Negotiating the Politics of Citizenship Education

The author examines long-standing debates between those proponents of civic education and social studies who hope to reproduce the dominant society by emphasizing its cultural heritage and those who emphasize critical thought and social reconstruction. Careful not to dichotomize the various ideological positions in the social studies and civic education debates, Ross explores the belief structures that influence advocates of particular curriculum reforms on a continuum. He argues for deliberation as an important unifying goal among those educators who value a plurality of views. Deliberation, Ross asserts, allows pluralism to be beneficial and not divisive and destructive.