Cross-sector Alliances for Democratic Civic Education: Do They Serve the Common Good?

Collaborations between public schools and non-system actors (NSAs) raise questions regarding the influence of such external partners. Focusing on the case of civic education, this study asks how such cross-sector alliances (CSAs) impact the citizenship conceptions promoted in Israeli classrooms. Thirty-two interviews were conducted with teachers engaged in such collaborations. The findings point to the influences of NSAs civic ideology, and its relation to the state’s civics curriculum standards, on the citizenship conceptions enacted in each case. Four distinct approaches to CSAs were identified: (1) alignment; (2) complementary; (3) reduction; and (4) alternative. Based on Dewey’s fundamental understandings of the essence of democracy, we question the assumption that CSAs will present a multifaceted approach and a critical stance toward citizenship. We contend that in the three approaches, aside from the alternative approach, collaborations serve society’s dominant hegemonic groups by maintaining power relations.