Abstract

FONSECA, Eduardo Nuno. In the interstices of citizenship:: the inevitable, urgent character of the dimension of civic virtue in education. Educ. Pesqui. [online]. 2014, vol.40, n.01, pp.181-196. ISSN 1517-9702.

Abstract This article has two central points. The first is to problematize the conceptualization of citizenship according to its moral meaning; the second is to evaluate its respective implications for any educational projects that recognize the relevance of education for citizenship in the school context. Therefore, a few considerations will initially be made regarding the polyhedral dimension of the concept of citizenship. We will particularly emphasize that, besides requiring knowledge and competences, participatory citizenship also covers the domains of personal and extra personal resources, as well as the dispositions leading to action. Moreover, there is a bond between each citizen’s moral constitution, democracy itself, and the experiencing of democracy. Finally, we will approach democratic citizenship, which involves one’s capacity to move beyond one’s own individual interests in order to be committed to the good of the community. In this perspective, citizenship raises a latent tension that must be wisely settled. The educational process therefore occurs in the slippery border between indoctrination and the respect for free individual choice, thus calling for strict faithfulness to the guiding compass of human rights (UNESCO, 2006), which favors defending people’s dignity, the right to the development of personality, and the fighting of all forms of discrimination (ROLDÃO, 1992; SANTOS, 2011).

Keywords : Democracy;; Citizenship;; Education; Characte.

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