This research explores citizenship education in America. The author suggests there are two primary barriers to effective citizenship education today: first, neoliberal political discourse shifts the goals of education away from creating good citizens for a strong democracy in favor of creating good workers for a strong economy; and second, the lack of a clear conception of citizenship hinders the ability of schools to effectively teach citizenship. Arguing that creating good workers need not be contrary to the goal of creating good citizens, the author encourages a conception of citizenship that incorporates the economy and the marketplace. However, she also cautions that several neoliberal and market-driven education policies are harmful to goals of citizenship education. This research employs value analysis methodology to untangle the myriad conceptions of citizenship, reconceptualizing membership as recognition, rights as social justice, and participation as agency to create a new theory of democratic citizenship for the 21st century. |