Democracy at the Crossroads

In Democracy at the Crossroads, the editors argue that there have been too few scholarly attempts to provide a comprehensive critique of the assumptions behind citizenship education. In particular, they ask the distinguished contributors to this volume to address difficult but essential questions that are often avoided or intentionally overlooked: What do all-embracing terms like 'global citizenship' really mean? What does democracy mean internationally? A timely work, Democracy at the Crossroads provides a necessary examination and re-interpretation of international perspectives on democracy and global citizenship as they apply to social education.

Democracy at the Crossroads plumbs the core issues of citizenship education, namely, what constitutes the “good citizen” in today’s globalized society and how individuals come to understand and act on their world. White, Openshaw, and Keller have brought together an impressive group of scholars from around the world in their efforts to unpack the history, assumptions, and practices of citizenship education while critically examining influence of globalization and neoliberalism on the curriculum and aims of social studies education in the 21st century. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested moving beyond the platitudes and passivity that have hitherto marked the dominant strains of education for democracy., Democracy at the Crossroads will serve as a global benchmark for citizenship education in the early 21st century., From a variety of theoretical and national perspectives, this collection provides an interrogation of unexamined meanings, assumptions, and socio-political dynamics implicated in the programs and rhetorics promoting education for "global citizenship." The need for such work in our world today could hardly be more critical!

Cameron White is Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction / Social Education at the University of Houston. Roger Openshaw is Professor in Social and Policy Studies in Education at Massey University in New Zealand. Pamela Keller is a doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction / Social Education at the University of Houston.