The article, “What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for Democracy” by Joel Westheimer talks about three kinds of citizens – the personally responsible citizen, the participatory citizen, and the justice-oriented citizen (Westheimer 240). These types of citizens are what education hopes to achieve, and curriculum bases some of its focus around. 

One example I thought of regarding citizenship is our high school’s usage of food resources. I remember quite a few food drives that were available, helping students become personally responsible and participatory citizens. Although this may not necessarily contribute to the justice-oriented citizen, it portrays a few elements of the other kinds of citizens. An example of teaching that focused on the justice-oriented citizen I can think of, is one teacher that taught us about equality and injustices. I remember we learned a few days worth of content around poverty, inequality and world issues. This relates to the justice-oriented citizen, as we learned the reasonings behind these issues, instead of more surface-level content.

Although I could think of a few options our high school offered, there were a few things that could’ve been improved, in example, learning about why a food drive is necessary instead of just contributing could also result in the justice-oriented citizen. However, the learning of world issues and their reasonings could help students become all three types of citizens.

This type of instruction in curriculum shows that although there may be a few elements of students becoming justice-oriented, the main focus is personally responsible and participatory citizens. Although all three kinds of citizens are great, it’s helpful for students to become justice-oriented as it’s easier to help society. 

Works Cited

Westheimer, Joel. “What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for Democracy”. American Educational Research Journal, 2004.