Views

'A NEW VISION FOR CITIZENSHIP'
US-UK CONFERENCE

DAVID MILIBAND MP
MINISTER OF STATE FOR SCHOOL STANDARDS

WASHINGTON DC
21 NOVEMBER 2002

The title of this conference is daunting. It is hard enough to deliver on old and valuable visions of citizenship, never mind develop a new one. But the challenge is an important one. There are momentous changes going on in our world, and our vision of citizenship needs to reflect if not lead them.

In the UK, the desire to give modern meaning to the word citizenship runs through the heart of the Government's ambitions for the country:

We are committed to giving new meaning to the notion of economic citizenship, by building a more inclusive market economy, where more people benefit from economic growth
We know that social citizenship in a multicultural, multi-faith society can only be built on the basis of a clear social contract of rights and duties; citizenship is about what we hold in common, whatever our differences
And we believe that in an interdependent world, our citizenship and solidarity must stretch across borders, notably across Europe where we are committed partners in the European Union, but also across the Atlantic and more widely to tackle pressing issues of development and environmental sustainability.

Let me address directly our relationship across the Atlantic. You will know that our Prime Minister believes that Britain's relationship with the United States is deep, serious and valuable, founded on common values and shared interests as well as historical links and friendship. My own experience of living and studying in the US has taught me never to underestimate its diversity, its dynamism and its determination. To the extent that this conference helps us better learn from each other and understand each other, it can only do good.

Citizenship in Perspective

Of course, we approach the issue of citizenship on the basis of very different histories. To me, this matters. Your nation was born out of the search for citizenship - for personal liberty and religious tolerance. Your language of 'inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' - I had to learn to recite that at Junior High School in Boston - provides a stark and telling benchmark for discussion of citizenship.

In my country, our tradition is different. Parliament, not a written constitution, is supreme. There have not been ceremonies of initiation for new citizens. We have not, until this year, taught citizenship in schools, but instead restricted ourselves to teaching obedience to the law, which is valuable but not sufficient. We did not, until the 1998 Human Rights Act, have a written statement of individual rights for the citizen. The second chamber of our Parliament still has 92 members, Lords sitting there by virtue of birth - but that is another story for another time.

But what is striking to me is that despite our different histories, we have a common agenda today - our common desire to promote the development of self-confident, active citizens, responsible for themselves but also ready to shape the future. In that we face many challenges.

Alexis de Tocqueville said that "private life in democratic times is so busy, so excited, so full of wishes and of work that hardly any energy or leisure remains to each individual for public life". That was 165 years ago - before the car never mind television, video or the internet.

Today, that commitment to public life is more necessary than ever. And in that endeavour, there is no other place to start than in schools. Schools are where we do more than prepare the next generation for adult life. We delineate our values, we foster responsibility, we build inclusive or divisive communities. As the Chief Rabbi of the UK has said: "to defend a country, you need an army, but to advance a civilisation, you need schools." So the responsibility is immense and the challenge serious.

The UK Approach

Let me set out how we in the UK are approaching the task. I want to highlight five aspects of our approach. What we are trying to do is make the education of young people as active citizens a central part of the delivery of high standards of teaching and learning.

First, we start at the beginning: we will never foster a sense of self-respect and mutual respect unless our schooling systems exude through every pore a commitment to develop the unique potential of every child. There is no greater threat to citizenship than children dropping out of school.

I understand there is now bipartisan support in the US for a series of measures to guarantee higher standards of basic education in your schools. In the UK, we cannot boast bipartisanship, but the Government's literacy and numeracy programmes have broken the back of mass underachievement in primary schools, and we are committed to raise aspirations as well as achievement in the secondary sector.

In international comparisons, the UK fares quite well in terms of achievement at the top, and average achievement overall - above the US in the latter case. But we are actually behind you when it comes to inequality of educational achievement. Our moral, educational and practical imperative is to narrow that gap.

Second, a commitment to active learning, whatever the age group, whatever the subject. Education needs the brain of the student - switched on and kept on - as well as the passion of the teacher. Education is about the transmission of knowledge and the firing of imagination, and the most effective learning takes place when both are done together. In this sense successful teachers are not simply charismatic, persuasive and expert presenters; rather they put to students challenging cognitive and sometimes social tasks, and they teach students how to rise to them.

When creativity is at the heart of the learning process it contributes to the soft skills that are central to active citizenship; group work, communication, improvisation, problem-solving and the management of risk and uncertainty. In the process, the drive to raise standards, promote citizenship, and vice versa. Active learning through discussion and debate empowers pupils in the broadest sense - to achieve more at school and to prepare for active involvement in the community. For us this has particular relevance in the early years of secondary education, when too many young people turn off and tune out.

Third, there is the commitment to citizenship studies. In this the UK is taking its first steps this year. In September, citizenship became a new part of the national curriculum, ensuring entitlement for all 11 to 16 year olds in England. According to this blueprint there are three closely linked elements of Citizenship: social and moral responsibility, political literacy, community involvement.

Each is a crucial building block in equipping young people to play their full part in society today and to face the future with confidence. The flexible programme of study sets out what pupils will learn. For instance they will learn about: legal and human rights; the electoral system and the importance of voting; the role of voluntary organisations in the economy and the significance of the media in society - to mention a few. Schools have the freedom to decide the best way to deliver this on the ground. We need more mock elections and student councils.

Over the last two years, £27 million has been made available to enable schools to buy resources and train teachers. For example, 350 new specialist citizenship teachers and a further 200 Advanced Skills Teachers for citizenship will help to cement the excellent practice going on in many schools. It is a big step for us, and I am hopeful of the results.

Fourth, a commitment to making schools hubs of the community outside school hours. We are promoting 'extended schools', similar to the 'full service' models here in the US, which offer a wider range of services, including health and social care.

This is an exciting development in education. Extended schools have the potential to remove barriers to learning, to enhance that learning, and to transform lives. They are about an integrated approach for our children and their families. It's not about moving from the core role of schools as places of learning for our children, but about recognising the wider role that schools can, and often do, play in our communities.

There is also a simple point. No business would leave its assets idle for more than half the year; schools should not make that mistake. That is why we are putting increased emphasis on community use of school facilities.

Fifth, enabling pupils to make a positive contribution to their communities. The Government is committed to developing every young person as an active citizen. Millennium Volunteers is the Government's flagship initiative offering young people aged 16-24 the opportunity to volunteer but we are piloting its extension to secondary school pupils under the 'Active Citizens in Schools' initiative. It aims to develop the volunteering habit early so that young people sustain their voluntary activity beyond school.

Volunteering not only supports communities but supports our key economic goals by enabling individuals to achieve potential in their initial education and by fostering the development of people's skills throughout their lives. Volunteering crosses boundaries in ways that other activity often does not. It can empower the disempowered, and enable the disadvantaged and marginalised to boost their confidence and feel included within their communities. There has always been a strong tradition in the UK of the use of outdoor and recreational experiences to build what used to be called "character". Outward Bound is important in both our countries. We need to build on it.

And finally, schools cannot do all this on their own. Schools can be the hub of civic society but never a substitute for it. Families, communities, businesses, universities, all have their part to play in showing to the next generation the challenges and achievements of the current generation. It is outside school as well as inside that we find the role models who help children when they are down; it is outside school that we can broaden the horizons of children beyond what they find at home; it is outside schools that we can find the transformative partners who can help re-shape what goes on inside schools.

These partnerships are the missing link in too many communities. They are the key to inclusion in the mainstream, and that is why we in the UK are working so hard to make them part of school life.

Conclusion

The British government was elected in 1997 with the promise that its top three priorities would be "education, education and education". The reason is simple: you cannot solve every problem of crime, employment or health by getting education right, but without getting education right you will solve none of them.

Five years on there is progress. Our students are achieving more and enjoying richer learning experiences. We have more teachers, better paid, better supported, teaching more pupils in better facilities. It is encouraging. We are catching up. Our system, always outstanding for the minority at the top, is getting better for the majority in the middle and at the bottom.

There is a lesson here, directly relevant to our discussions. Citizenship depends not on exclusivity but universality. Unless everyone plays by the rules, then they are undermined. Unless respect is shown to all it will be valued by none. Unless we all contribute we encourage the free riders. Unless everyone shares the burden then it becomes too large.

We therefore face a choice. On the one hand, misunderstanding, intolerance, apathy and the result polarisation. On the other hand dialogue, respect, engagement with the result - citizenship.

Fifty years ago the British philosopher TH Marshall defined three dimensions of citizenship: civil, political and social. Together, they define the basics of a strong community of enabling government, dynamic economy and strong civic society.

In a time of interdependence, when all our lives, from the economy to the environment, traffic to terrorism, depend on the actions of others as well as ourselves, we need to promote dialogue, respect and engagement. I know that this conference will contribute to that process. I look forward to learning the lessons of your deliberations. And I thank you for listening to me today.