12 dec Active Citizenship Education in Europe: Why It Matters More Than Ever for Teachers

What does it mean to be a citizen today? Is citizenship simply a legal status, or is it something we do, through participation, care, protest, dialogue, and responsibility? Across Europe, these questions are becoming increasingly urgent. In times of political polarization, social inequality, digital misinformation, and environmental crises, schools are asked to do more than transmit knowledge: they are expected to help young people become active, responsible, and engaged citizens.

We highlight one of the key insights from the chapter “Active Citizenship Education in Europe: Development, Definitions and Values”, authored by Rik Huizinga, Ingrid Molderez, and Electra Petracou (The Netherlands, Belgium, and Greece). The chapter appears in Active Citizenship Education: A Training Guide for Teachers, edited by Vana Chiou, which will soon be freely available online to all those interested in teaching active citizenship.

From Citizenship to Active Citizenship

Citizenship has never been a fixed or neutral concept. Historically, it has been shaped by struggles for inclusion, equality, and justice. Civil rights movements, labor struggles, feminist activism, and anti-colonial movements all contributed to expanding who counts as a citizen and what rights citizenship entails.

Traditionally, citizenship has often been understood as a legal status tied to the nation-state, granting civil, political, and social rights. However, since the late 20th century, this understanding has increasingly been challenged. Simply having rights does not automatically mean that people are able, or willing, to use them.

This is where the idea of active citizenship emerges. Active citizenship emphasizes participation in social, civic, and political life beyond voting alone. It refers to citizens as agents, not just recipients of rights. Active citizens engage in their communities, question injustice, collaborate with others, and take responsibility for shaping society.

For teachers, this shift is crucial. Education for citizenship is no longer only about teaching how political systems work; it is about enabling students to practice democracy, develop confidence, and understand their role in a complex, interconnected world.

Active Citizenship and the European Context

Within the European Union, active citizenship has become a key concept in education policy. European citizenship aims to complement national citizenship by fostering a sense of belonging based on shared democratic values such as freedom, equality, human rights, and the rule of law.

EU institutions increasingly emphasize citizenship education as a way to strengthen democracy, social cohesion, and intercultural understanding. Active citizenship is seen as a means to empower young people, encourage participation, and counter disengagement from political and social institutions.

At the same time, this policy emphasis raises important questions for educators:

• Who defines what “good” citizenship looks like?
• How do we avoid turning active citizenship into a checklist of expected behaviors?
• How can schools encourage participation without shifting social responsibilities entirely onto individuals?

These tensions are very real in classrooms and teachers are often the ones navigating them.

What Is Active Citizenship Education?

Across Europe, citizenship education is understood as a broad educational field aimed at helping students become informed, responsible, and engaged members of society. Active citizenship education places particular emphasis on knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

In practice, this means supporting students to:

• Understand political, social, economic, and legal systems
• Develop skills such as critical thinking, dialogue, debate, and collaboration
• Build confidence, autonomy, and a sense of political efficacy

Active citizenship is not about pushing students toward specific political views. Rather, it is about helping them understand complexity, respect diversity, and engage constructively with disagreement.

The Role of Values in Active Citizenship

At the heart of active citizenship lie values, i.e., principles that guide how individuals and societies decide what is important. Values shape how students interpret social issues, respond to injustice, and decide whether to act.

Research on values shows that those most closely linked to active citizenship include:

• Universalism (concern for equality, justice, and the environment)
• Benevolence (care for others and the common good)
• Self-direction (independent thinking and curiosity)

Importantly, values are not abstract ideas disconnected from daily life. They are linked to emotions, goals, and choices. Students may value fairness, for example, but only act on it when confronted with an issue that challenges them such as climate change, discrimination, or labor exploitation.

In the classroom, this opens powerful pedagogical opportunities. Asking students what they value, reflecting on tensions between values, and discussing real-life “anomalies” can help activate values and turn reflection into engagement.

Active Citizenship Education Across Europe: Shared Challenges

Comparative research across several European countries reveals that while citizenship education is gaining attention, implementation remains uneven.

Teachers across Europe face similar challenges:

• Students may feel disconnected from politics or distrust institutions
• Teachers may lack training or confidence to address controversial topics
• Citizenship education often receives less time and fewer resources than core subjects
• Fear of appearing “political” can lead schools to avoid meaningful discussion
• Educational inequalities can deepen when schools are given freedom without sufficient support

These challenges are not signs of failure. On the contrary, they reflect the complexity of teaching citizenship in diverse, rapidly changing societies.

Opportunities for Teachers and Schools

Despite these challenges, active citizenship education also offers powerful opportunities.

For teachers, it allows:

• Connecting curriculum content to real-world issues students care about
• Valuing diversity as a resource for dialogue and learning
• Encouraging critical thinking, empathy, and solidarity
• Amplifying student voice and participation in school life

Citizenship education can be meaningfully integrated into subjects such as history, geography, languages, philosophy, and ethics. Digital tools and EU initiatives like Erasmus+ also provide opportunities for collaboration beyond the classroom.

Most importantly, teachers play a crucial role as facilitators, mentors, and role models—not by providing answers, but by creating safe spaces for dialogue, reflection, and action.

Why Active Citizenship Education Matters Now

In a time when democratic norms cannot be taken for granted, active citizenship education is not an optional extra. It is a cornerstone of democratic resilience. Schools are among the few spaces where young people from diverse backgrounds can learn to listen, disagree respectfully, and imagine shared futures.

Active citizenship is not something students simply acquire, but something they practice. And teachers are central to making that practice possible.

By embracing the complexity of citizenship education, teachers help students not only understand the world as it is, but also imagine and work toward, the world as it could be.

Written by Ingrid Molderez, KU Leuven