Non-formal Citizenship Education

Just as with other forms of education, civics and citizenship education and learning can—and often does—take place beyond the confines of formal structures and institutions such as schools and universities. In some cases, this might mean public information campaigns, or government announcements, or the work of non-government organisations, charities and not-for-profit groups. It can also involve the work of radical activists and groups that seek to encourage social change—for example, on the topic of climate change—and consider see that educating the public as being central to part of that mission. Needless to say, the diversity of groups engaged in this kind of informal education is matched only by the vast number of topics that they seek to address; I am not proposing that all such groups or topics are engaged in citizenship education. Nevertheless, applying the same inclusive lens that has informed the rest of this book, I have included in this chapter a wide range of approaches, settings and locations to demonstrate the breadth and diversity of non-formal citizenship education approaches.