Citizenship Education in Morocco: an Exploration of Baccalaureat Students’ Civic Outcome

Abstract

Since 2000, Morocco’s interest in citizenship education has been reflected in a series of educational reforms. The main drive has been the development of virtuous and active citizens willing to engage in the public and political life of their country. Now that a long time has elapsed since the introduction of the National Charter of Education and Training, it is important to know where the process of citizenship education stands in terms of the objectives the charter set to develop the ideal citizen. This need is further emphasized by the persisting impact of globalization and the challenges of international as well as intra-national security. It is within this sprit that this paper explores the impact citizenship education has had on the civic knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of 100 Moroccan high school students in the academy of Rabat- Sale- Zemmour- Zaer. Adopting a mixed method approach, the study uses three research instruments to collect relevant data: a questionnaire, interviews, and participant observation. The main finding reveals that citizenship education is still conceptually minimalist in its approach since it does not encourage learners to become agents of social change equipped with enquiring minds and participatory skills.

 Keywords: Citizenship education; Civic outcomes; Minimalist approach