1. Section 5: PowerPoint presentation notes pages
Post-16 Citizenship Support Programme Training Plan:
Section 5: PowerPoint presentation notes pages
Introduction to post-16 citizenship and AS/A level Citizenship Studies(AQA Specification)
The following 24 slides in this presentation can be used throughout the training session. They are referred to on the programme. However, you may well need to select slides to fit into the programme you negotiate with your contact at the college.
You can personalise this opening slide by adding the date, name of college and the name(s) of the trainers.

2. Aims of the session
To clarify the aims and purpose of citizenship education To raise awareness of the benefits of citizenship activities for students and their organisations To illustrate some active techniques for AQA AS/A Citizenship Studies provision To examine the relevance of citizenship in relation to other priorities and government educational initiatives
Ask participants whether these aims fit with their expectations of the day, and refer back to the aims during the evaluation session.

3. What is citizenship?
Citizenship involves:
the investigation of topical, controversial, social and political issues, leading to
young people’s responsible action to influence the issue, for the benefit of the community.
It brings new knowledge and skills about our political system, and
it encourages young people to form considered opinions.
Citizenship enables young people to use their voice, within both their community and their learning organisation.
This slide summarises the main components of citizenship, i.e. that it deals with real, topical and often controversial issues, that it involves responsible action based on knowledge and understanding, and that it enables young people to develop a view and to be heard. Citizenship does involve the teaching about democracy, although students are encouraged to consider whether democratic principles are always adhered to.
The three Crick principles, which participants may have heard of, are:
Social and moral responsibility
Community involvement
Political literacy
The last of these is the one that causes most confusion. Political literacy is the ability to apply knowledge and skills together in action to change things. A useful analogy is with literacy itself. When a child is taught to read, he/she has a set of skills and can choose what to read and when. Political literacy enables people to make their own choices about what issues they choose to take action on.

4. Citizenship is not the same as…..
Lifeskills/PSHE Citizenship looks at the public issues rather than the personal ones Volunteering or charity fund-raising Citizenship develops critical understanding as well as action Nationality Citizenship encourages existing, new and would-be citizens to get involved and take an interest in topical and controversial issues
To emphasise the distinctiveness of citizenship, it may be necessary to clarify further.
The three areas (Lifeskills/PSHE, volunteering and fund-raising, and nationality) are all commonly confused with citizenship education.
One of the later activities will unpick the confusion between PSHE and Citizenship, and a clear distinction is printed in the activity notes.
Many schools and colleges have volunteering programmes and fund-raising events. These are laudable and can support citizenship education, but are not sufficient on their own, since they do not always enable critical questioning of the actions of the charities or the voluntary bodies.
Because applicants for British citizenship are taught for the citizenship test, there is often confusion with citizenship education, which is aimed at all residents whether British or not. The whole issue of the test, is an interesting citizenship issue for debate.

5. QCDA Guidance and the three essential opportunities
Post-16 citizenship should provide three essential opportunities for learning through action:
To identify, investigate and think critically about citizenship issues, problems or events of concern to them, AND
Decide on and take part in follow-up action where appropriate, AND
Reflect on, recognise and review their citizenship learning.
These three essential opportunities are part of a framework for citizenship learning included in the QCA Guidance (Play your part. Post-16 citizenship, QCA 2004)
The framework also provides possible learning objectives and examples of citizenship actions that would be appropriate for this age group.
The guidance pack provides advice on getting started, planning provision, setting up a programme and assessment. There are also case studies of citizenship activity taken from a variety of post-16 settings.
The guidance can be downloaded from

6. Is it real citizenship? Feedback
Case study A: Yes, a good example where students find out about a citizenship issue and take some action Case study B: No, not as it stands. It involves no understanding of policy issues and no action to improve the situation in the future. It does show real commitment that could be built on Case study C: No, it is not citizenship, but a very worthwhile fund-raising activity. If the young people found out about the social and political aspects of the disaster, it would be. Case study D: Yes, young people engage with their peers on a matter of local policy and make a report for the council Case study E: No, unless as part of the rest of the course, the students examined public policy on the care of older people, and applied this learning to the project
This slide is a summary of Handout 5, which you could give out to participants.
This activity usually produces considerable disagreement, with particularly string views being expressed about Case study B. Many staff think that students-led activity based on real emotion is essential for citizenship action. While this may be the case, the actual action described does nothing to prevent similar accidents from happening. However, if young people also campaigned for greater safety on the road, then the activity would constitute real citizenship.

7. Mind gym Arguer Counter-arguer Observer Scores
One mark for a relevant point in the argument
Two marks for a reason to support that point
This slide may be used to remind the small groups of the three roles and the scoring system. Since the activity is simply used to re-invigorate participants after lunch, there is not need to take feedback or scores.

8. Four principles of post-16 citizenship
Active learning
Community involvement
Youth-led action
Real, topical and controversial issues
This slide could be used on its own if time is short. The eight following slides are provided in case additional information is required on each principle.

9. What is active learning?
Opposite of passive learning
Learner’s own involvement in the process of gaining, and in the construction of, knowledge
Involves new experiences (doing and observing)
Involves dialogue (with self and others)
Requires interaction with others
NOT necessarily ‘physical movement’, but active brain engagement with the issues
It involves good briefing and de-briefing to clarify learning
This slide and the next (the active learning cycle) summarise active learning.
Passive learning is often characterised as the ‘empty vessel’ view of the learner, when the learner is an empty jar to be filled with knowledge by the teacher. In active learning, the teacher recognises that all learners come with existing knowledge and skills, some misunderstandings, and a variety of experiences. Structured activities are used to help learners clarify and build on their existing knowledge and skills.

10. Active learning cycle Active Learning Cycle Processes and Skills Do
Apply (futures)
Processes and Skills
Reflect
(facts and feelings)
The stages of the learning cycle represent different kinds of learning.
Following an activity (the ‘do’ stage, which should be clearly explained or planned), the activity is debriefed.
Reflection: The learners are first asked simply to reflect on what happened in the activity in order to elicit facts and feelings.
Questions can include (in this order):
How do you feel at the end of this activity?
Why do you feel that way?
What happened in the activity?
Who did what?
What did you do?
Review: During the next stage, learners come out of role (if the activity was a simulation) and consider what they have found out from the activity.
Questions can include:
How is this situation similar to others?
What parallels can be drawn?
What have we learned about situations like this?
What new skills and knowledge have you learned?
Apply: Finally, learners can be asked to consider how this learning can be applied to a future situation.
What skills and knowledge will you need in a new situation?
How can you acquire these?
What would you do differently next time?
How could the situation be changed?
Review
(findings)

11. Examples
Individual engagement with material Paired discussion work Small group interactions Large group exploratory activities
‘Quick thinks’ Case studies Card sorts In-trays Working to a brief Design-and-make Role play Simulation Games Investigations
‘Quick thinks’: a way of bringing some interaction into a PowerPoint presentation (see next slide)
Case studies: used as a way of illustrating an approach, for discussion
Card sorts: such as diamond-9, priorities, true/false, agree/disagree, clock patience (example in Agree to disagree: Citizenship and controversial issues, page 23)
In-trays: piles of memos to be sorted and prioritised, as if in an in-tray. This exercise can also take the form of an in-box
Working to a brief: participants act as consultants who have been set a task with a time limit and budget
Design-and-make: a small group activity that involves solving a problem through a designed artefact
Role play: can be two, three or four person role play in which participants act out situations from a particular point of view given on a role card (example of a four-person role play in Reality check: Citizenship through simulation, page 11)
Simulation: a constructed replication of a real or imaginary situation, event or issue. It is simplified to bring out the key points and aims to develop greater understanding of real life. There are many different simulation models, but they involve groups taking on roles within them. (See Reality check: Citizenship through simulation)
Games: these activities always involve competition where there are winners and losers. They include board games, card games, war games or computer games.
Investigations: participants carry out their own research on an issue, whether through surveys, interviews, focus group, documents or web research

12. Community involvement
Examples of community involvement: Environmental projects Campaigns Youth forums Intergenerational activities School and college linking Events such as conferences, consultations, seminars
There are many more examples of community involvement. However, citizenship projects always involve:
finding out about a social or political issue
taking action to bring about some change or to prevent unwanted change
Other types of community work, such as volunteering, mentoring, fund-raising, litter-picking etc. only become citizenship when they fulfil BOTH of these requirements

13. Community involvement: good practice
Working with community partners is central, but there are important principles to bear in mind:
Clear purpose and timeline
Negotiated responsibilities
Health and safety/CRB checks
Young people need support, while allowing them autonomy. Senior staff at the college will need to know about the work going on
The planning stage is very important, so that students are clear about what they are trying to achieve and how
It is important to review learning and extent of success
You may find the following points useful:
Good practice in working with community partners
Be clear about the purpose of the partnership: what will young people learn and how will this develop their citizenship knowledge, skills and understanding?
Consider mutual benefits – what will the partners get out of the arrangement? Education may not be their main reason for existence, but there could be spin-off benefits that will help them ‘sell’ the partnership to their managers. For example, their own staff could gain development opportunities.
Negotiate the extent of the involvement and make sure that both sides agree what will happen, when, how long for and with how many learners.
If community partners are to visit your organisation make sure that they have all necessary information about timings, venue, parking, etc, that they are met and provided with refreshment, that they are introduced and supported while in the organisation and that they are thanked afterwards.
Consider all the legal, health and safety implications of the arrangements. This can include Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks, where required, either for community partners or for the young people themselves. Parents and senior managers may need to be kept informed of activities taking place off-site.
Discuss with partners the principles of your citizenship work, and ensure that they will support these: equal opportunities, giving young people autonomy and responsibility, treating everyone with respect, listening to young people’s views, encouraging debate, supporting learning
After the activities have taken place, ensure that young people have a chance to review and reflect on their learning. This can involve members of the community group, who may be able to provide testimony or other evidence of the knowledge and skills gained by the learners.

14. Youth-led projects
Facilitators should support youth-led projects while not taking over
It is important to involve everyone and not just a vocal minority
Everyone should have a role and feel valued
The young people will need training in the skills required
People should work to their strengths, while also pushing themselves to try out more challenging activities (e.g. chairing meetings)
Time will be needed at the end for reflection and review
Celebrations of achievement and recognition from senior staff are important
Additional information about the principles behind youth-led action can be found in Listening to learners (LSIS 2009), where the Ladder of Participation is discussed. Roger Hart* has suggested that there are eight steps (or degrees) of participation. These are as follows:
8) Young people-initiated, shared decisions with adults
This happens when projects or programs are initiated by young people and decision-making is shared between young people and adults. These projects empower young people while at the same time enabling them to access and learn from the life experience and expertise of adults.
7) Young people-initiated and directed
This step is when young people initiate and direct a project or program. Adults are involved only in a supportive role.
 6) Adult-initiated, shared decisions with young people
This occurs when projects or programmes are initiated by adults but the decision-making is shared with the young people.
 5) Consulted and informed
In this situation, the young people are informed about how their input will be used and the outcomes of the decisions made by adults. Sometimes young people give advice on projects or programs designed and run by adults.
 4) Assigned but informed
This is where young people are assigned a specific role and informed about how and why they are being involved. 
3) Tokenism
Sometimes young people appear to be given a voice, but in fact have little or no choice about what they do or how they participate.
2) Decoration
This happens when young people are used to help or "bolster" a cause in a relatively indirect way, although adults do not pretend that the cause is inspired by young people.
 1) Manipulation
In this situation, adults use young people to support causes and pretend that the causes are inspired by young people.
*Children’s participation: from tokenism to citizenship, Roger A. Hart, Innocenti Essay 4, UNICEF International Child Development Centre, Florence 1992

15. Real, topical and controversial issues
Young people should select real issues of interest to them to investigate and take action on
Controversy should not be avoided
Students and staff need training in how to deal sensitively with controversial issues
(See ‘Agree to disagree: Citizenship and controversial issues’, available from LSN)
Many staff feel uncomfortable about the prospect of raising or encouraging students to investigate controversial issues.
However, there are strategies available to help staff, and training available from LSIS/LSN. Learning to manage differences of opinion in an acceptable way in a free and democratic society is a main aim of citizenship education.
The main points to remember are:
Within a democracy, people can legitimately disagree
There are acceptable ways of dealing with disagreement
Views should be expressed in ways that are respectful and non-intimidating

16. Discussion of case studies
Which of the case studies best illustrate the four key features of post-16 citizenship: Active learning Community involvement Youth-led action Real, topical and controversial issues?
This discussion question can be displayed to help participants remember the key principles while they examine the six case studies.
They will work initially in pairs, examining three of the six case studies. After 45 minutes, they split up and make a new pair with someone who has examined the other three case studies. They then form a four for the next activity.

17. The Specification at a glance
AS Level Unit 1: Identity, Rights and Responsibilities
Key Questions and issues
What is a citizen? What does it mean to be British? How socially diverse is Britain?
Are we all equal citizens? Dealing with prejudice, discrimination and disadvantage.
What are my responsibilities and rights, and how are they supported?
The next four slides give an overview of GCE Citizenship Studies. Make yourself familiar with the AQA specification, particularly the active citizenship profile section. Most questions are likely to come from this section. The specification aims to provide a theoretical background and the implications of the theory.
This unit makes up 40% of the AS and 20% of the A level. Assessment is by a 1 hour 15 minute examination paper with source-based and mini-essay questions.

18. AS Level Unit 2: Democracy, Active Citizenship and Participation
Key Questions and issues
Who can make a difference? Who holds power in the UK? The citizen and political power.
How can I make a difference? Getting involved and working together to bring about change; becoming an informed, participating and active citizen.
Unit 2 comprises 60% of the AS and 30% of the A level. The 1 hour 30 minute examination paper includes a source-based question, a mini-essay and a structured question on active citizenship participation. Students bring their Active Citizenship Profile into the exam to use as source material.
Handout 19 is the active citizenship profile. There are three sections in the profile and each section needs to be completed by the students: preferably as soon as they begin the course but it depends on the tutors; once they are confident about the activity they can instruct their learners to work on it. This document must be a working document and should be filled in every week or after every session. See the Active Citizenship Profile for completing the sections (handout 19) .

19. A Level Unit 3: Power and Justice
Key Questions and issues
What is crime? The roles of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
What is justice? Judicial processes.
Who speaks on our behalf? Elections, representatives and citizens.
How is the UK governed?
Unit 3 makes up 25% of the A level. The 1 hour 30 minutes examination paper contains structured questions in two sections.

20. A Level Unit 4: Global Issues and Making a Difference
Key Questions and issues
Global Citizenship: universal human rights; conflict and it’s resolution; trade and environmental issues.
Active Citizenship: individuals and groups that make a difference (study of a pre-released topic)
Unit 4 makes up 25% of the A level and has a 1 hour 30 minute examination paper. This contains structured questions plus a source-based question on an active citizenship topic. The topic for each year, which may relate to any section(s) of the course, will be pre-released to enable students to undertake research on the background to the issues involved, the nature and roles of key players, and how change may be brought about to resolve issues.

21. Action planning
Discuss: Which approaches could we try here? What support would we need? What obstacles might we meet?
If the participants are ready for detailed action planning, they could use the form provided as Handout 15. However, it may be, if they are absolute beginners, that they need the opportunity to discuss these three questions at some length.
The groups should be ‘rainbow groups’ made up of pairs who have looked at different case studies of colleges which used differed approaches to citizenship.