In many EU countries the topic of active citizenship in youth education is often understood more as learning ‘about’ active citizenship rather than learning ‘to be’ active citizens. Indeed, in the field of citizenship education, educational practice still places the main emphasis on transferring knowledge, that is, the cognitive aspect of learning even though it would be important to teach skills as well, such as analytical and argumentative skills. Among those, an emphasis should be made on critical thinking skills that can assist with ethical decision making and reasoned argumentation. According to researchers, these are particularly necessary in times of uncertainty. Indeed, thinking critically supports our wellbeing, our decision-making amidst ambiguous and constantly changing information and our understanding of complex situations. On the other hand, critical thinking skills are also important for active citizenship as they are needed to allow democracy to work well; critical thinking can help us ask better questions, uncover our assumptions, overcome systematic biases in our reasoning and reframe issues in ways that can take advantage of the essence of democracy, that is epistemic (i.e. the knowledge-producing potential of
In many EU countries the topic of active citizenship in youth education is often understood more as learning ‘about’ active citizenship rather than learning ‘to be’ active citizens. Indeed, in the field of citizenship education, educational practice still places the main emphasis on transferring knowledge, that is, the cognitive aspect of learning even though it would be important to teach skills as well, such as analytical and argumentative skills. Among those, an emphasis should be made on critical thinking skills that can assist with ethical decision making and reasoned argumentation. According to researchers, these are particularly necessary in times of uncertainty. Indeed, thinking critically supports our wellbeing, our decision-making amidst ambiguous and constantly changing information and our understanding of complex situations. According to the Council of Europe, the young people, aged from 15 to 24, living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods face discrimination, prejudice and isolation that make it harder for them to be active citizens. Critical thinking skills are important for active citizenship as they are needed to allow democracy to work well; critical thinking can help us ask better questions or uncover assumptions.