Mothers' Perceptions of Citizenship, Practices for Developing Citizenship Conscience of Their Children and Problems They Encountered.
Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: Family plays an important role in the development of citizenship awareness of children. The purpose of the present study is to figure out the citizenship perceptions of mothers, their practices for developing citizenship conscience of their children and to explore the problems they have encountered. In this study, critical case sampling method has been employed to collect data. The study was conducted in 2008 in a primary school where children from low and middle socio-economic levels were educated. The data of the study were gathered from 29 mothers through semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that the majority of mothers perceived as a person who accepts the values and ethics of the society and defined this person as a good citizen. While most of the mothers declared that they taught the mainstream moral norms and values to their children at home, only a few mothers stated that they informed their children in political literacy at home. Additionally, mothers stated that they faced with some problems due to economic conditions, educational issues, social environment, and communication instruments while they were enriching their children's citizenship awareness. This study suggests that mothers ought to be educated about active citizenship and they should be encouraged to participate in the learning activities in schools.Key WordsCitizenship, Citizenship Education, Family, Mother, Elementary Education.Citizenship education is learning process which continues through whole life and in all aspects of life. Citizenship is learned not only at schools, but also at home, peer groups, and mass-communication environments.(BIrzea, 2000; Veldhuis, 1997). Individuals' capacity to become an active citizen mostly depend on their social and moral values that they have gained in the society, political literacy, and community involvement abilities (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority [QCA], 1998). Family is one of the most important institutions where the perception of citizenship is developed and formed. Therefore, family has a vital role as a social model and as the source of information for children in their citizenship education (Halstead, 1999; Hess & Torney, 2006; Ichilov, 1988). Regarding this fact, the citizenship perception and citizenship awareness of the family plays a significant role in rising citizenship awareness of the children.There are several studies in the literature which confirm that the citizenship perception and citizenship awareness of the family have effect on the formation of the children's citizenship awareness. The moral values of the children show a close similarity that of their parents in terms of children's social and moral development (Niemi & Jennings, 1991; Sears & Valentino, 1997). For instance, it is clearly observed in the societies that the children possess the value of welfare of the public if their families emphasize it, or they possess some skills such as empathy and altruism if their parents emphasize social responsibility in their families (Clary & Miller, 1986; cited in Flanagan, Bowes, Jonsson, Csapo, & Sheblonova, 1998). In terms of political literacy, it is confirmed that the political backgrounds of the children are well developed if their parents have awareness on the political issues and the children follow the agenda if their parents follow the news regularly (Niemi & Chapman, 1999). The attitudes or the opinions of the parents related to the political parties have an effect on their children's attitudes towards political parties as well (Jennings, Stoker, & Bowers, 2001; Niemi & Chapman, 1999; Sapiro, 2004). The political loyalty can be gained in the family during the early childhood period (Easton & Dennis, 1969 cited in Flanagan & Sherrod, 1998). In terms of community involvement, the socio-economic status of the families has a direct effect on the family member's active participation to the politics and voluntary activities (Foster-Rey, 2008). …
Author: Arife Figen Ersoy
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W242190253