It’s hard to know what all the fuss was about. Prime Minister Tony Blair’s recent involvement in the launch of Rotary International’s Coping with Citizenship CD-Rom was criticised by the two teaching unions, the NUT and the NASUWT, for endorsing the resources of one particular organisation. Well, commercial educational software developers can rest easy in their beds. Coping with Citizenship may be graced by the presence of Rojo - a genetic mutation of the Zoombinis (remember them?) - and a demented space hopper, but multimedia it ain’t.

This text-based CD-Rom is, however, a very useful, free resource for teachers, students and families. Clearly presented, and covering a significant area of a huge subject. Coping with Citizenship is the third in the Rotary Coping with Life series, following Coping with Bullying and Coping with Family Change.

With the deadline for inclusion of citizenship into the secondary curriculum now looming (August 2002 for key stages 3 and 4), any material that helps teachers tackle such a diverse topic is to be welcomed. Colin Sawyer, an ex-teacher and author of this program, has teamed up with a variety of national and international bodies including The Citizenship Foundation, The Council for Education in World Citizenship and The Centre for Citizenship Studies in Education. Most of the CD’s content has been provided by members of the DFES Working Group on Citizenship in the Curriculum.

Among the subjects included are children’s rights, local and national government, voting and elections, crime and the law, social dilemmas and conflicts and living in a multi-cultural society. There are primary and secondary versions of the CD and both - retaining the format of the two previous discs - are divided into three main sections: families, students and teachers. Families contains information for “the wider family”. Essentially, parents are given advice on how to help and encourage their children with citizenship, but they are also given “specific information that will help them understand their rights and responsibilities as adults”.

Stories and activities make up the two parts of the Students section. The primary disc concentrates on communication and responsibilities in school life and family relationships while the secondary deals with more adult issues such as crime and politics. Activities include quizzes and word games.

Teachers will find relevant web links in their section as well as background material and suggestions on how to use the stories and activities. All the material on the disc can be printed out and is copyright free.

This is a largely text-based resource (there is an optional audio function) which gathers together the various strands of citizenship and could be a valuable tool in the teaching of a complex but potentially stimulating subject.

Hugh John