ACT Research
Citizenship education has a unique role on the National Curriculum as it teaches about life beyond the school gates. It demonstrates the life skills required to navigate laws, democratically participate, understand the economy and tackle injustice. A good grounding in Citizenship education may produce a more tolerant, cohesive and connected society.
For more than two decades, ACT has been promoting citizenship education in schools across the UK. Our goal is to ensure every child in every school receives high quality citizenship education so they can play an active part in developing a more inclusive and fair democratic society.
To influence change in the classroom, and at a national level, we are committed to research-informed best practice when producing our learning materials, CPD events and policy recommendations.
National Citizenship Education Study
ACT is committed to research-informed best practice
ACT is working with Middlesex University on an innovative national research project to evaluate the impact of Citizenship education in schools. This will allow us to identify and promote best practice going forward, and it will help participating schools to evaluate their own Citizenship and Personal Development provision.
Read about the National Citizenship Education Study on the link below.
Young people and citizenship education
Young people and citizenship education: The impact of Citizenship on young people’s democratic engagement and participation
Working with academics at Nottingham Trent University and Royal Holloway, University of London, this project aims to survey a diverse sample of 16-19 year-olds through an online questionnaire. Working with schools, colleges and universities across the UK, we will record a broad and diverse range of young people’s voices. The survey closes at midnight, 20th December 2024. To support educationalists, we provide a short PowerPoint to give context to students.
Hit the button below to find out more.
Active Citizenship: Guidance for teachers
ACT has produced new guidance for teachers, Teaching Active Citizenship, as part of our ongoing commitment to building and disseminating the professional knowledge base of Citizenship teachers. The guidance has been co-constructed with teachers and researchers to distil principles and practical advice about what constitutes an effective pedagogy for active citizenship.
More about our research work
One of ACT’s objectives is to promote research into citizenship education. Below, we share some of our own research projects, alongside some other resources that may be of interest to Citizenship teachers.
