Educational Standards for Civic and Citizenship Education – Essential Contribution or Prevention of Emancipation?
The ICCS test on civic knowledge and reasoning allows for the differentiation of levels of fundamental civic and citizenship education. Thus, ICCS offers a possible starting point for defining standards in civic and citizenship education, as also suggested by the Standing Scientific Commission on Education Policy (SWK, 2024). However, there is debate within the academic discourse on civic and citizenship education about what form and function standards should take.
Against the backdrop of their independently formulated positions (Abs, 2025; May, 2025), the two university professors, Hermann Josef Abs (Duisburg-Essen) and Michael May (Jena), embarked on a search for common ground. The resulting considerations were presented and discussed with a specialist audience at the GPJE Annual Conference 2026 in Vienna. A key finding was that educational standards should not refer to values and attitudes, insofar as they are checked as binding requirements for individual students. In contrast, the importance of cognitively oriented minimum standards for ensuring a comprehensive educational offering for all students was identified as essential for fulfilling the mandate of civic education in schools.
References
Abs, Hermann J. (2025). Development of Standards for Civic Education. In: Klieme, E.; Sanat, P.; Pant, A. (Eds.) Standards in Education: An Interim Review. = ZfPäd – Journal of Pedagogy 71. Supplement. pp. 114 – 135.
May, Michael (2025). Bildungsstandards für das demokratische Wagnis? – Anmerkungen zum Vorschlag, Standards für Demokratiebildung einzuführen. GWP – Gesellschaft. Wirtschaft. Politik 74 (4). pp. 483-490. 74 (4-2025). pp. 483-490.
SWK (2024). Demokratiebildung als Auftrag der Schule – Bedeutung des historischen und politischen Fachunterrichts sowie Aufgabe aller Fächer und der Schulentwicklung. Stellungnahme der Ständigen Wissenschaftlichen Kommission der Kultusministerkonferenz. Bonn. https://swk-bildung.org/content/uploads/2024/06/SWK-2024-Stellungnahme_Demokratiebildung.pdf