Citizenship
Human Rights
and Anti-
Corruption
Content List
Topics
Unit one: Citizenship
First: What is citizenship?
1- The origin and development of the concept of citizenship
2- The contemporary concept of citizenship and its principles
3- characteristics of global citizens
Second: Some mechanisms of citizenship development in pre-university
education:
1- Courses
2- School activities
3- Teacher training
Unit 2: Human Rights
First: The development of the concept of human rights
Second: Definition of human rights
Third: Characteristics of human rights
Fourth: Generations of Human Rights
Fifth: Human Rights Sources
1- Global/international sources: Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
2 - Regional sources: The Arab Charter on Human Rights
3- National sources: The Egyptian constitution
Sixth: The general rights of the citizen
Seven: School discipline
1- Students’ rights and duties
2- Teachers’ responsibilities and authorities
3- Responsibilities of the school administration
Unit Three: Fighting Corruption in Education
First: The concept of corruption in education
Second: the elements of corruption in education
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Topics
Third: Causes of corruption in education
Fourth: Effects of corruption in education
Fifth: Types of corruption in education
Sixth: Fields of corruption in education
Seventh: Efforts to combat corruption in education
1- Efforts to combat corruption in education in some foreign and Arab
countries
2- 2- Efforts to combat corruption in education in the Arab Republic
of Egypt
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Unit one
Citizenship
4
Unit one: Citizenship
1- The origin and development of the concept of
citizenship:
The concept of citizenship has gone through multiple
stages before it reached its contemporary image, as many
global variables affected the concept of citizenship and its
principles, and various mechanisms for the development
of citizenship among students appeared, and this is what
the next section will discuss in detail.
The historical development of the concept of
citizenship was accompanied by the continuous human
quest for freedom, justice, equality and participation, and
this quest increased throughout history and took many
forms such as political and social movements until the
concept of citizenship and related terms settled on what it
is in contemporary political, intellectual and educational
literature
The closest meaning to the contemporary concept of
citizenship in ancient history is what the Greeks (Greece)
reached. Citizenship from the Greek perspective means
that the citizen is the one who obligatorily possesses the
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following four qualities:
-To belong to the city, and live in it.
-To be male.
-To be an adult.
-To be free.
In the Roman era, the citizen is the adult male
belonging to the soil of the empire, not belonging to the
city, as is the case in Athens. This means that foreigners
can acquire citizenship, but the Roman citizen of origin
enjoyed all the rights and privileges of the state more than
those who live in the territories of the state. As for the
woman, she did not enjoy all her rights as a citizen and
did not have the right to vote. As for the slaves, their
rights were . very limited.
Civilizations, religions and the legislation that
emerged from them have contributed to laying the
foundations for equality, thus opening wide horizons for
the human being’s quest to affirm his instinct and prove
himself, and his right to effective participation in
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decision-making and making choices, which are essential
in the concept of citizenship.
Islam has presented the principle of citizenship not
in the form of specific states and borders, but rather for
all its citizens, regardless of race, gender or color. It is
also worth noting that since the advent of Islam, the idea
of citizenship as an identity and belonging to a group is
considered to be part of the Islamic political community,
and the idea of rights and obligations was known and
clearly defined at the time.
Islam has had a great merit in establishing many of
the principles of citizenship, thanks its human perspective
of human unity and rights and duties. Islam, in its view of
equality, proceeded from the fact that peace is the
original relationship between people, and on this basis,
Islam demonstrated its reform policy among Muslims
with each other, and between them and other citizens or
different nations. The non-Muslims, if they kept the state
of peace, they and the Muslims in the eyes of Islam are
brothers in humanity, cooperating in the common good.
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Looking at the teachings of the Islamic religion, we
find that it urges the values, virtues and ideals advocated
by the contemporary concept of citizenship. Those
Islamic teachings emphasized:
• That all human beings are one family, the origin of
all human beings is one, and all people were
created from one soul. Accordingly, Islam has
emphasized the importance of equality and respect
among all human beings regardless of gender,
color or race, so there is no difference between
them except in piety.
• The difference and diversity among humans is a
blessing from God, in order that humans always
strive for coexistence, mutual understanding, and
the formation of relationships and cooperation
among them.
• The Holy Qur’an stresses the importance of justice,
as it must be dealt with by all peoples regardless of
ethnic difference.
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The emergence of European nation-states is
considered one of the main stations in the development of
citizenship. A set of rights and duties have been defined
for individuals under the sovereignty of those countries,
and these rights included civil rights, political rights, and
social rights. Hence the individuals of the state began to
be convinced of the importance of the state and that it is
the incubator for their hopes, ambitions, identity, security
and defense against any enemies.
The French Revolution (1789-1799) is considered a
period of many political and social changes in the history
of France and Europe as a whole. Its principles were
taken from the ideas of the philosophers: Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, Voltaire and Montesquieu. It also took the
principle of citizenship as one of its principles, and raised
the phrase: (freedom - fraternity - equality) as its motto.
Thus, citizenship from the perspective of the French
Revolution means achieving equality and justice among
citizens, and this may be due to the people’s sense of
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injustice and oppression before the revolution, and the
citizens’ quest to obtain their rights, and their quest to re-
establish the state so that it expresses the will of the
people rather than being an expression of the monopoly
of a specific social class.
A different framework for the idea of citizenship
was born in 1917 in Russia through the Russian
Revolution, as the Russian model presented another face
to the dilemma of the relationship between citizenship
and pluralism. From a formal point of view, the
revolution succeeded in providing solutions to the issue
of citizenship in a multicultural and multi-ethnic society
like the Russian society as all other peoples in (Soviet)
Russia were considered one nation and named after the
people of the Soviet Union, and every citizen, whether
Russia, Azerbaijan or Kyrgyz, became a Soviet citizen.
With the emergence and spread of laws and charters
on human rights at the global level, especially the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 AD, as
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well as the human rights economic, social, political, civil
and cultural covenants, which were issued by the United
Nations, there have become new values, concepts and
meanings based on the philosophy of citizenship, and on
non-discrimination and equality in all societal
transactions in the same country or at the global level,
there are rights for human beings wherever they are
regulated by these charters, and are based on equal
treatment with human beings.
There has been a major transformation in the era of
globalization, within which a new form of citizenship has
emerged, as a group of variables have emerged that work
towards liberating citizenship from its national borders,
disengaging the link between citizenship and the nation-
state, and striving towards global citizenship. Among
these variables are: the absence of barriers and borders,
and the start of talking about a new global citizen who
believes in democracy and human rights, and struggles to
spread them across the globe, regardless of the borders
that separate the countries of the world, so that
globalization with all its manifestations and its political,
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economic and cultural effects has become the historical
process that fills the world and occupies the world.
Thus, it is noted that the concept of citizenship has
begun to move towards universality, “The concepts of
global citizenship and education of global citizenship
have emerged, and the specifications of that global
citizenship have been defined in the educational literature
as follows:
1) Recognizing the existence of different cultures.
2) Respect for the rights and freedom of others and
the necessity of human rights education.
3) The necessity of paying attention to moral
education.
4) Understanding the world's economics and the
necessity of economic education.
5) Participation in the promotion of international
peace and the necessity of peace education.
6) Participation in the management of conflicts in a
non-violent manner.
2- The contemporary concept of citizenship and its
principles
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There are many definitions of citizenship, and some
of these definitions will be reviewed through the
following axes:
A- Definitions focusing on the individual’s
relationship with the state:
The following is a presentation of some definitions
of citizenship that focus on the individual's relationship
with the state:
• It is membership or active participation in a group
or a number of groups, and includes a sense of
connection and loyalty to the concept of the state
or civil order, and is based on the idea of belonging
and common things.
• It is a relationship between the individual and the
state that includes the state's official recognition of
the individual's political membership and in return
guarantees his full and permanent loyalty to it.
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• It is a status or social relationship between a natural
person and a political community (the state), and
through this relationship the first party offers loyalty,
and the second assumes the task of protection. This
relationship between the person and the state is
determined by law, and is governed by the principle
of equality.
It is noted from the previous definitions of
citizenship that they focus on the individual’s relationship
with the state and his connection to its land, and this
relationship is governed by the existence of a mutual
benefit between the two parties, meaning that each of the
two parties (the individual and the state) has a task to
perform towards the other, while these definitions did not
address the other aspects of citizenship.
B- Definitions focusing on rights and duties:
The following is a presentation of some definitions
of citizenship that focus on rights and duties:
• It is the active membership in a political
community within the framework of rights and
responsibilities defined by the Constitution and the law.
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• It is the full and equal membership in the society
with the ensuing rights and duties, which means that all
the people who live in the country are equal without any
kind of discrimination.
• It is a political concept that refers to the dialectical
relationship between a state (and the protection it offers
to its citizens in the form of rights), and between citizens
and their duties towards that state.
• It is a relationship between an individual and a
state as determined by the law of that state, and the rights
and duties contained in that relationship.
• It is full membership in a state, and citizens have
some rights such as the right to vote and the right to hold
public office, as well as some duties such as the duty to
pay taxes and defend their country.
• It is the possession and exercise of certain rights,
including basic rights such as the right to freedom, and
other social, economic and cultural rights such as the
right to health care and the right to work and live in a
clean environment and others.
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The previous definitions focus on that the citizen is
a member of a group and an individual of the state, and
within the framework of that relationship between the
individual and the state, there is a set of rights that the
citizen acquires, and in return there are duties and
responsibilities that the citizen must perform with love
and belonging towards the state in which he lives. Thus,
the state guarantees to all its citizens that they enjoy a life
of justice and equality within the framework of the rights
and duties that have been agreed upon.
C- Definitions focusing on belonging and loyalty to the
homeland:
The following is a presentation of some definitions
of citizenship that focus on belonging and loyalty to the
homeland:
•It is the individual's love for his homeland,
belonging, commitment to its principles, values and laws,
dedication to serving it, feeling its problems and positive
contribution with others to solving them. As for the state,
the state must allow the individual to exercise his rights
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and freedoms and express his opinion in a manner that
respects the opinions and suggestions of others away
from intolerance and intolerance.
•It is the focus on loyalty and belonging to the
homeland, defending it and participating in building the
homeland by feeling its problems and proposing
appropriate solutions, as well as exercising the rights
represented in freedom of expression without prejudice to
others while respecting the other opinion.
The previous definitions focus on that citizenship is
the affiliation and loyalty of individuals to the homeland
in which they live, and that the essence of this affiliation
stems from the citizen’s cooperation with other citizens
and his participation with them in defending the
homeland and identifying its problems and trying to find
solutions to them and his keenness to achieve the
common good of the group, and hence it can be said that
belonging, loyalty, cooperation, participation and
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teamwork are among the basic principles on which
citizenship is based.
Despite the multiplicity of visions and viewpoints
on the concept of citizenship, in light of the previous
definitions, the following can be concluded:
• The idea of citizenship is based on the
relationship between an individual and a
state.
• cooperation, participation, justice, equality
and teamwork are basic principles of
citizenship.
• The idea of rights and duties is one of the
basic pillars of citizenship.
• The individual's belonging, loyalty and love
for the homeland is the essence of the idea of
citizenship.
• Building the citizen's personality is one of the
basic requirements for achieving citizenship.
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• The citizen's commitment to and respect for
the values of society and his practice of
desirable social behavior are among the
factors in achieving citizenship.
Through the previous definitions, the following
definition of citizenship can be reached: It is the
individual’s affiliation and loyalty to the homeland in a
way that makes him know his rights and duties towards
this country and makes him able to participate effectively
in the society in which he lives, in addition to the need
for the citizen to acquire a set of skills, knowledge and
abilities that qualify him to do his role as an active citizen
in society.
The basic principles of citizenship can be
summarized in five principles as follows:
A- Sense of Identity:
A sense of identity is the first principle of
citizenship, and despite what has been raised about
national citizenship and its inadequacy to meet the
challenges of the twenty-first century, where the world
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will become more interconnected and dependent on each
other, which led to it being described by some as
something outdated, and they put forward a globally
oriented citizenship free of hate instead, however,
national citizenship is a principle that should not be
denied, but we must deal with the fact that: no state can
function in isolation in today's world, so the awareness of
identity must contain both the national and global
dimensions.
B- Enjoying certain rights:
This principle refers to the citizen's enjoyment of
the benefits and rights that qualify him and grant him his
membership in a group or society, and the British social
scientist Marshall believes that citizenship rights can be
classified into three categories arranged in terms of their
historical acquisition, first: legal rights such as (freedom
or protection), Second: political rights such as the right to
participate in public affairs, third: economic and social
rights, and there is wide controversy about them and a
clear discrepancy between countries in their definition.
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C- Responsibilities, obligations and duties:
Citizenship carries with it the commitment to
certain duties such as following the law, paying taxes,
respecting the rights of others, defending the homeland,
and achieving certain social obligations. through a global
environment.
D- Attention and participation in public affairs:
The fourth principle of citizenship is the citizen’s
right but also his duty to participate or play a role in
public affairs. There is a long tradition dating back to the
ancient Greeks, which differentiates between a (good)
person who lives his life with morals and honor, but
without any interest or participation in public affairs, and
a (good) citizen whose life includes -in addition to the
above- an obligation to participate in public life in an
ideal manner, or at least a conscious interest in those
affairs.
E- Paying attention to the development of values:
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Values are seen as an important content of good
citizenship, as the absence of certain values leads to real
problems in dealing with identities, rights, duties and
methods of competition and participation in public
affairs, and then the dedication of social values is
considered a basic principle of citizenship to regulate the
interaction between the priorities of the individual citizen
and those of the participating citizens, as well as the
citizens of other societies, and even the citizens who have
not yet been born.
From the foregoing it is clear that the
aforementioned principles are of great importance and
should be learned by students from a young age. The
student should know from childhood that he belongs to a
country that has a distinct identity and that he must
respect and preserve that identity, in addition to
developing a sense of global citizenship through a sense
of emerging as a member of the global community -
without compromising his national identity, and the
student should also learn about the different rights that he
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can enjoy according to the existing system, as well as the
duties and responsibilities that he has to carry out, and the
student should also know the meaning and importance of
participation and how he can participate positively in the
development of his society, starting with the school
community and reaching the global community. Also, the
student should learn a set of positive values that help him
to be a good citizen. Despite the different meanings and
connotations of values from one country to another and
from one society to another, there are basic and important
values - and there can be no disagreement about them - in
the formation of a good citizen, such as honesty,
tolerance, sincerity in work, love of others and other
values that help in the formation of a beneficial
personality on the national and global levels.
3- characteristics of global citizens
The preparation of the citizen in the current era has
become a more complex process than before, as the world
has become one village in light of globalization and its
multiple effects. Therefore, in light of these changes, the
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citizen must possess a set of characteristics, perhaps the
most important of which are:
• Cooperating with others.
• Commitment to the principles of social justice and
to be directed to his/her actions.
• Thinking in an organized and critical manner.
• Respecting and learning from different cultures.
• A sense of the problems in his/her local community
and in the global community.
• Solving problems by peaceful means.
• Changing his/her lifestyle in order to protect the
environment.
• Knowing and defending human rights.
• The ability to fight for a better future.
• Respect for the rights and freedom of others.
• Understanding the economies of the world.
• Interest in international affairs.
• Participation in the promotion of international
peace.
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• Participation in the management of conflicts in a
non-violent manner.
It is clear from the above that preparing the citizen in
the current era - with these characteristics - has become a
difficult task, and since educational institutions are
responsible for preparing citizens, it is their responsibility
to prepare for such a task, through all the elements of the
educational process.
The teacher has to help his students to have these traits
and acquire those desirable virtues, and this may be done
through some school activities, and the teacher can also
use teaching methods that support students with those
feelings and traits, such as the style of work teams,
discussions, etc., and the school administration should
also contribute to help students acquire such virtues, and
this may be achieved through the actual application of
those desirable virtues between the administration and
teachers, and among teachers themselves, and in the
school environment in general, thus making it easier for
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students to acquire them in a school climate of familiarity
and tolerance.
Second: Some mechanisms of citizenship
development in pre-university education:
Citizenship in schools can be supported through
several mechanisms, including:
1- Courses
There is a consensus that the primary task of
education is to produce a good citizen, and many
academic courses share this goal, such as geography,
history, and social studies.
There is an agreement that education for citizenship is
not just a cognitive content that is presented to students in
a theoretical form, but rather includes a set of tendencies,
values, attitudes, behavior and practices that students
should acquire and that contribute mainly to the
formation of their personalities.
There is an assertion that the development of
citizenship occurs through various academic courses and
not only through a specific subject such as national
education, but that it can be developed through all other
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study subjects, whether natural or human, and since
citizenship is often saturated with value dimensions, its
education needs teaching strategies that emphasize the
effectiveness and positivity of the learner, which are self-
learning strategies such as educational games, simulation,
role-playing, discussion, problem-solving methods, and
free reading.
Citizenship is taught through a set of curricula,
including social studies, which focus on supporting
citizenship education through its various topics, and the
formation of a citizen who understands community
issues.
The geography course, for example, enables
students to learn maps and geographical forms, and the
political, economic, social and environmental factors
affecting contemporary geographical issues. Students also
learn places and environments that depend on each other.
Geography also helps students think about the location of
their country in the world, their local values, rights, and
duties towards people in other societies and towards the
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environment. Accordingly, student can appreciate the
value of his/her homeland and respect it, and at the same
time learn that this homeland is part of a larger homeland,
which is the world, and that this world is full of
individuals and other societies that are affected by and
affect his/her society.
Citizenship can be introduced through the history
course, which plays an important role in developing the
values of citizenship and instilling patriotism in the hearts
of students. It also contributes to introducing students to
the political, economic and social developments of
society, and increases their desire to participate in the
development of that society.
One of the studies stresses the importance of
language and its role in the development of citizenship, as
it is considered a tool for communication between the
people of the same country and a tool for transmitting
history and thought.
Crick believes that science topics should expand to
include scientific issues that help students grow in the
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political and social fields, and in various civil fields in
general, so that this leads to enabling the learner to make
balanced decisions that help him understand himself and
his society, thus fulfilling the requirements of citizenship.
From the foregoing, the following can be concluded:
• There are two approaches to teaching citizenship
where it can be taught in a separate course or
included within other courses.
• All courses can contribute to the teaching of
citizenship topics, but the presentation of these
topics may differ from one course to another
depending on the nature of the course and the
knowledge content it provides.
• Democracy, rights and responsibilities, the
development of values, patriotism, concern for the
environment, and sustainable development, all
represent basic topics for courses that introduce
citizenship.
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• The subjects of citizenship include two parts, one
of which is related to the theoretical study of those
subjects, and the other is related to the actual
practice of the values offered by those subjects.
• The citizenship topics presented through the
courses enable students to acquire some important
skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, self-
learning, problem solving and other skills.
• The issues of citizenship include the local and
global dimensions, as it seeks to form individuals
belonging to their local homeland, aware of its
problems and willing to solve them, and at the
same time, it seeks to prepare the global citizen
who is able to adapt to global changes.
2- School activities:
School activities are an integral part of academic
courses, as they contribute mainly to the development of
the student's personality, as they contribute to the
development of his abilities, the formation of a desirable
value system, and the inculcation of positive trends, with
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the aim of achieving the integration and balance of his
personality, and the development of a culture of
creativity.
Through the practice of school activities, interactions
and relationships occur between students and their
teachers, as well as between them and the community,
which contributes positively to the formation of students’
personalities, and provides them with many desirable
positive values such as love of work, appreciation of
time, accuracy and respect for others. Practicing activity
also contributes to providing students with
communication skills, teamwork, cooperative work and
developing their thinking skills, which contributes to
preparing active citizens in society who are able to bring
about development at all levels.
The role of activities in the development of citizenship
can be summarized through:
1) Constructive participation of the learner in group
work.
2) Love of order.
3) Preservation of public property.
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4) Belief in the necessity of work.
5) Practicing honesty.
6) Helping those who need help.
7) Freedom of opinion.
8) Addressing the phenomenon of introversion and
isolation.
The values of citizenship can be established in the
student through symbolic activities that are normally
found in the educational institution, such as: saluting the
flag, performing the national anthem in schools, honoring
prominent societal models, and celebrating national
occasions.
It is also possible to celebrate international
occasions, as the student is not only a member of his
nation, but is also a citizen of the global community.
Among these occasions are the following:
• February 10: The signing of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
• April 7: World Health Day.
• June 11: The first human landing on the moon.
• June 26: World Drug Day.
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• July 11: World Population Day.
• September 8: International Literacy Day.
• October 14: World Environment Day.
• October 16: World Food Day.
• October 24: United Nations Day.
• December 19: International Children's Day.
There are many activities that students can do
outside school, which also help them to understand that
they are an integral part of the world, and that they can
influence in one way or another in this world, considering
that they are good citizens aiming for the common good,
and among these activities is The Olive Roads Project, in
which several countries participated: Albania, Algeria,
Cyprus, Croatia, Egypt, Spain, France, Greece, Italy,
Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Portugal, Serbia,
Montenegro, Tunisia, Slovenia, and Turkey. The project
is summed up in the participation of high school students
in planting olive trees between the largest possible
number of neighboring countries, as a symbol of peace.”)
Thus, by practicing this activity, we find that students of
one country can get to know students from other
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countries and thus to other cultures, This enhances their
understanding of multiple cultures and identities, and
even instills in them the spirit of cooperation with others
in order to achieve the common good for all at the global
level, and this also helps them to understand that they can
contribute to the development of the environment at the
local and global levels, which helps in the formation of
effective citizens locally and globally.
From the above, the following can be concluded:
1) School activities are a major component of the
curriculum.
2) School activities vary according to the nature of
the educational stage and according to the ages of the
students, and the activities accompanying the curriculum
vary according to the nature of the content provided by
the curriculum.
3) The values of citizenship can be inculcated in the
hearts of students through activities of various kinds,
whether they are practiced inside or outside the classroom
or outside the school.
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4) The activities are concerned with providing the
student with the skills necessary for good citizenship,
such as communication skills, cooperation, positive
interaction with others, teamwork skills, decision-making
and problem solving skills. They also help in the
students’ growth physically, mentally, spiritually,
psychologically and morally, which has a great impact on
the formation of a good citizen in society.
5) The activities must include an international
dimension so that the student can feel that he is a citizen
of the global community.
2- The contemporary concept of citizenship and its
principles
There are many definitions of citizenship, and some
of these definitions will be reviewed through the
following axes:
A- Definitions focusing on the individual’s
relationship with the state:
35
The following is a presentation of some definitions
of citizenship that focus on the individual's relationship
with the state:
• It is membership or active participation in a group
or a number of groups, and includes a sense of
connection and loyalty to the concept of the state
or civil order, and is based on the idea of belonging
and common things.
• It is a relationship between the individual and the
state that includes the state's official recognition of
the individual's political membership and in return
guarantees his full and permanent loyalty to it.
• It is a status or social relationship between a natural
person and a political community (the state), and
through this relationship the first party offers loyalty,
and the second assumes the task of protection. This
relationship between the person and the state is
determined by law, and is governed by the principle
of equality.
36
It is noted from the previous definitions of
citizenship that they focus on the individual’s relationship
with the state and his connection to its land, and this
relationship is governed by the existence of a mutual
benefit between the two parties, meaning that each of the
two parties (the individual and the state) has a task to
perform towards the other, while these definitions did not
address the other aspects of citizenship.
B- Definitions focusing on rights and duties:
The following is a presentation of some definitions
of citizenship that focus on rights and duties:
• It is the active membership in a political
community within the framework of rights and
responsibilities defined by the Constitution and the law.
• It is the full and equal membership in the society
with the ensuing rights and duties, which means that all
the people who live in the country are equal without any
kind of discrimination.
• It is a political concept that refers to the dialectical
relationship between a state (and the protection it offers
37
to its citizens in the form of rights), and between citizens
and their duties towards that state.
• It is a relationship between an individual and a
state as determined by the law of that state, and the rights
and duties contained in that relationship.
• It is full membership in a state, and citizens have
some rights such as the right to vote and the right to hold
public office, as well as some duties such as the duty to
pay taxes and defend their country.
• It is the possession and exercise of certain rights,
including basic rights such as the right to freedom, and
other social, economic and cultural rights such as the
right to health care and the right to work and live in a
clean environment and others.
The previous definitions focus on that the citizen is
a member of a group and an individual of the state, and
within the framework of that relationship between the
individual and the state, there is a set of rights that the
citizen acquires, and in return there are duties and
responsibilities that the citizen must perform with love
and belonging towards the state in which he lives. Thus,
38
the state guarantees to all its citizens that they enjoy a life
of justice and equality within the framework of the rights
and duties that have been agreed upon.
C- Definitions focusing on belonging and loyalty to the
homeland:
The following is a presentation of some definitions
of citizenship that focus on belonging and loyalty to the
homeland:
•It is the individual's love for his homeland,
belonging, commitment to its principles, values and laws,
dedication to serving it, feeling its problems and positive
contribution with others to solving them. As for the state,
the state must allow the individual to exercise his rights
and freedoms and express his opinion in a manner that
respects the opinions and suggestions of others away
from intolerance and intolerance.
•It is the focus on loyalty and belonging to the
homeland, defending it and participating in building the
homeland by feeling its problems and proposing
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appropriate solutions, as well as exercising the rights
represented in freedom of expression without prejudice to
others while respecting the other opinion.
The previous definitions focus on that citizenship is
the affiliation and loyalty of individuals to the homeland
in which they live, and that the essence of this affiliation
stems from the citizen’s cooperation with other citizens
and his participation with them in defending the
homeland and identifying its problems and trying to find
solutions to them and his keenness to achieve the
common good of the group, and hence it can be said that
belonging, loyalty, cooperation, participation and
teamwork are among the basic principles on which
citizenship is based.
Despite the multiplicity of visions and viewpoints
on the concept of citizenship, in light of the previous
definitions, the following can be concluded:
• The idea of citizenship is based on the
relationship between an individual and a
state.
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• cooperation, participation, justice, equality
and teamwork are basic principles of
citizenship.
• The idea of rights and duties is one of the
basic pillars of citizenship.
• The individual's belonging, loyalty and love
for the homeland is the essence of the idea of
citizenship.
• Building the citizen's personality is one of the
basic requirements for achieving citizenship.
• The citizen's commitment to and respect for
the values of society and his practice of
desirable social behavior are among the
factors in achieving citizenship.
Through the previous definitions, the following
definition of citizenship can be reached: It is the
individual’s affiliation and loyalty to the homeland in a
way that makes him know his rights and duties towards
this country and makes him able to participate effectively
in the society in which he lives, in addition to the need
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for the citizen to acquire a set of skills, knowledge and
abilities that qualify him to do his role as an active citizen
in society.
The basic principles of citizenship can be
summarized in five principles as follows:
A- Sense of Identity:
A sense of identity is the first principle of
citizenship, and despite what has been raised about
national citizenship and its inadequacy to meet the
challenges of the twenty-first century, where the world
will become more interconnected and dependent on each
other, which led to it being described by some as
something outdated, and they put forward a globally
oriented citizenship free of hate instead, however,
national citizenship is a principle that should not be
denied, but we must deal with the fact that: no state can
function in isolation in today's world, so the awareness of
identity must contain both the national and global
dimensions.
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B- Enjoying certain rights:
This principle refers to the citizen's enjoyment of
the benefits and rights that qualify him and grant him his
membership in a group or society, and the British social
scientist Marshall believes that citizenship rights can be
classified into three categories arranged in terms of their
historical acquisition, first: legal rights such as (freedom
or protection), Second: political rights such as the right to
participate in public affairs, third: economic and social
rights, and there is wide controversy about them and a
clear discrepancy between countries in their definition.
C- Responsibilities, obligations and duties:
Citizenship carries with it the commitment to
certain duties such as following the law, paying taxes,
respecting the rights of others, defending the homeland,
and achieving certain social obligations. through a global
environment.
D- Attention and participation in public affairs:
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The fourth principle of citizenship is the citizen’s
right but also his duty to participate or play a role in
public affairs. There is a long tradition dating back to the
ancient Greeks, which differentiates between a (good)
person who lives his life with morals and honor, but
without any interest or participation in public affairs, and
a (good) citizen whose life includes -in addition to the
above- an obligation to participate in public life in an
ideal manner, or at least a conscious interest in those
affairs.
E- Paying attention to the development of values:
Values are seen as an important content of good
citizenship, as the absence of certain values leads to real
problems in dealing with identities, rights, duties and
methods of competition and participation in public
affairs, and then the dedication of social values is
considered a basic principle of citizenship to regulate the
interaction between the priorities of the individual citizen
and those of the participating citizens, as well as the
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citizens of other societies, and even the citizens who have
not yet been born.
From the foregoing it is clear that the
aforementioned principles are of great importance and
should be learned by students from a young age. The
student should know from childhood that he belongs to a
country that has a distinct identity and that he must
respect and preserve that identity, in addition to
developing a sense of global citizenship through a sense
of emerging as a member of the global community -
without compromising his national identity, and the
student should also learn about the different rights that he
can enjoy according to the existing system, as well as the
duties and responsibilities that he has to carry out, and the
student should also know the meaning and importance of
participation and how he can participate positively in the
development of his society, starting with the school
community and reaching the global community. Also, the
student should learn a set of positive values that help him
to be a good citizen. Despite the different meanings and
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connotations of values from one country to another and
from one society to another, there are basic and important
values - and there can be no disagreement about them - in
the formation of a good citizen, such as honesty,
tolerance, sincerity in work, love of others and other
values that help in the formation of a beneficial
personality on the national and global levels.
3- characteristics of global citizens
The preparation of the citizen in the current era has
become a more complex process than before, as the world
has become one village in light of globalization and its
multiple effects. Therefore, in light of these changes, the
citizen must possess a set of characteristics, perhaps the
most important of which are:
• Cooperating with others.
• Commitment to the principles of social justice and
to be directed to his/her actions.
• Thinking in an organized and critical manner.
• Respecting and learning from different cultures.
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• A sense of the problems in his/her local community
and in the global community.
• Solving problems by peaceful means.
• Changing his/her lifestyle in order to protect the
environment.
• Knowing and defending human rights.
• The ability to fight for a better future.
• Respect for the rights and freedom of others.
• Understanding the economies of the world.
• Interest in international affairs.
• Participation in the promotion of international
peace.
• Participation in the management of conflicts in a
non-violent manner.
It is clear from the above that preparing the citizen in
the current era - with these characteristics - has become a
difficult task, and since educational institutions are
responsible for preparing citizens, it is their responsibility
to prepare for such a task, through all the elements of the
educational process.
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The teacher has to help his students to have these traits
and acquire those desirable virtues, and this may be done
through some school activities, and the teacher can also
use teaching methods that support students with those
feelings and traits, such as the style of work teams,
discussions, etc., and the school administration should
also contribute to help students acquire such virtues, and
this may be achieved through the actual application of
those desirable virtues between the administration and
teachers, and among teachers themselves, and in the
school environment in general, thus making it easier for
students to acquire them in a school climate of familiarity
and tolerance.
Second: Some mechanisms of citizenship
development in pre-university education:
Citizenship in schools can be supported through
several mechanisms, including:
1- Courses
There is a consensus that the primary task of
education is to produce a good citizen, and many
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academic courses share this goal, such as geography,
history, and social studies.
There is an agreement that education for citizenship is
not just a cognitive content that is presented to students in
a theoretical form, but rather includes a set of tendencies,
values, attitudes, behavior and practices that students
should acquire and that contribute mainly to the
formation of their personalities.
There is an assertion that the development of
citizenship occurs through various academic courses and
not only through a specific subject such as national
education, but that it can be developed through all other
study subjects, whether natural or human, and since
citizenship is often saturated with value dimensions, its
education needs teaching strategies that emphasize the
effectiveness and positivity of the learner, which are self-
learning strategies such as educational games, simulation,
role-playing, discussion, problem-solving methods, and
free reading.
Citizenship is taught through a set of curricula,
including social studies, which focus on supporting
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citizenship education through its various topics, and the
formation of a citizen who understands community
issues.
The geography course, for example, enables
students to learn maps and geographical forms, and the
political, economic, social and environmental factors
affecting contemporary geographical issues. Students also
learn places and environments that depend on each other.
Geography also helps students think about the location of
their country in the world, their local values, rights, and
duties towards people in other societies and towards the
environment. Accordingly, student can appreciate the
value of his/her homeland and respect it, and at the same
time learn that this homeland is part of a larger homeland,
which is the world, and that this world is full of
individuals and other societies that are affected by and
affect his/her society.
Citizenship can be introduced through the history
course, which plays an important role in developing the
values of citizenship and instilling patriotism in the hearts
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of students. It also contributes to introducing students to
the political, economic and social developments of
society, and increases their desire to participate in the
development of that society.
One of the studies stresses the importance of
language and its role in the development of citizenship, as
it is considered a tool for communication between the
people of the same country and a tool for transmitting
history and thought.
Crick believes that science topics should expand to
include scientific issues that help students grow in the
political and social fields, and in various civil fields in
general, so that this leads to enabling the learner to make
balanced decisions that help him understand himself and
his society, thus fulfilling the requirements of citizenship.
From the foregoing, the following can be concluded:
• There are two approaches to teaching citizenship
where it can be taught in a separate course or
included within other courses.
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• All courses can contribute to the teaching of
citizenship topics, but the presentation of these
topics may differ from one course to another
depending on the nature of the course and the
knowledge content it provides.
• Democracy, rights and responsibilities, the
development of values, patriotism, concern for the
environment, and sustainable development, all
represent basic topics for courses that introduce
citizenship.
• The subjects of citizenship include two parts, one
of which is related to the theoretical study of those
subjects, and the other is related to the actual
practice of the values offered by those subjects.
• The citizenship topics presented through the
courses enable students to acquire some important
skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, self-
learning, problem solving and other skills.
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• The issues of citizenship include the local and
global dimensions, as it seeks to form individuals
belonging to their local homeland, aware of its
problems and willing to solve them, and at the
same time, it seeks to prepare the global citizen
who is able to adapt to global changes.
2- School activities:
School activities are an integral part of academic
courses, as they contribute mainly to the development of
the student's personality, as they contribute to the
development of his abilities, the formation of a desirable
value system, and the inculcation of positive trends, with
the aim of achieving the integration and balance of his
personality, and the development of a culture of
creativity.
Through the practice of school activities, interactions
and relationships occur between students and their
teachers, as well as between them and the community,
which contributes positively to the formation of students’
personalities, and provides them with many desirable
positive values such as love of work, appreciation of
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time, accuracy and respect for others. Practicing activity
also contributes to providing students with
communication skills, teamwork, cooperative work and
developing their thinking skills, which contributes to
preparing active citizens in society who are able to bring
about development at all levels.
The role of activities in the development of citizenship
can be summarized through:
1) Constructive participation of the learner in group
work.
2) Love of order.
3) Preservation of public property.
4) Belief in the necessity of work.
5) Practicing honesty.
6) Helping those who need help.
7) Freedom of opinion.
8) Addressing the phenomenon of introversion and
isolation.
The values of citizenship can be established in the
student through symbolic activities that are normally
found in the educational institution, such as: saluting the
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flag, performing the national anthem in schools, honoring
prominent societal models, and celebrating national
occasions.
It is also possible to celebrate international
occasions, as the student is not only a member of his
nation, but is also a citizen of the global community.
Among these occasions are the following:
• February 10: The signing of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
• April 7: World Health Day.
• June 11: The first human landing on the moon.
• June 26: World Drug Day.
• July 11: World Population Day.
• September 8: International Literacy Day.
• October 14: World Environment Day.
• October 16: World Food Day.
• October 24: United Nations Day.
• December 19: International Children's Day.
There are many activities that students can do
outside school, which also help them to understand that
they are an integral part of the world, and that they can
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influence in one way or another in this world, considering
that they are good citizens aiming for the common good,
and among these activities is The Olive Roads Project, in
which several countries participated: Albania, Algeria,
Cyprus, Croatia, Egypt, Spain, France, Greece, Italy,
Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Portugal, Serbia,
Montenegro, Tunisia, Slovenia, and Turkey. The project
is summed up in the participation of high school students
in planting olive trees between the largest possible
number of neighboring countries, as a symbol of peace.”)
Thus, by practicing this activity, we find that students of
one country can get to know students from other
countries and thus to other cultures, This enhances their
understanding of multiple cultures and identities, and
even instills in them the spirit of cooperation with others
in order to achieve the common good for all at the global
level, and this also helps them to understand that they can
contribute to the development of the environment at the
local and global levels, which helps in the formation of
effective citizens locally and globally.
From the above, the following can be concluded:
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1) School activities are a major component of the
curriculum.
2) School activities vary according to the nature of
the educational stage and according to the ages of the
students, and the activities accompanying the curriculum
vary according to the nature of the content provided by
the curriculum.
3) The values of citizenship can be inculcated in the
hearts of students through activities of various kinds,
whether they are practiced inside or outside the classroom
or outside the school.
4) The activities are concerned with providing the
student with the skills necessary for good citizenship,
such as communication skills, cooperation, positive
interaction with others, teamwork skills, decision-making
and problem solving skills. They also help in the
students’ growth physically, mentally, spiritually,
psychologically and morally, which has a great impact on
the formation of a good citizen in society.
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5) The activities must include an international
dimension so that the student can feel that he is a citizen
of the global community.
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