Civic republicanism and civic education

In the last three decades civic republican political thought has witnessed a revival both in political science and, increasingly, as a philosophy able to inform, guide and shape public life. More recently, core civic republican commitments have found expression in policy formulations and curricular documents for civic education in a number of Western democratic nations. Centred on the teaching of education for citizenship, these programmes of civic education have made use of civic republican language, including that of civic obligations, the common good, civic virtue and deliberative political structures. But what do these terms mean and are they understood in a clear and uniform way within contemporary civic republican theory? This book presents a timely and original exploration of these themes. Its aim is to provide those interested in civic education with a clear and accessible overview of the field of civic republican political theory, whilst raising critical questions and issues which result from the application of civic republican ideas to the education of citizens in schools.