recenziji ■ reviews 227 space in which children learn and develop is presented as the main focus of the study, with each author discussing issues like privacy and safety. The study also highlights how the UNCRC acts as a framework for contextualising children’s rights, reflecting on how the UNCRC can be used for the purposes of continued upskilling educators in the discussion on children’s rights, ethics and online safety with further implementation of Articles 13 and 17 of the CRC. The volume as a whole provides readers with insightful themes and discussions on issues surrounding children’s rights and the UNCRC as a policy. The book acts as an introductory guide for policymakers in the field of education and sociology. The concept of childhood is introduced and presented in a sensible and cohesive manner. The chapters all present diverse articles on numerous topics that in - troduce the reader to historical, thematic and contextual discussions con- cerning the CRC and its implications. Despite limited case studies which focus on selected countries, the book recognises the importance of educa- tors, classroom environments and guardians in the sphere of the CRC and can act as a starting point for further research on children’s rights within interdisciplinary approaches and methods. The book allows the reader to see the concept of children’s rights as an idea that stretches beyond the classroom and is influenced and affect - ed by culture and economics. The conclusion brings together the resonat - ing aspects of each chapter, before introducing an epilogue which draws out some of the key findings of educational research concerning children’s rights. If one is to consider Nietzsche, as quoted by l’ Anson in the first chap- ter, “…counter to our time and thereby action on our time and, let us hope, for the benefit of a time to come” resonates deeply with the scope of action in which the book can act as a stepping stone. Pascale Emily Pečnik https:/ / doi.org/10.32320/1581-6044.31(3-4)223-227 Hyslop-Margison, Emery J., Thayer, James, Teaching Democracy: Citizenship Education as Critical Pedagogy. Rotterdam, Boston and Taipei: Sense Publishers, 2009. “There is no escaping the world we now live in” is a statement that is true when participatory democratic decision-making is removed from the realm of public policy formation (Hyslop-Margison and Thayer, 2009, p. šolsko polje, letnik xxxi, številka 3–4 228 37). This trend is seen increasingly today in various societal government intrusions in the era of the ‘new normal’. Even though the book Tea ching Democracy was published over a decade ago and should be read with its critical theory glasses on, it seems that in the current world its message that transformative citizenship education is needed is more relevant than ever. The latest trends in capitalism (neo-liberalism and hyper-globalisa - tion) and dominant characteristics of societies across the world (rise of populist movements, racism, migrations and increasing human rights breaches) continue to transform our lives and societies that suit the im- age of the market (Heggart et al., 2018). We are facing a pandemic that is heavily tied to globalisation, consumerism and ecology. This is shown, for example, in the use of face masks that on one side are becoming a fash- ion trend and ways of promoting businesses and popular culture perso- nas and, on the other, a tool of politics for controlling people around the world. The pandemic is a product of the global movement of people and goods, especially unsustainable tourism, overcrowding, transport, unnec- essary business and scientific meetings and so on (Adam, 2020b). The de - scription given by the book’s authors applies today more than ever: “These are extremely tenuous times for modern democratic states and for de- mocracy more generally as the international community has drifted dan- gerously towards a monolithic vision of the socially possible” (Hyslop- Margison and Thayer, 2009, p. xvi). Today, children are bombarded with ideological messages designed to persuade them that appearance, wealth and conspicuous consumption influence self-worth and social status. Schools have a big role to play in teaching citizenship to our children, but what exactly do they teach? Do they aim to create critical citizens or simply loyal followers who will vote every 4 years and remain passive political participants? It seems the lat- ter prevails since the dominant educational agenda is oriented to teaching children to fit with a predetermined ‘social reality’ that excludes students as future citizens from meaningful political participation. ‘To obey and fit the model’ is taught as the best strategy. The book Teaching Democracy aims to challenge such school curricula and proposes a model of citizen- ship education that borrows heavily from critical theory insights. It in- tends to both inform and empower future citizens to participate actively in social design and reconstruction (Hyslop-Margison and Thayer, 2009, p. xvii). More concretely, the book has two main aims. First, it wishes to articulate the threat to democracy by the current citizenship education approaches which promote passivity, compliance and protect the status quo. Second, it wishes to provide a way out of this anti-democratic trap and change those critiques into concrete political actions by providing (in recenziji ■ reviews 229 the authors’ words) an “ideal pedagogical approach to appropriately ed- ucate our students as future democratic citizens” (Hyslop-Margison and Thayer, 2009, p. xviii). The book is divided into five chapters. The first chapter discuss - es the current threats to democratic citizenship posed by the “monolith- ic and globally pervasive ideology of neo-liberalism” (Hyslop-Margison and Thayer, 2009, p. 1). Democratic choices are difficult, if not impos - sible when citizens are unable to imagine possible social, economic and political alternatives. The authors reveal how neo-liberal education pro - grammes have exploited many of the tools of critical discourse and turned them into instruments of exploitation. In the second chapter, the authors begin to articulate their vision of what they understand as meaningful democratic citizenship. They review a range of existing international con - ceptions and policies related to the field and say that denying students the critical exploration of social realities is not simply anti-democratic but an- ti-educational and morally reprehensible. In the third chapter, the authors look for arguments for critical pedagogy, providing the necessary praxis to restore the democratic rights of students, workers and all citizens to par- ticipate fully in the organisation and restructuring of democratic socie- ties. They review several contemporary international citizenship models and objectives and show how the majority of policies fall within the ‘thin model’ of citizenship that is discursively focused on the market economy and consumer objectives. In the fourth chapter, the authors illustrate how critical theory can transform traditional notions of citizenship and citizenship education by reviewing perceived threats to formal political participation and analys- ing why these ideas and solutions are presently inadequate. By focusing on the work of critical theorists like Pierre Bourdieu, Zygmunt Bauman, Anthony Giddens and Jurgen Habermas, they develop a case for a pro- gramme of thick democratic citizenship. Education has a critical role to play in bringing about changes in the rapidly altering material conditions of a society that require an active political response originating in both the education and civil realms. “As such, a program that educates for cit- izenship and democratic participation within the context of global capi- talism must re-evaluate what it means to participate as a citizen, to belong to a community, and reflect on the need to empirically and theoretically elucidate emerging models of citizenship and democracy based on these understandings” (Hyslop-Margison and Thayer, 2009, p. 95). Citizenship education based on critical theory is embedded within a transformative framework that views democratic citizenship and society as fluid, dynam- ic and flexible. šolsko polje, letnik xxxi, številka 3–4 230 In the last, fifth chapter, the authors discuss the current state of un- derstanding democratic citizenship by focusing on the example of various Canadian curriculum policy documents, which reveal differing under- standings of what citizenship means and how it is manifested in cur- riculum development. They reveal that the majority of citizenship pro - grammes are developed as a result of increased government attention to what constitutes a ‘good’ citizen – someone who possesses certain pre- disposed knowledge, often including banal historical facts about nation- al history and electoral/legislative processes and uses this information in a certain prescribed fashion. Such a citizen is usually obedient and com- pelled to vote in elections when his civic duty allows him to do so. The passive stance adds to the growing sense of alienation so commonly seen in today’s societies among many young voters who understand that their political choices amount to no real choice at all. On the contrary, the en- gaged democratic citizen does more than just occasionally cast a vote, he/ she is engaged in a full-time endeavour that involves seeking new knowl- edge and constantly reflecting on that knowledge. He/she is constant- ly engaged in public debate, actively participating in their communi- ty by volunteering or engaging in various forms of political activism. A ‘good citizen’ is also an effective, dedicated and efficient worker who un- derstands their fundamental right to form and join labour unions and create change in workplace conditions. Citizenship education based on critical pedagogy considers society and citizenship as dynamic, fluid and contestable constructs where fundamental social change is both imagi- nable and practically possible. Here, formal political processes are only one of the possible forms of political participation. In such an education, students are equipped with critical thinking tools, which amongst oth- ers involves discussions around globalisation, neo-liberalism, internation- al trade agreements and their impact on their way of life. Despite its occasional utopian rhetoric, the book is highly relevant for today’s reflections on the state of citizenship education and discussions about active citizenship and critical thinking pedagogy. The pandemic is a clear sign of a civilization crisis in which the triangle created between glo- balisation, consumerism and sustainable development is defined by capi- talist and market processes and trends (Adam, 2020a). The abolition of the capitalist production and regulatory system cannot solve the problems of civilisation, which are more deeply rooted in individualistic and con- sumer (acquisitive) behaviour. The pandemic crisis has taught us that a less wasteful consumer model and lifestyle is possible and that the old mod- el which was indifferent to nature and balanced social development is no longer easy to replicate. As the authors of the book conclude, we should recenziji ■ reviews 231 teach all of our students the basics of the electoral process, the role of vari- ous government bodies and departments, stress the importance of voting, the importance and need for active political and social participation and to critically reflect on past and current national and international politi- cal and economic actions. References Adam, F. (2020a) Od postsocialistične tranzicije do »velikega« moža. In Adam, F. (ed.). Med meritokracijo in populizmom: O kakofoniji podat- kov v postfaktični družbi, pp. 187–196. Ljubljana: Inštitut za razvojne in strateške analize. Adam, F. (2020b) Globalizacija, potrošništvo in trajnostni razvoj. In Adam, F. (ed.). Med meritokracijo in populizmom: O kakofoniji podatkov v po- stfaktični družbi, pp. 197–208. Ljubljana: Inštitut za razvojne in strate- ške analize. Heggart, K., Flowers, R., Burridge, N., and Arvanitakis, J. (2018) Refreshing Critical Pedagogy and Citizenship Education Through the Lens of Justice and Complexity Pedagogy. Global Studies of Childhood 8 (4), pp. 355–367. Maja Dolinar https://doi.org/10.32320/1581-6044.31(3-4)227-231