the government to strengthen citizenship education are a characteristic of neo-liberalism. The question remains of what will become of those who do not fit within the image of “citizen” stipulated by the government.</p><p> But there are also signs of recovery of the cultural autonomy route now. The issue is how to construct a space for more direct discussion among the actors involved on the ground in education, for the sake of citizenship education.</p>