Democratic Education Research Articles

The reactionary use of concepts of secularism, pluralism and freedom of expression: implications for education studies

ABSTRACT This paper is the text of a keynote address given at the Education Studies Association of Ireland Conference on March 31st 2023. Drawing on diverse examples of reactionary politics in Ireland and the UK such as protests against queer-inclusive education, the maintenance of sectarian and Catholic majoritarian schooling, and the use of ideas of 'free speech' arguments to shut down anti-racist education, Karl Kitching argues for vigilance against the use of ostensibly liberal ideas about secularism, pluralism and free expression to damage collective solidarity, equality and democracy in education and wider society.

Seminar Pemuda Berdaulat Undiksha: Menelaah Peran Pemuda dalam Menjaga Kelangsungan Demokrasi

Democracy is a system of government based on popular sovereignty, while democratic education is the process of teaching people about democracy, including its concepts, principles, and applications. Every citizen, especially the youth, plays a crucial role in shaping the nation's future. However, the younger generation is often less involved in national political and economic affairs, leading to problems that affect society's quality of life. Government actions often fail to have a positive impact on the younger generation and do not prioritize their interests. Consequently, the younger generation fails to grasp the importance of their role in shaping the nation's future and solving the problems they face. The aim of this activity is to equip the younger generation with modern and peaceful education about democracy. Therefore, it is essential to strive for the role of the younger generation in realizing democracy and economic-political stability so that they can play a more active role and have a positive impact on society.

Democracy in education seen through the lens of dictatorship

Democracy in education seen through the lens of dictatorship

Pentingnya Pendidikan Demokrasi Untuk Membentuk Sikap dan Prilaku Demokratis

Democracy is very important for the life of the nation and state. Democracy teaches us that the people are the source of power and that they create good rules and protect their rights. However, currently there are many violations of democracy. Many people do not understand democratic attitudes and behavior, which causes inequality. Society is not yet mature enough to follow and respond to the democratic process due to a lack of socialization and education about democracy. The purpose of writing this journal is to provide an understanding of the Importance of Democratic Education to Form Democratic Attitudes and Behavior. This research method uses the library method or literature study. The results obtained show that democratic education has the ability to provide education and help solve the problems of the nation and state. Democratic education instills democratic principles so that it can form a society whose behavior reflects democratic life.

Analysis of the implementation of education democracy in Indonesia (regulations, models, problems, and future prospects)

The study reported on here was intended to reveal the existence and direction of education democracy in Indonesia with regard to the regulations, the implementation models, problems, and future prospects. The data were obtained from various written materials of official government policy records, namely, laws, ministerial regulations, curriculum implementation guidebooks, discourses and policy criticisms on the implementation of education democracy in Indonesia published in mass media, articles and research journals. The data were analysed using philosophical-dialogical analysis. The findings indicate that in terms of practice, the regulations related to education democracy in the form of education autonomy still could not be implemented properly because of several constraints such as a lack of teachers’ professionalism, poor and less effective management of education and learning systems which are not in line with the administrative prerequisites and principles and spirit of education autonomy. Moreover, through its policies, the government still controlled education nationally resulting in autonomy that should provide maximum freedom to the community to manage education is being eroded, which limits the autonomy of education.

Doing History at the Edge of the Map: The “Digital Thrace” Research Project

Abstract “Digital Thrace: Mapping the History and Culture to Enhance the Tourist Economy” is a three-year (2021–2023) research project conducted by the Democritus University of Thrace. “Thrace,” a geographical rather than a regional or political designation, is divided into three nation-states (Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey). Despite historical nationalist conflicts and ethnic stereotypes, Thrace maintains its multicultural character. This article shows that the Digital Thrace Project not only generates research but also transforms it into knowledge and cultural experiences for visitors. It bridges the gap between academic historiography and cultural studies on one side and the public space on the other. This multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary project employs cutting-edge technologies to provide two main components to its users: a digital platform primarily aimed at researchers and educators, and a digital tour application for the general public. Special attention is devoted to the project’s pedagogical section. Based on the principles and methodologies of intercultural and democratic education, over 30 educational projects have been designed for primary and secondary school classes. These projects aim to engage students in exploring not only the history and culture of their own communities but also those of the others.

Democratic education in superdiverse schools in Aotearoa New Zealand

One of the greatest challenges facing democracies is how to live together with difference. The growth of globalisation and international migration has presented schools with increased opportunities and challenges related to learning from and living with superdiversity. Yet within current policy settings and educational practices, the alignment between superdiversity and democratic education is not explicitly foregrounded. In this paper I examine how teachers (n = 24) from four superdiverse secondary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand’s responded to growing cultural, linguistic and religious diversity in their classrooms. By examining empirical evidence from teacher’s practices, the paper illustrates how Dewey’s philosophy of learning by living together with difference, placing a priority on shared interests and developing a socio-political awareness of inequalities provides valuable insights for democratic education. The study illustrates the importance of recognising the complexity of interactions in superdiverse contexts and the significant role that teachers can play in creating conditions for inclusive classrooms where democracy can be lived and learned. It also highlights how teachers themselves, can undergo a journey toward developing more inclusive and justice-oriented pedagogical practices that support both Indigenous and ethnic minority groups in their schools.

Inclusive democratic education: a question of social discrimination and inaccessible pedagogical training

This paper is dedicated to trying to reestablish a literature review on the issue of human rights with disabilities through social theory in inclusive democratic education, taking as a reference the main scenarios in the 21st century to carry out the restructuring related to the proposal on the constitutional bases of policy for school education (special, public, private and mixed school) and higher education (university and professional institute), especially non-discrimination and inaccessibility of teaching and non-teaching trainers with disabilities. This aim is to know and redesign the new characteristics to discuss human values and to guarantee explicit access —remove barriers— through legal and social system implementation, depending on the awareness of inclusive democracy in general education. Rather, of the social ethics of human rights in different perspectives (advantage and disadvantage) in the liberal interpretation and educational multicultural democratization. In addition, there is a comparison in the educational system related to inclusive democracy and accessible vocational training, including with the constitutional bases of policy. And consequently, the new features on vocational training with disabilities through inclusive education and human rights topics. Finally, there is no broad recognition to support and legitimize the defense of the rights to job accessibility in different professional fields, both public and private institutions for all-inclusive teachers and non-teachers, including professional women with disabilities.

Beyond omission: analysing the erasure of disability and inclusion in the developmentally appropriate practices

ABSTRACT The 4th edition of the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) had an opportunity to provide the field an inclusive blueprint. While there was an attempt in this edition to respond to decades of critiques (e.g. Bloch [1992]. “Critical Perspectives on the Historical Relationship Between Child Development and Early Childhood Education Research.” In Reconceptualizing the Early Childhood Curriculum: Beginning the Dialogue, edited by S. Kessler, and E. B. Swadener, 3–20. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.; Cannella [1997]. Deconstructing Early Childhood Education: Social Justice and Revolution. New York, NY: Peter Lang.; Escayg [2019]. “Who’s got the Power?”: A Critical Examination of the Anti-Bias Curriculum.” International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy 13 (1): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40723-019-0062-9.; Langford [2010]. “Critiquing Child-Centered Pedagogy to Bring Children and Early Childhood Educators Into the Center of a Democratic Pedagogy.” Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood 11 (1): 113–127. https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2010.11.1.113.; Pérez and Saavedra [2017]. “A Call for Onto-Epistemological Diversity in Early Childhood Education and Care: Centering Global South Conceptualizations of Childhood/s.” Review of Research in Education 41 (1): 1–29. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X16688621.; Souto-Manning and Rabadi-Raol [2018]. “(Re)Centering Quality in Early Childhood Education: Toward Intersectional Justice for Minoritized Children.” Review of Research in Education 42 (1): 203–225. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X187595.), the new edition continues to centre dominant developmental approaches where adults hyperfocus on children’s differences or individual characteristics rather than on changing educational structures and practices that promote inequity (Ferri and Bacon [2011]. “Beyond Inclusion: Disability Studies in Early Childhood Teacher Education.”). The revised guidelines do not go far enough to address inequity and to give teachers and programmes tools for addressing injustice for all young children. This manuscript builds on previous critiques of DAP by explicitly addressing the exclusion of disabled children from the guidelines.

Library as an Educational Institution 1918-1968: Construction of the "New Human" as a Discontinuity in Continuity

The historiographical study analyses libraries as institutions that work with the collective memory of the nations in which they are located while educating all inhabitants. Libraries represent one of the crucial institutions of modern Czechoslovak society. This study focuses on their research from the perspective of the anthropology of institutions. Within the framework of Czechoslovakia, it analyses three stages of historical development: 1918–1938, 1938–1948 and 1948–1968. The study seeks to uncover anthropological patterns that implicitly shape the structure, meaning and methods of functioning of libraries and their social order. It also explains why libraries were essential institutions for Masaryk's Czechoslovakia and the totalitarian communist state. The study shows libraries as an institution with a high degree of historical continuity and, at the same time, discontinuously changing from a place of education for democracy into a means of propaganda and indoctrination.

Democratic Education as Expressed in Practice: An Integrative Literature Review

Despite a strong theoretical foundation, teachers’ pedagogical practices that represent the principles of democratic educational theory are not holistically understood. This qualitative integrative literature review provides a more complete view of the practices used by those who define themselves as democratic educators. By analyzing and integrating existing literature on classroom practice this review discusses four pedagogical approaches that engage democratic educational practices including inquiry, artistic, oral, and student-centered methods.

Getting to Know Democracy in the Primary School Environment

Education is a need for everyone. From time to time, education always experiences developments in a better direction, such as the implementation of educational democracy in learning which carries the concept of giving students freedom to express opinions, express objections, and also have equal opportunities without any distinction in terms of ethnicity, race and class. This research aims to determine the application of educational democracy in the student learning process in elementary schools. This research uses a literature study method where information is obtained from journals, articles, and sites available on the web and analyzed using a qualitative approach using information analysis techniques through four stages, namely searching for information, reducing information, presenting information, and drawing conclusions. The research results show that students are currently not only used as learning objects but also as subjects who are involved in discussions during the learning process. Therefore, it is hoped that masters will be able to create a democratic learning environment for students. Educational democracy is realized in democratic school learning, namely by involving all parties such as teachers, students and other parties involved in education (Zahrawati B, 2018).

Ancient methods & modern memes: using Socratic circles and TikTok within classes to democratise your teaching

Democratic education remains a contentious and much strived for goal within teaching practice. What is most often lacking are the precise tools and techniques that might be combined to make this democratic goal a reality within schools. Considerations of democratic approaches to education within the literature are frequently theoretical, but practically quite limited. Moving from a highly theoretical space to a practical approach ready to be applied within a modern classroom, this paper will explore a confluence of teaching approaches that might make democratic education possible. The techniques, tools and platforms provided for consideration by teachers and lecturers here are grouped around three core themes: accessibility; relevance and efficiency to generate and allow a space that is democratic in nature. The tools for accessibility are: Instructional Video; Assistive technologies; and Generative Artificial Intelligence. Whilst for relevance: YouTube and TikTok are explored. In regards to efficiency: Flipped Learning, Retrieval practice and Method of Loci are discussed. And when honing in on the democratic nature of classroom spaces Socratic circles and a broadly Socratic approach are key. By combining these techniques this paper will propose a highly practical, modern method for producing a democratic classroom, with notes on how teachers might be able to carve out space and thinking to defend their choices and the logic behind combining these techniques to address modern students' needs and requirements.

Analysis of Human Rights, Democracy and Anti-Corruption Values in Islamic Religious Education

Analysis of Human Rights, Democracy and Anti-Corruption Values in Islamic Religious Education

Shaping citizens: teachers enacting democratic education in the history classroom

AbstractThe work of history teachers in schools is contentious and often heavily scrutinised, characterised by conflicts between professional and ideological perspectives on the purpose of the work they do (Macintyre & Clark, 2003). History curricula in Australia have been the subject of regular, ongoing political intervention, in particular about the role of history education in constructing and maintaining narratives of Australian democracy and citizenship. Against this landscape, this paper explores how history teachers from New South Wales, Australia conceive of the contemporary role of history curriculum in the development of students’ understanding of civics and democracy, and their navigation of the tensions between the written curriculum and the contexts in which they teach. Using both observational and interview data, this paper explores teachers’ perceptions of the gap between curriculum “as intention and as reality” (Stenhouse, 1975, p. 2) illuminating the experiences of teachers who interact with and implement the curriculum in their daily work, and highlighting the role that school context plays in determining how civics and citizenship education is enacted in practice. Contrast is offered between the teachers of history in the context of a privileged, urban school community, to that of an Aboriginal teacher working in a regional context - with an exploration of the impact of these contexts in framing the possibilities for democratic and civic engagement in the history classroom. Using the theoretical framework of practice architectures (Kemmis & Grootenboer, 2008), I explore the role of curriculum as both an enabling and constraining force in the way teachers work to develop student understandings of democracy and civic identity and the complex relationship that emerges from teachers’ interaction with curriculum documents and their decision-making in relation to their students and communities.

Preparing teachers for critical global and democratic practice: shifting inquiries into the teaching of democracy and global citizenship in teacher education

AbstractThere is an ongoing and increasingly pressing need to prepare teachers and students for a still globalising world. Such work requires that we contemplate how we are preparing learners to think globally and embody critical practices of citizenship. Much work has been done in this space yet there is little work that focuses on teacher educators and their respective views of global citizenship education, the primary paradigm through which the global context and civic action converge. Recognising the important role that teachers play in this educational process and the evolving nature of the notions of citizenship and democracy, this project focuses on Initial Teacher Education (ITE) to understand how teacher educators envisage their roles in preparing pre-service teachers (PSTs) to teach about democracy in schools. To learn how teacher educators understand global citizenship education as part of their research and teaching, we undertook a small case study wherein we interviewed teacher educators to solicit their views of global citizenship education. Through a presentation of the voices of teacher educators, we argue that there is a pressing need for those working in global citizenship education to consider how to better support teacher educators to navigate what we argue are two consistent themes: (a) a complex and unclear conceptual terrain that teacher educators find themselves navigating and; (b) an ever increasing set of regulatory and institutional hurdles that make enacting critical global citizenship challenging.

Radical imagination and reimagining the space of curriculum for democracy

School-level education in Australia, and in other parts of the world, is currently directed by forces of conformity and compliance. These forces are typically characterised by doctrines of standards and standardisation, and metrics of accountability and performance. Yet, education in Australia is simultaneously underwritten by values of democracy, equity and justice. The tension between conformity and compliance, and education for democracy produces an ethical and practical struggle for teachers. Recent research tells us that education driven by conformity and compliance de-democratises the experience of schooling for both teachers and young people, while also undermining efforts to cultivate democracy across generations. Drawing on Lefebvre, this paper offers a spatial account of curriculum that opens new spaces of possibility and imagination for doing curriculum work beyond compliance. Curriculum in this paper is theorised across a triad of conceived, perceived, and lived space. This theorisation offers a way to describe how the administrative and regulatory spaces of official curriculum and policy cut across and entangle with the everyday and lived curriculum spaces of teachers and young people. The situated intersections of these spaces shape the way curriculum is enacted and experienced in local settings. I bring bell hooks’ pedagogy of imagination into conversation with this theorisation to propose how the perceived and lived spaces of curriculum might be reimagined as radical spaces of possibility that enable an education that is at its heart democratic, and that works for democracy and social justice.

Insufficient and inadequate democracy? Exploring coloniality and possibilities for the teaching of slavery in Europe

In the context of calls to decolonise education in European contexts, this paper draws on coloniality-based critiques of Eurocentric modernity to take up the links between democracy, slavery, and colonialism in education. Starting from the position that modernity requires epistemological support to sustain racism and white supremacy in European democracies, we read coloniality-based critiques of democracy with empirical literature about the teaching of slavery. We consider possibilities for revised critical engagements with democracy and with the history of European colonialism and slavery. The paper builds on and contributes to recent decolonial critiques of democracy in education by explicitly engaging a tension raised around the possibility of disentangling democracy from its colonial roots.

The educator’s role in democratic and multicultural societies: student perceptions at a teacher training college in Israel

PurposeEducators are recognized as key agents of social change, responsible for shaping future citizens. Beyond imparting knowledge, teachers are crucial in addressing societal challenges such as sustainability, democracy and social equality. This study aims to investigate the attitudes of Jewish and Arab students toward democratic values and how they perceive their role as educators in a multicultural society.Design/methodology/approachThis study explores the attitudes of majority and minority group students in an Israeli teacher training college towards realizing democratic values and promoting shared citizenship. The sample included 382 Jewish and Arab students, who answered a questionnaire about attitudes regarding education for democracy and shared society, and their perception of their role in promoting this education.FindingsThe investigation delves into students’ civic perceptions, shedding light on the moderate and pluralistic stances held by both Jewish and Arab students. They advocate for cross-cultural exposure and interaction, with Jewish students demonstrating slightly more moderate views than the prevailing norms in Israeli society. Interestingly, Jewish students exhibited a willingness to engage in discussions on conflictual topics, whereas Arab students tended to avoid them.Social implicationsThis study underscores the potential of teacher training colleges in shaping the upcoming generation of educators as advocates of tolerance, and democracy, and promoters of a shared society.Originality/valueThis research gains heightened relevance in a contemporary landscape where numerous nations, especially those comprising diverse cultures, grapple with surges of nationalism that threaten democratic values. Teacher training colleges hold the key to forging a more harmonious future by becoming beacons of transformative pedagogy. These institutions can shape a new generation of educators who are poised to catalyze authentic social change.

Towards a democratic curriculum: the narrative paradigm to achieve a state of viscosity

The article proposes that the goal of education should be to promote democracy in education, which can be achieved through a viscous curriculum based on narrative learning to enhance communication and inclusivity. The discussion considers different teaching and learning paradigms, including instruction, learning, and communication, to explore the conceptual relationship between curriculum, teaching, and learning. The viscosity of the curriculum ensures resistance to fluidity while allowing for some movement, also considering the dialogical relationship between its critical internal elements — knowledge, pedagogy, and assessment. It is not a prescriptive or liquid framework, but a collaborative and cooperative construction that emphasises the paradigm of communication (Trindade & Cosme, 2010) and the narrative learning approach (Goodson, 2013). These elements enable contextual adaptation and resistance to support a more democratic education. To design a curriculum that goes beyond a prescription, it is essential to recognize that learning involves cultural heritage, guided by school curricula, which must be shared, used, and recreated. Schools and educators must focus on knowledge acquisition and knowledge sharing as part of the common heritage of humanity, which is, therefore, based on the collective creation of new knowledge and new worlds (UNESCO, 2021). Such knowledge is communicated through the affirmation of the personal and social worlds of students. The challenge is to rethink the social mission of the school by collectively committing to culturally significant and humanly empowering learning. This can lead to the co-creation of a more just, humanitarian, and democratic society, especially in times of great uncertainty intensified by war.