Where Cultural Education and Citizenship Meet
The core of citizenship education is that students become aware of how they contribute to our diverse and democratic society. Themes include freedom and equality, power and participation, identity, diversity, and solidarity. Digital living and technology are also themes within citizenship. In addition to digital literacy, it addresses the effects of the digital world on our (online) lives: socially, politically, and socially.
Cultural education and citizenship education have many intersections, as these themes are often subjects in artworks, exhibitions, music, and theater performances, and because students learn to imagine and express themselves through cultural education. Think of skills like creativity to adapt to new situations, expressive skills to show what you stand for, and reflective skills to continually relate to others.
“Art enhances imagination. If you want students to question how they can change something in the future, what alternatives exist, you definitely need that.”
How Does Digital Content Contribute to Citizenship Education?
You can increase cultural and citizenship awareness in conjunction with each other. Research and experiment on how to connect the citizenship goals to your digital cultural education program. In this way, you collaborate with education to fulfill the citizenship mission.
By offering content digitally, you make it accessible to teachers and students. Even teachers of social studies or history involved in citizenship, who may not be as visible to you as an educator, can be reached this way;
Digitally, you can provide access to art and heritage that is further removed from students. For example, you can include inspiration from (socially critical) artists exhibiting in your museum and thus expand the world of children and young people;
Digitally, you connect to the online experience world of students;
Children and young people can become digital creators themselves using online tools. This makes your lessons even more active. Digitally, you can let students experience the opportunities of technology and practice as digital citizens.
Citizenship education is implemented differently by schools, and by working digitally, students and teachers can more easily choose what suits their learning objectives.
Example Projects
Primary Education: From Pope Gregory to Digital Music Streaming
Dennis Kok, advisor for diversity and inclusion at the Education Canon of Groningen, explains how easy it is to bridge your offerings to citizenship themes. “The Kloosterkerk in Aduard incorporates Gregorian music in their educational project for primary and secondary school students. Pope Gregory believed this was the only music that could be used in the church. This, of course, concerns power and participation, diversity, freedom, and equality. During the tour, this is made digitally relevant for students: How is your music taste now, often unconsciously, influenced by algorithms on YouTube and Spotify? Students can investigate this themselves by comparing their recommended songs or videos. This way, you touch on citizenship themes with a playful twist.”
Secondary Education: Stories that Move
A project at the intersection of digital heritage and digital citizenship is Stories that Move, a free online toolbox for secondary education about diversity and discrimination, based on real stories and experiences of European youth. Femke de Koning, co-developer of the online platform from the Anne Frank House, explains: “The starting point is stories of young people to make them think about what they can do to stop discrimination.” The project is divided into five themes that overlap with citizenship themes like equality, diversity, power, solidarity, and identity. Teachers in secondary education can work with the project from various subjects. “We cater to how this generation prefers to learn: with and through peers. By working online, we can showcase stories from all over Europe and give young people a voice. We let students reflect in videos in a creative way on what they can do, fitting what this generation wants. The login ensures safety. Finally, the online tool allows teachers and students to choose their learning path: this aligns even better with education in the respective country.” The material is available via the Stories that Move website. (opens in new tab)
Secondary Education VMBO: Culture Snack
Kunstgebouw and Erfgoedhuis Zuid-Holland developed lessons in an online freely accessible environment about art and heritage for lower secondary VMBO students, based on social citizenship themes such as solidarity, diversity, and democracy. Students receive stimulating visual material, from activist street art to heritage objects, enriched with a short explanation and a question. Linda Boer, working at Kunstgebouw, says: “We want students to learn to look at themselves, others, and their environment through art with a different perspective. Culture Snacks are digital and therefore accessible anytime, anywhere, interactive, and cross-disciplinary. The lessons can, for example, be easily linked to social studies or a museum visit with the class. This way, art from around the world is made accessible, and discovering art becomes not complicated but easy and educational.” https://www.kunstgebouw.nl/cultuursnack-burgerschap/
Read more about Culture Snack in this article.
Vocational Education: Creative Citizenship
The Centre of Arts & Science Education (CASE) and Huub Braam (LKCA) started a Lesson Study in 2023 for vocational education teachers who want to combine citizenship education with arts and cultural education. The vocational teachers developed a lesson series using digital data visualization as a starting point. Vocational students were given the assignment: Create a data visualization of a social issue based on statistics collected in your environment. What data can you count in your immediate surroundings, and what social issue underlies it? For instance: What is the ratio of healthy to unhealthy snacks in the canteen, or how many students look at their phones while walking? This data was shared on a digital platform, where other students could provide feedback.
Algorithm- and Data-Literate Society
Digital living and technology are separate themes within citizenship, and these can also be the subject of your lesson offerings. Especially if your institution does a lot with digital art or heritage, it makes sense to let students experience how it works themselves.
An example project focused on digital experimentation and creation is Prototoys, design your own smart toy, designed by SETUP in collaboration with KCE Zeeland. Andrea Rhodenborgh from SETUP: “SETUP is a collective of free thinkers. We are committed to an algorithm- and data-literate society. With this project, we aim to foster a critical thinking and making attitude towards AI in children.” Children from grades 6, 7, and 8 worked on this following news reports about the AI Barbie. They were asked questions like: Who builds such a Barbie? Who is responsible if something goes wrong? And how do you program an AI Barbie? Thus, from a social and cultural perspective. With an AI tool, the students then programmed toys themselves to see what they encountered. It was challenging, but it made children extremely aware of the different aspects of such a new invention. For more projects on AI or for tailored collaboration: www.setup.nl
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