The role of civic education in eliminating poverty in a society

1.0 Introduction

“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is the protection of a fundamental human

right, the right to dignity and a decent life.”- Nelson Mandela. A consequence of poverty is the
disruption it creates to the process of learning, which in turn has a direct repercussion on the
social and behavioural dispensation of a society and this could lead to poverty. The objective of
this paper is to discuss the contribution of civic education, which is just one of the components of
the measures required, in eradicating privation, and/or deprivation.

2.0 Definitions of Civic Education

In attempting to do so, civic education will be defined as all the processes that affect people’s
beliefs, commitments, capabilities, and actions as members or prospective members of
communities. Civic education need not be intentional or deliberate; institutions and communities
transmit values and norms without meaning to. It may not be beneficial: sometimes people are
civically educated in ways that disempower them or impart harmful values and goals. It is
certainly not limited to schooling and the education of children and youth. Families,
governments, religions, and mass media are just some of the institutions involved in civic
education, understood as a lifelong process (Crittenden, Jack and Levine, Peter, "Civic
Education", 2018).

Civic Education in a democracy is education in self-government. Democratic self-government

means that citizens are actively involved in their own governance; they do not just passively
accept the dictums of others or acquiesce to the demands of others. As Aristotle put it in
his Politics (c 340 BC), "If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in
democracy, they will be attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost."
In other words, the ideals of democracy are most completely realized when every member of the
political community shares in its governance. Members of the political community are its
citizens, hence citizenship in a democracy is membership in the body politic. Membership
implies participation, but not participation for participation's sake. Citizen participation in a
democratic society must be based on informed, critical reflection, and on the understanding and
acceptance of the rights and responsibilities that go with that membership.
 The role of civic education in eliminating poverty in a society

What are the essential components of civic education appropriate for a democratic society? That
question was addressed in the course of the development of the National Standards for Civics
and Government. (Center for Civic Education, 1994.) More than 3,000 individuals and groups
participated in the development and/or review process. Those voluntary standards which have
been well received and critically acclaimed, not only in the country of their origin but in many
other nations as well, identify three essential components: civic knowledge, civic skills, and civic
dispositions. The main objective of civic education therefore is the formation of civil qualities on
the basis of new knowledge, skills and values that help individuals to solve emerging problems,
adapt to changing socio-economic and political conditions, represent and protect their rights and
interests, respecting the interests and rights of others. All these should culminate into the
reduction and ultimately, the termination of poverty.

3.0 Argument

3.1 In the framework of its broadest definition, civic education is an exceedingly important tool
in the fight against poverty because peoples behaviours are deeply steeped in their beliefs. A
nation is a culmination of communities, which themselves are products of families. If the family
values are those that include social inclusion, gender equity and access to education, which could
either be formal or informal, the result will be that of a community adhering to the same
foundations that have been inculcated into the individual at the most basic unit. A typical
exemplification of this is the United Arab Emirates model. This confederation of seven states
boasts a GDP per capita of 43,000 USD (World Bank 2020), making it the third richest country
in the world. One of the key tenets of their way of life is kinship which is kept closely knit.
Another aspect of this is society is their religious belief, one that is strictly adhered to by the
local populace. A key factor in this religious system is “zakat” which can be defined as an
obligatory payment made annually under Islamic law on certain kinds of property and used for
charitable and religious purposes. As such, the well-being of an Emirati is the responsibility of
the next Emirati. This consolidates Westheimer’s and Kahne’s posit that the different civic
theories undergird actual programmes, (What kind of citizen, 2004). Due to these values, it is
quite improbable to compare the citizens that are termed “poor” in the UAE with for example,
those here in Zambia. In this context civic education is the norms and values that have been
 The role of civic education in eliminating poverty in a society

passed on from one generation to the next which enables social inclusion of an individual
regardless of their social stratification.

3.2 Peace and prosperity are inadvertently intertwined. Without peace, it is difficult to prosper,
but with prosperity it is easier to have peace. In sum, poverty is both a cause of insecurity and a
consequence of it. Civic education plays a major role in the attainment of peace, hence a building
block for social mobility. Peace is not necessarily the absence of war but can be seen as the state
of tranquility within a particular geographical area. Other factors other than wars can disrupt
peace such as natural disasters, an epidemic, droughts, poverty, etc. Kester (2010) defined peace
as “the absence of physical and structural violence, and the presence of justice”. Hence peace is
associated with the feeling of security and calmness in the absence of chaos and fear by the
members of a society. Albert Einstein’s definition is more aligned to this discourse. He says
Peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of justice, of law, of order- in short of
government. This definition compliments the essence and values of Civic Education.

When knowledge, skills and disposition are part of civic education, it is possible to cultivate into
a society the nature of peace building through peace education, whether formal or informal.
During peace times, people can live a dignified life and are gainfully employed in decent work.
Livelihood opportunities are available and reasonably accessible to increase inclusion and
mobility. Furthermore, citizens can accumulate economic assets, not only to improve their
incomes but to invest in and grow the economy. As a result, the state collects adequate revenue
and invest in infrastructure and services required for the economy and peace to flourish.

In the same vein, civic education can be employed in the pursuit of conflict resolution, bearing in
mind that peaceful co-existence plays an integral part in poverty reduction. Religion and certain
religious sectarian identities are often used to fuel political and social agendas, conflict being one
of these. A study in Zambia/Tanzania on civil participation in several forums indicated that in
some societies, individuals connect much more with religious groups than any other category¹.
The challenge is how to immunize the community, family, and child from being easily
manipulated by symbols of their own religious identities. An illustration of this is the case of
Sudan. Thousands of young Sudanese boys were conscripted into the army to fight against the
uprising in South Sudan on the pretext they were fighting a holy war. In 1990, the Popular
Defence Forces (PDF) were created. This is a militia under army control and modelled on Iran's
 The role of civic education in eliminating poverty in a society

Revolutionary Guard. Its legal basis is laid down in the 1989 Popular Defence Forces Law
(Human Rights Watch/Africa 1996).

PDF training involved military training, civil defence training, patriotic and cultural education
(1989 law, art. 14) and considered to be an instrument of religious indoctrination.

The legal minimum enlistment age for the PDF was believed to be 16, but this was not being
adhered to and many younger children were recruited by the PDF. Those joining the PDF were
urged, for religious reasons, to 'volunteer' for combat duty in the south. In 1995 many secondary
school students were recruited by the PDF to fight in the south (Human Rights Watch 1996).

Civic educators engaging with religious leaders have the ability to change the mindset of a
community and thus prevent conflict and instead foster peace which will bring about the
dignified life mentioned above.

3.3 Thus far, the argument has been that of practically informal socialization playing a major role
in the civic education of the individual. However, formal, structured education is as much an
essential component of a robust and successful civic education process. Hence, civic education
within the school consists of deliberate courses that are geared towards developing citizens that
are well informed and responsible in order to achieve a civil society. For a citizen to be a fully-
fledged member of their community, they need to participate actively in the social-political
process of the said community. Literacy is therefore an essential, or more appropriately a basic
need for everyone. According to Dawinder (2013), there are practical benefits to civic education
programmes. These can be generally useful with respect to the social mobility of the poor. A
newly published paper by UNESCO shows that education is critical to escape chronic poverty
and to prevent the transmission of poverty between generations. The rate of return is higher in
low-income countries than in high income countries. Primary education has a higher rate of
return than secondary education. Education also enables those in paid formal employment to earn
higher wages: One year of education is associated with a 10% increase in wages. When these
programmes alter mindsets so that even rural communities are more receptive to basic primary
education, more so, for their female children, it accords these communities opportunities to be
part of their own governance.
 The role of civic education in eliminating poverty in a society

In addition, education is an unescapable factor in protecting the environment, which ultimately

lifts citizens out of poverty. This can be explained by the following:

 Overall climate change and the resulting frequency of natural disasters and reduced
agricultural output could cast as many as 122 million people into poverty.
 The creation of green industries will rely on highly skilled, educated workers.
 Agriculture contributes 1/3 of all greenhouse gas emissions. Primary and secondary
education can provide future farmers with critical knowledge about sustainability
challenges in agriculture.

Civic education for both the young and those entrusted with protecting, utilizing and controlling
the resources of the state ensures that programmes such as basic education are implemented.

An example that can be cited is that of Finland, which has one of the lowest poverty levels, 0.2%
and partly attributed to their education system which has a mandatory basic education at no cost
to the citizens. Pupil and student welfare is primarily preventive student welfare that supports the
school community as a whole. In the school community, this means an institutional culture that
includes collaborative activities and cooperation between the school and home as well as
measures that promote safety.

Students are also entitled to individualised student welfare, which aims to help the student learn,
be healthy, experience wellbeing and a sense of inclusion and to prevent problems from arising.
The purpose is also to ensure that high-quality student welfare services are available and that
students have access to early support.

4.0 Conclusion

It is evident that civil education is a collaborative effort comprising individuals, family, grassroot
leaders, civil society organisations and government of course. Poverty eradication requires
concerted efforts from all stakeholders, to even begin to gain a foothold in uplifting the poor
from their entrenched positions. Only when these are components are in seamless tandem, then
can society achieve the cohesion that is required to foster the development that can reduce the
social inequalities that exist in the world.
 The role of civic education in eliminating poverty in a society

Satu Riutta. Democratic Participation in Rural Tanzania and Zambia: The Impact of Civic
Education, 2009
 The role of civic education in eliminating poverty in a society

References

Crittenden, Jack and Levine, Peter, "Civic Education", The Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy  (Fall 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL =
<https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2018/entries/civic-education/>.

Center for Civic Education. 1994. National Standards for Civics and Government. Calabasas,
CA: Center for Civic Education.

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?name_desc=false&view=chart

Westheimer, Joel & Kahne, Joseph. (2004). What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for
Democracy. American Educational Research Journal

Kester, K. (2010). Education for Peace: Content, Form, and Structure: Mobilizing Youth
for Civic Engagement. Peace and Conflict Review, 4(2), 1-10 (sourced through
researchgate.net)

https://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/WR96/Africa-10.htm#P769_184043

Sidhu, Dawinder S., Civic Education as an Instrument of Social Mobility (August 26, 2013). 90
Denver University Law Review 977 (2013); UNM School of Law Research Paper No. 2013-01.

Satu Riutta. Democratic Participation in Rural Tanzania and Zambia: The Impact of Civic
Education, 2009
The role of civic education in eliminating poverty in a society