Teachers’ role and experience in the teaching of citizenship

Head teachers from both schools mentioned that the education curriculum had changed in the last fifteen years. These changes meant that the sequence of citizenship contents in HGSC also changed, resulting in some topics not delivered in 2012 and 2013. Teachers have attended several training sessions on education system reforms, one of them orientated to understanding the new versions of the curriculum. By the time I interviewed teachers from the PFBS, the Regional Office of MINEDUC was organising workshops to discuss the Curriculum Proposal 2013, which intends the teaching on CE in three different subjects. One teacher shared:

The Ministry of Education tries to make teachers participate actively in reforms, mainly in online surveys. Of course, we need more spaces for involvement in these decision-making processes, but we don’t have time to attend all workshops they (staff of the Ministry of Education) organise. But at least we are invited, they want to know our opinions on how to improve the curriculum; so we knew some reforms were on the table as a priority. (Miguel, PFBS)

These reforms had not taken place by the time the interviews were conducted. Hence, as teachers interviewed from both schools agreed that they followed the guidance of the documents provided MINEDUC (curriculum, PP and textbooks), it can be assumed that they had mainly taught those contents proposed in the textbook of HGSC.

Teachers play a crucial role in addressing the contents of citizenship and might help or hinder the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes in students. Thus, all reflection about CE has to include how teachers define citizenship and citizen, the ways in which they construct the idea of students as citizens, how they understand CE (issues discussed in previous chapter) and the pedagogical approaches and tools they employ in the delivering of contents, amongst others. This is relevant to establish links between the way

contents are delivered in the classroom and understandings of citizenship and CE students have developed.

For all the teachers interviewed and the head teachers, CE is an idea linked to the teaching of ‘civics’ and the delivery of knowledge. Students from both schools opined that although teachers show to know topics on citizenship and contents are interesting, there is shortage in ‘creativeness’ (Catalina, PFBS), ‘too much reading in some lessons (Eduardo, PSS) and ‘lack of participation of students when the teacher tries to make us give our opinions’ (Judith, PFBS). Contents were delivered in a way some students qualified as ‘traditional’, meaning that the teacher usually explained contents, most of the time using a data projector, then asked to complete questionnaires from the textbook of HGSC, and sometimes they work in small groups. A few relevant innovations were mentioned such as the utilisation of conceptual maps and media resources. The teacher of the optional subject of ‘Social Sciences’ and one teacher from the PFBS were mentioned as more creative.

One student pointed out: ‘If HGSC is the only subject in which citizenship is taught it should include more practical activities’ (Marcela, PFBS). Despite the absence of innovative and participatory pedagogical strategies, students highly value teachers’ commitment to teaching (Jorge, Franco, PSS), ‘the possibility of asking questions as many times as it is needed’ (Ester, PFBS), ‘the effort the teacher makes in each class when he is talking about some situation in the past to link that with some issues in the present’ (Alex, David, PFBS).

One statement can be made from the evidence: most students do not relate their understandings of citizenship with contents on CE they have been taught, an issue that might have several explanations. One of them is teachers’ preparation. Cox (2011) argues that teachers’ training is still focused on the coverage of certain contents rather than on the quality of education. This situation hinders the efficient implementation of the curriculum framework in schools. As it has been said in the previous chapter, the curriculum 2009 promotes active learning and student-centred teaching practices. As Zúñiga et al. (2015, 97) affirm ‘many of the teaching practices associated with the framework are unfamiliar to teachers’.

For a responsible civic attitude, as it is advocated in the curriculum 2009 for HGSC, students need to develop several skills such as the recognition of different points of view and debate, argumentation, accuracy in thinking, managing of information, localisation, research, interpretation, empathy and commitment to problem-solving. Teachers should facilitate the development of these skills by implementing innovative strategies within the classroom. The curriculum in HGSC states that students should be encouraged to work with different sources of information (MINEDUC, 2009, 3, 24) but several students’ views suggest that lessons have being developed in a ‘normal’ and ‘traditional’ way (Ema, Daniel and David, PFBS; Mariana, Juanita, Eleanor, Franco, Jaime and Carlos, PSS), meaning that classes were lacking in practical activities and the use of several sources and resources to develop ideas and engage in debate. This is consistent with what I observed in lessons of HGSC: teachers delivering contents, writing on the board, requesting students to answer questions in the textbook and questioning them a few times. What almost all students from both schools describe as ‘positive’ are those teachers’ practices of connecting issues from the past to the present while delivering contents related to citizenship. However, I can argue that students should be encouraged to interpret contents by themselves through activities facilitated by teachers. As mentioned before, the curriculum 2009 promotes skills of acceptance of diverse points of view and debate. Activities for discussion were not developed during class observations nor students debated with each other in the FGD.

Another explanation for the lack of a link between contents on CE and concepts of citizenship is the understanding of HGSC as only a compulsory subject students have to approve to graduate and not as an opportunity to develop and practice citizenship. All teachers interviewed expressed they decided to become teachers by vocation, they define themselves as professionals demonstrating their aptitude to teach. They agree that even when students show interest in contents on CE being taught in the classroom, in the end, they do not value this as contents will help an individual to be a more responsible citizen; it is a subject they have to approve to graduate.

If I don’t do my best to show them the importance of these contents, then they will keep this wrong perception that it’s something they need to memorise before tests; otherwise, you can fail a grade. (Fanny, teacher, PSS)

Also, they opined that in general students are respectful and committed. However, youth apathy towards several social and political situations is a problem of the current national context that, unfortunately, can be seen in students’ attitudes at school:

The spaces for participation and dialogue are open. However, there is little participation; it is observed, let’s say, in the fact that there is no substantive commitment…We lack a dynamic that allows us to see a machine that is moving with enough agility. (Santiago, PSS head teacher)

Citizenship content should be resumed because the governments of today are facing the problem of abstention in elections, indifference on the part of young people to everything that has to do with politics. (Juan, teacher, PSS)

The way/s in which teachers have implemented the curriculum on CE can be linked to what was previously discussed about the approaches to teaching History. In the Chilean educational context, the great tradition has been the pedagogical tool to deliver the subject of History (Zúñiga et al., 2015). It has been characterised by teacher-centred practices, story-telling and memorisation of historical dates and facts in chronological order; students are recipients of the contents taught.

The curriculum 1998 was enacted taking into account the need for an approach shift that promotes student-centred pedagogical practices and active learning. This aligns with what Husbands et al. (2007) states: students should be encouraged to build historical knowledge through inquiry and interpretation of historical sources. From the evidence, it can be argued that some practices within the classroom are consistent to what the new history approach intends, i.e., some students from both schools recognise to have been encouraged to learn by using different pedagogical strategies (team-work, documents review, group discussion). However, most students describe teaching practices in a way that aligns with the ‘great tradition’ approach. A more critical approach is embedded in the curriculum 2009, but these pedagogical practices, which are related more to a ‘new history’ approach, are taking into account in PP from 2014.

As it has been explained in the Methodology Chapter, I decided to interview the teacher of the Optional Subject on Social Sciences and National Reality (CSRN) from the PSS. This teacher decided to not use the syllabus given by MINEDUC, but to adapt it to include contents on voting, citizen responsibility towards political elections, political parties and responsible citizens’ behaviour and decision-making. Therefore, the role played by her

was crucial for the acquisition of the knowledge students needed to face the approaching presidential election in Chile.

The subject CSRN can be chosen by students registered under the standard plan (Scientific-Humanist) but not by students doing the Technical option, so three students were receiving more detailed contents on citizenship. These students agreed that it is positive that classes have included topics on the history of political elections in Chile, the process of voting, political parties, among others. In words of the teacher:

I wanted to cover these topics in politics, voting and elections, we have to elect a new President of Chile this year, most of the students will be of full age by October, so I would like them to know what voting means. These topics are not included in the program for this year, but we are encouraged to be flexible, right? So, I adapted the program to what students need. (Fanny, teacher, PSS)

In the view of students, classes have been engaging and participatory because the teacher uses audio-visual technology and different textbooks. In classroom observations, I saw lessons that encouraged teamwork. Students were grouped into four or five to discuss a text provided by the teacher and to present their analysis to their classmates. The topic was about political parties in Chile and participation of citizens in electing authorities. Media and presentation in PowerPoint were also used. From the evidence, I argue that these particular students established relationships between concepts of voting, participation in a political community covered in CSRN and definitions of citizenship and citizen.

To finish this section, I present a short section aimed at summarising teachers’ opinions about the Proposal 2013 to be implemented in the near future. As I already explained, they had the opportunity to participate in workshops run by MINEDUC. The main opinions were:

- The initiative of encouraging the teaching of citizenship is valued as ‘positive’. Students need the knowledge and experience to become more responsible people and specially to act critically in society.

- There is concern about non-specialised teachers working these topics. One interviewee mentioned that during one of the workshops he attended, teachers of HGSC opined that it could be counter-productive to allow someone not well trained on citizenship topics to

teach them. As he expresses: ‘…as a teacher of HGSC I have the knowledge and expertise to teach these topics, but not all my colleagues. If there is no a particular subject for citizenship, then it is evident that it should be covered in HGSC’. (Miguel, teacher, PFBS) - Therefore, it is needed to train more teachers of other subjects specifically on citizenship knowledge. MINEDUC, in teachers’ opinions, has to invest more resources in training if it is expecting to improve CE in schools.

- Time constraints are mentioned in two ways. Concerning a training process on CE, it takes time to get well-trained in the matter, and it implies to attend several workshops. Teachers usually struggle with time constraints as their responsibilities include lessons planning, teaching in the classroom, meetings with the school staff and colleagues, attending parents and guardians, continuous training in their own fields, among others. Also, teachers find it difficult to cover all subjects’ contents throughout the year. Their concern was that they were adapting PP proposed by MINEDUC, slightly changing them as due to workload there was no time to create their own ones. The Proposal 2013 would imply the need for more time spent on the design of specific PP. An opinion of the teacher explains this time constraint:

For practical reasons, I would prefer one subject to cover contents on citizenship. Because when we talk about teaching contents in more than one subject, you have to trust your colleague. Several times s/he does not have time to cover all that is written in the curriculum and PP; if s/he finds the time by the end of the year s/he will organise a few activities to teach citizenship. (Miguel, teacher, PFBS)

Teachers from the PSS had not participated in the workshops mentioned above when I interviewed them. However, they shared similar opinions to that of their colleagues. CE should be considered as a particular subject, with a focus on civics and knowledge on political participation. Teachers from the PSS think that a new Proposal on CE will help students to learn more about citizenship, but it would be difficult to coordinate all the different contents to be taught, specifically regarding the design of PP.

Students’ opinions regarding CE converge with what teachers comprehend about CE in terms of being a defined syllabus/subject to be included in the curriculum. Their views on how CE is developed within the school is discussed in the following section.