State Educational Policy in the Sphere of Social Sciences in Latvia - Expert Perspective

Abstract

This paper explores whether the state educational policy in the sphere of social sciences fosters development of an educated and active civil society. This subject is topical as the political participation in relation to the election activity is gradually decreasing.The research aims to study the state educational policy in the sphere of social sciences which, according to the political participation theoreticians, is an especially important factor in the transition countries and new democracies for raising public awareness of the opportunities provided by democracy and the importance of participation. The theoretical part of the research is based on the theory of communicative rationality by J. Habermas, theory about the relation of education, active civil society and democracy by J. Dewey, and authors like Walter Parker and John Jarolimek expanding on the theoretical relation between mastering of social sciences and civic participation. The analytical part of the research is based on the country's long-term and medium-term planning documents. During the research, face-to-face surveys of 12th grade students were carried out, and education experts were interviewed. The study leads to a conclusion that in general the state educational policy in the sphere of social sciences gives theoretical knowledge about a democratic state system and its basic values. The expert interviews that were carried out allow concluding that the explanation for the above-mentioned survey findings is the preparation of teachers, the amount of time required for the acquisition of social sciences and the balance of.