What Do Teachers Mean by Good Citizenship?

What Do Teachers Mean by Good Citizenship?

This chapter discusses teacher perceptions on what constitutes being a good citizen. It will fall into three main parts: a very brief recapitulation of methodological considerations, an account of questionnaire findings relevant to teacher perceptions on what constitutes good citizenship, and a

much more substantial section highlighting the findings of the interview data. The quantitative and qualitative data convincingly reflect each other. Put very briefly, our data strongly suggests that for our teachers good citizens are identified as individuals who have a high level of concern for the welfare of others, who conduct themselves in a strongly moral and ethical manner, who are very conscious of their community obligations, and who participate in the community within which they live. They characteristically bring to their dealings with others both tolerance of others’ opinions and views and an acceptance of diversity within society. Among primary school

teachers there is little evidence of citizenship as directed to the political sphere. There is some evidence among secondary school teachers of citizenship as bearing upon matters of a more ostensibly political nature. But common to all our teachers is the sense that good citizenship is

primarily about meeting the obligations we stand under towards fellow members of a community.