Kho Ee Moi (National Institute of Education, Singapore)

Keywords
Primary Social Studies
Social Studies

Introduction
Most educators in democratic societies agree that developing the young to become effective citizens is of utmost importance and schools are well placed to do that (Parker, 2005; Stanley, 2010). In Singapore, Social Studies plays a primary role in citizenship education in school. However, citizenship education is a contentious enterprise as there is no consensus on what “citizenship” means nor about the goals and purposes of citizenship education (Ross, 2006; McCowan, 2009; Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). As pointed out by Sim (2008), the plural nature of communities in modern states, compounded by globalization and its attendant issues, has resulted in a lack of shared conceptions of citizenship even among members of the same society. McCowan (2009, p.5) posits that the “aims of citizenship education – the development of a ‘good’ or ‘effective’ or ‘empowered’ citizen – depend on fundamental understandings of the nature of the polity, the balance of liberty and equality and so forth.” The multiplicity and diverse natures of nation states in the world suggest that it is not possible to agree on one definitive form of citizenship education.

Over the years, scholars and educators have proposed various purposes and orientations to citizenship education through Social Studies. As discussed in the article “What is Social Studies?” in this issue, Barr, Barth and Shermis (1977) grouped the various approaches to citizenship education (and Social Studies) into three categories: citizenship or cultural transmission, social science, and reflective inquiry. Many other scholars have also contributed to the discussion on the goals and purposes of Social Studies and citizenship education and proposed other traditions or orientations towards Social Studies. Morisett (1977), for example, described five orientations of Social Studies: