Forming Learners Through Citizenship Education to Recognise and Counter Lawlessness in their Surroundings

Abstract

Due to various conditions, countries such as Venezuela, Nigeria, and South Africa suffer from lawlessness (disregard of norms and rules of society) today, threatening their social fabric. It is contended on the basis of the situation in South Africa that citizenship education is arguably a suitable vehicle (in combination with, for instance, religion education, moral education, and forgiveness education) for offering tolerance, forgiveness, hospitality, and reconciliation education in schools, all of these as means for counteracting lawless (deviant, errant) behaviour. Thus far, reflection on citizenship education has, however, been characterised by conceptual uncertainty, controversy, and a wide range of applications in practice. The paper reports on theoretical interpretive-constructivist research. This research is aimed at the question of how citizenship education could be employed to form (equip, educate) young people so that they can be able to display morally justifiable behaviour and recognise and counteract lawlessness wherever they encounter it in their lifeworld.

https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.89.1.2458

Opsomming

Te wyte aan verskeie omstandighede is die burgers van ‘n hele aantal lande regoor die wêreld - insluitend Venezuela, Nigerië en Suid-Afrika – aan die een of ander vorm van wetteloosheid blootgestel (die verontagsaming van die gangbare wette of norme van die land en die samelewing), en dit kan uiters nadelig wees vir die welsyn van die samelewing. Op grond van ‘n ontleding van die situasie in Suid-Afrika word aangevoer dat burgerskapsonderwys - in kombinasie met byvoorbeeld godsdiensonderwys, morele onderwys en vergifnisonderwys - ‘n bruikbare instrument in skole kan wees om wetteloosheid (afwykende en normverontagsamende gedrag) teen te werk. Tot dusver was die besinning oor burgerskapsonderwys egter gekenmerk deur konseptuele onsekerheid, meningsverskille en ‘n wye verskeidenheid toepassings in die praktyk. Dié artikel doen verslag oor teoretiese interpretivisties-konstruktivistiese navorsing. Hierdie navorsing is gerig op die vraag hoe burgerskapsonderwys ingespan sou kon word om jongmense te vorm (toe te rus, op te voed) om hulle in staat te stel tot moreel-regverdigbare gedrag, die herkenning van wetteloosheid en die bestryding daarvan waar hulle dit ook al in hul leefwêreld teëkom.