Civics Education

A recent article published by Educational Leadership (Vol. 68 No. 6) mentioned an interesting study which found that Civics Education forms a core part of curriculum in top performing education systems around the world.  This study is conducted by a nonprofit research organisation based in Washington DC and they examined the differences in the content taught by nine countries[1] that have consistently done well on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).  One key finding of the one year research is that “in nearly all of the top-performing nations, the study of the arts, literature, history, geography, civics, reading, science, foreign language, and mathematics is compulsory.”

While Science and Mathematics are subjects that are deemed universally important, it is a pleasant surprise to see Civics as one of the key subjects being taught in top performing education systems.  Civics education, in its most general definition, includes the study and understanding of politics, governance, and more importantly, the responsibilities and rights of citizenship.  Why are such knowledge considered important and could the inclusion of such knowledge actually improve students’ grades and impart lifelong skills?

Good citizens make better politicians and better politicians create a more capable government body that makes for a stronger nation and the reinforcing cycle continues.  Even if the citizens do not eventually become politicians, their knowledge on the workings of the governance system, how it functions and the shortcomings of each system will enable them to make better choices when carrying out their duties as citizens.  These decisions are by no means easy to make and it is certainly not easy to acquire skills needed for these choices.  It will require strong analytical skills, critical thinking skills, evaluation skills, observation skills, memorization skills, just to name a few.   These skills can be applied to other disciplines as well and it is not surprising to see that students who have been receiving Civic education can do better in international assessments. 

Civic education provides our students with life-long skills that are needed not only as students but even as adults.  I believe this is the time for us to seriously look into our National curriculum and make the Civic Education and learning more meaningful for our students.  If other countries can provide students with a good Civic education and train them to be good citizens, while doing well in their studies, why can’t Singapore.  Moreover, would it help our country if we have more “Good Citizens”? 

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[1] The nine countries included Finland, Hong Kong (territory of China), South Korea, Canada, Japan, New Zealand; Australia, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.  Singapore, which has been scoring high in PISA ranking, is not included in this study.