Abstract
Recently the educational task of the public school has been repeatedly
challenged. Citizenship has not been spared from criticism and its legitimacy has
been questioned. The article discusses the issue of the legitimacy of citizenship
education in public schools, specifying the meaning of neutrality of which it
proposes a narrow interpretation.
On this basis the article examines four philosophical models of citizenship
education (communitarianism, civic humanism, liberalism, republicanism). The
analysis suggests that the republican model of citizenship education is the most
appropriate; it needs however a liberal adaptation. The proposed solution of
a liberal republicanism is illustrated with a critical examination of the duty of
civility.