A curriculum for liberal citizenship? Citizenship education ideologies in Chilean primary education

Abstract

In a context of democratic crisis and the rise of authoritarian discourses, this article analyzes the civic education ideologies (CivID) present in the Chilean primary education curriculum. Through a qualitative content analysis of the Core Learning Objectives from 1st to 6th grade across four subjects, we identify a predominance of the liberal CivID (69%), characterized by individual development, creativity, and critical thinking, disconnected from transformative action. The conservative CivID (20%) is associated with low cognitive complexity and factual knowledge. The critical CivID (11%) appears marginally, linked to sustainability, collaborative work, and agency. Each subject configures a differentiated citizenship profile: Mathematics privileges order and individual problem-solving; Language and Communication emphasizes personal expression and creativity; Natural Sciences presents critical potential through sustainability; History, Geography and Social Sciences concentrates civic knowledge, but without a transformative orientation. The results reveal a cross-cutting depoliticizing tendency that shapes an autonomous and individualistic citizen, disconnected from the collective challenges of contemporary democracy. The article also suggests integrating citizenship education across subjects through curriculum problematization and critical reading by teachers.