Taiwanese Youth’s Imagination of Good Citizens in Environmental Policy Controversy Deliberations

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 1:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring Citizenship Education Policies From a Global Perspective (Table 13)

Abstract

This study explores Taiwanese students’ imagination of good citizens as they deliberate over a highly controversial local environmental policy. Tracing five focal students’ learning trajectories, this study unpacks how the students perceive their own and the adult stakeholders’ roles in this controversy. Results reveal students’ consistent distrust of the adult stakeholders. Nevertheless, they developed expectations of the stakeholders as they learned more about the political complexities of this issue. Students’ imaginations about good citizens include four elements: engaging in public issues, respecting different opinions, rational communication and addressing the local’s concerns and needs. Based on the results, I argue that pluralistic values are needed for preparing citizens to cope with sustainability challenges in multicultural and pluralistic societies.

Author

• Yun Wen Chan, Texas State University