Beyond knowledge and skills: Discursive construction of civic identity in the world history classroom

Abstract

The research presented in this article investigates the role of classroom discussions for supporting students’ ongoing identity work during the study of global issues. Civic identity is theorized as a socially constructed process in which individuals become associated as a particular type of citizen created through social interactions in a given context. The findings revealed that classroom discussion focused on supporting identity work facilitated students to critique civic discourses and to negotiate global civic identities within the classroom relations of power that privilege certain positions. The findings suggest conceptualizing civic identity as a fundamentally unresolved process of navigating multiple ways of being a citizen that are ongoing and contingent. However, the students did not discard their national identities in favor of global ones. Instead, they made sense of diverse responsibilities by considering the moral implications of remaining loyal to the nation. Thus, rather than imposing citizenship as a fixed, singular narrative, we suggest that educators support the exploration of diverse moral and political ways of being citizens in the world. Although there are promising results for civic identity work, the findings were less sanguine for a commitment to civic engagement.