Detachment of the new generations from the idea of European citizenship. What role should the school play

Abstract

The idea of Europe and the conception of a European citizenship are suffering, in recent years, a process of disaffection and "detachment" among the younger population. The actions of the European organization, in the management of the economic crisis of 2008, among other actions, have caused part of the population to believe that it defends market and/or business interests more than people. Therefore, this article aims to identify and respond to a selection of criticisms that occur in the school context and that constitute a substratum on which young people's disaffection with the idea of European citizenship is growing. Subsequently, pedagogical measures are defined to make the Union known and to sensitize young people to its importance. These opinions are collected within the framework of the European project Explain the EU: Method: a European trimester at every school, involving more than 40 high schools, 80 teachers and more than 3,000 secondary school students. Among the measures to be taken, the following are proposed: to encourage the development of European citizenship at school; to implement the teacher training program "Jean Monet Antenna"; to modify the curriculum and methodologies in Secondary Education; and to promote exchange programs between students in different countries of the Union and to promote visits to European institutions.