Improving Civics Teaching: a Handbook for Secondary School Teachers

Abstract

This handbook is addressed to the teacher and seeks to provide guidelines for the teaching of civics to high school students. Civics as a subject of the school curriculum has assumed a special significance in India after Independence. The success of a civics programme in our school now depends upon the extent to which the programme is able to develop a sense of citizenship among the students. Good citizenship means right actions based on sound knowledge and judgment. Our educational system being examination-dominated; the teaching of civics continues to lay more emphasis on factual information. Facts are important so long as they help the pupils in developing certain understandings. But if the teacher is not exactly clear about what understandings he aims at developing in his students, he may fail to select right facts and organise them correctly. Besides developing understandings, there is also a need to make the teaching of civics functional. Civics teaching seeks to bring about certain types of behavioral changes, which are conducive to good civic life.