Youth Perceptions and Conceptions of Citizenship: A Study of Jordanian Middle and High School Students

Journal of Social Studies Research, Fall 2009 by Alazzi, Khaled

This study was conducted in Jordanian schools to determine the perceptions of eighth and eleventh grade male students toward citizenship. Specifically, the study determined what students believe are the attributes of a good citizen; what activities they participate in that are related to good citizenship; and what citizenship activities they see themselves performing ten years later in life. The study results indicate that students' views of citizenship are grounded in community service or what we consider civic engagement, rather than in political engagement. For students, voting and holding political office belong in the future; their focus is on the present. Therefore, the concept of citizenship may be age-appropriate; that is, students function as citizens within the limitations of their age and their environment.

Introduction

Citizenship first and foremost refers to a citizen's rights and obligations in society, but also to practices that make individuals competent members of a community. However, the global context of citizenship is changing as the nation-state is changing, and the concept of citizenship, therefore, has become the focus of both political and academic discourses (Castles, 2006).

On November 11, 2005, a terrorist group blew up three tourist hotels in Amman, Jordan. A large people, mostly civilians, were killed. This action, along with the war with Iraq has brought a wave of patriotism to communities across Jordan. Images of the destruction and heroism of citizens filled the television screens in schools, homes, and businesses throughout the country. Jordanians responded to the tragedy and the war with amazing unity. After November 1 1th, people gave their time and money to help with the massive cleanup and physical and emotional healing that needed to take place. Young men and women put aside their jobs and careers to fight terrorism. Jordan was no longer just a nation of individuals or groups seeking support for its own needs. Jordanians were united under a common concern - the concern for fellow Jordanians who perished or who were injured in the tragedy of the hotels and the concern for friends and family members serving their country halfway around the world.

Undoubtedly, teenagers felt the impact of this tragedy along with their family members. In schools around the country, social studies teachers began to discuss a variety of topics related to the events. Teachers and students explored in their classrooms such topics as terrorism, the American invasion Iraq, Israel's oppression of Palestinians, and patriotism. Being a good citizen seemed to become the topic of discussion for all teachers, students, and, for that matter, all Jordanians.

Yet, teachers who address the concept of citizenship in the public schools must realize that citizenship is more than the feelings of patriotism that arose out of the November 11th tragedy and the war with Iraq. Teachers must help students understand that political participation to protect their country is vital to Jordan's future existence as a nation. Simply being patriotic is not enough.

It is also important to realize that citizenship has somewhat of a dual nature: social and political. The social nature of citizenship deals with how citizens interact with each other, while the political nature involves how citizens interact with the state. Both of these elements are essential for a citizen to participate in a democratic society.

Even though the basic fundamentals of citizenship may not have changed through the years, civic education has been interpreted differently. In his book, Schooling and the Struggle for Public Life: Critical Pedagogy in the Modern Age (1988), Henry Giroux states, "It becomes all the more imperative to recognize that categories like citizenship and democracy need to be problematized and reconstructed for each generation" (6).

One reason why civic education is difficult to address in the public schools is that schools encourage conformity and obethence. However, democracy often requires nonconformity, and that aspect is generally not encouraged in schools. Many schools teach students to act passively, which also conflicts with the idea of active participation (Gundara, 2000).

Citizenship in Jordan

In Jordan, as in many other Arab countries, generally a greater overlap of the concepts of citizenship, culture, and identity exists than is found in many European, North American, or Australian nations. For example, the argument that citizenship entails status and rights, while identity involves belonging, and solidarity becomes very fuzzy in Jordan, where many words can be found for "citizenship," and the most common term for "identity." Theory of the 'self as being at the centre of citizenship education in the Middle East provides an explanation of why the two notions of citizenship and identity are less clearly distinguished in much of Arab countries (at least in the Middle East ) than in those countries that trace their philosophical citizenship roots to the Greeks and the Enlightenment. Isin and Wood (1999) contended that the lack of emphasis on political aspects of citizenship in Middle East referred for two reasons: