Citizenship Learning : Contextual, Material and Political

Abstract

This chapter focuses on three intertwined dimensions central to contemporary studies of citizenship: the material, the cultural and the political. Based on these, it develops an account of citizenship learning that draws on socio-cultural and socio-material theories of learning and emphasizes everyday encounters and practices as spaces central to learning citizenship. It illustrates with examples from African contexts how contextual, material and political dimensions of citizenship manifest themselves in practices wherein citizenship is performed and learned. In conclusion, it suggests an account of citizenship learning which locates learning in the dynamic interaction between individuals and their cultural, social and material environments and is embedded in the specific social, economic and political conditions of a given society and state.