Here, it is argued that the recent worldwide upsurge of interest in citizenship education has been associated with a struggle between ideas of indoctrination and ideas of education. On the one hand, there has been a desire for the uncritical acceptance of doctrine without regard to evidence (indoctrination); and on the other, a desire to assess possibilities in the light of the available evidence (education). The propensity toward indoctrination, it is claimed, can be found in a commitment to slogans and dogma, a rush to reform and to find the quick fix, and in some places a tradition of didactic teaching that focuses upon an encyclopaedic coverage of details without particular regard to their meaning for pupils. An educative orientation is found in a broadening and deepening of the public discussion of the role of citizenship education, the emphasis upon a long term perspective, the development of clear conceptions and expectations, and the building of a substantive knowledge base. The authors are critical of initiatives in their native Canada and point to specific enterprises in England and Australia that they conclude are much more illustrative of the educative disposition.