Social studies textbooks are powerful pedagogical sites that produce and legitimize normative visions of citizenship through discursive processes. This study examines how the figure of the "good citizen" is constructed in officially approved Thai lower secondary social studies textbooks (Grades 7–9) under the Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551 (2008, revised 2017), focusing on the civic duties strand. The analysis integrates Foucault’s theory of discourse to explain the production and normalization of "regimes of truth" surrounding citizenship; Bernstein’s pedagogic discourse theory to examine the organization and transmission of civic knowledge within curricular texts; and Westheimer and Kahne’s typology of citizenship to analyze normative orientations embedded in civic representations. Together, these frameworks enable a multi-layered analysis linking discursive construction, curricular organization, and institutionalized civic ideals. Drawing on qualitative document analysis of officially approved textbooks published between 2017 and 2023, the study employs iterative thematic coding and critical discourse analysis to identify dominant discursive patterns across textual content, visual imagery, and pedagogical directives. Findings indicate that citizenship is primarily framed through a moral value orientation emphasizing obedience, social harmony, gratitude, and commitment to core social institutions. Participatory and democratic citizenship are acknowledged rhetorically but receive secondary emphasis within the curricular structure, while critical and global perspectives remain limited. The study conceptualizes textbooks as operating within national learning standards and normative frameworks rather than as neutral instructional tools and contributes to comparative citizenship education scholarship from a Southeast Asian perspective.

Authors:
Pimtawan Jantan, Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Pimtawan Jantan is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Studies at Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand.

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