New Bottles for Old Wine? Affective Education and the 'Citizenship Revolution' in English Schools

This paper discusses particular recent developments which have significant implications for the place and priority given to different aspects or forms of affective education in the school curriculum in England and Wales. The author explores key questions. The first is: To what extent do recent developments in citizenship education constitute a significant break with tradition? Are we presented with 'old wine in new bottles', or 'Is this a new vintage?' The second is: How might the 're-discovery' of citizenship education as a curriculum priority at the level of national government be explained and in what ways is it problematic?