Abstract

Citizenship education is an appropriate demand-side policy response to declining political participation among young people in the UK. There is evidence that its compulsory introduction in secondary schools in England in 2002 is having some success, but its implementation is not without problems. Citizenship classes can be made more effective if they are underpinned by the core principles of experiential and service learning, whereby knowledge, participation and deliberation are linked together in the promotion of active citizenship.