Active Citizenship
Enabling young people to take part in democracy through active citizenship
What is Active Citizenship?
Democratic societies are more likely to thrive when there is an active and engaged citizenry who contribute positively to political and public life as voters, community members and informed, active citizens.
Active citizenship is a pedagogical approach to give pupils a practical experience of democratic action. It involves pupils in learning how to take part with others in activities designed to make a positive difference to the world around them. This might involve taking action on a community issue like homelessness or a global issue such as climate change.
Active citizenship involves pupils in:
- Research of an issue on which to take action
- Planning and undertaking a course of action taken designed to address the issue and make a positive different, often in a team
- Reflecting, evaluating and sharing the impact.
Active citizenship is also a requirement of the Citizenship National Curriculum and GCSE Citizenship Studies.
- Read more about how teachers approach active citizenship in Issue 49 of the ACT journal
- Download our KS2 ACTive Citizenship toolkit for teachers and pupils
- Download our KS3 ACTive Citizenship toolkit for teachers and students
- Download our KS4 ACTive Citizenship toolkit for teachers and students
“The best Citizenship education empowers children and enables them to really understand and experience what it means to be an active citizen who is prepared to speak out, challenge inequality and make a positive difference in their communities and the wider world”
Liz Moorse Chief Executive, ACT
“Active Citizenship leads to positive outcomes, which taken together build students’ knowledge, skills and sense of agency”
Yaqub Halil Researcher
