Democratising Education

Author: Dr Edda Sant

In everyday conversations, democracy is usually understood as a system of representative government that has periodical and fair elections and where the majority decides. But as the philosopher John Dewey famously remarked, democracy is a “mode of associate living”.

In my work, I have identified several principles at the core of democratic living:¹

equality
liberty
inclusiveness
plurality
participation and
openness to change.

My question here is, how can education facilitate young people’s embrace of these democratic principles?

Research evidence that schools can engage young people as democratic citizens but, as things stand, education cannot fulfil its democratising potential. The problem is that in many democratic societies, education is not particularly democratic. To facilitate democracy via education, we first need to democratise:

1. Who ‘gets’ access to political education

Our research in England evidence that policies are vague and ambiguous, and the curricular focus is on literacy and numeracy.² As a result, schools tend to prioritise English, Maths, and Science, and many children and young people get very few opportunities to learn about democracy. Worryingly, secondary children from low-income households are less likely to access comparable levels of political education at school to their more affluent peers. We suspect other countries might suffer similar situations.

To facilitate democracy, we need more egalitarian access to political education for all.

2. How we organise education

Education is currently led by assessments and evaluations. Theoretically, in many countries, there has been a push toward schools having more freedom to decide what is better for their students, but practically, many schools are just struggling to respond to the expectations of evaluators.³ In this context, there is little space for discussion and participation in making decisions. Decisions are made top-down, and students often learn that there is a correct answer for everything, including democracy.

To facilitate democracy, we need more participatory forms of education.

3. How we teach/learn democracy

In schools where children and young people learn to practise democracy, one type of activity is prioritised over others: discussion and debate. Of course, it is crucial that students learn to converse with others with whom they disagree. But if teaching and learning are only focused on discussions, students who do not excel or are less interested in verbal exchanges are unlikely to participate. There is some evidence that female, LGTB, and black students are less likely to take part in deliberations.⁴ Meanwhile, there are many other forms of deliberation and democratic disagreement with others.⁵ For instance, practices such as drawing or drama might be a way to relate democratically, but these are rarely considered in schooled political education.

To facilitate democracy, we need more diverse and inclusive forms of political education.

4. How we understand education

Our research examining policy and teachers’ discourses in four different contexts (i.e. Catalonia, Colombia, England, and Pakistan) suggests that education is perceived as a way to free ourselves from conventions and stereotypes.⁶ Paradoxically, the same research evidence that how we conceive education is particularly rigid. We always think of education as a linear and productive activity where teachers and policymakers decide the expected ‘outcomes’ in advance. In this context, there is little possibility for wonder and for new generations to have a proper say in their future. Could teachers and students engage in democratic conversations without preconceived and rigid educational outcomes?

To facilitate democracy, we need a more open understanding of education.

If we do want education to facilitate democracy, we need fairer, egalitarian, participatory, diverse, inclusive, and open forms of education and political education. Education can make a difference to democratise our societies, but only if education itself is democratised.

References

1. Democratic Education: A Theoretical Review at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0034654319862493

2. Fail to plan, plan to fail. Are education policies in England helping teachers to deliver on the promise of democracy? at https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/berj.4001

3. NCLB and Its Wake: Bad News for Democracy at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304580932_meens_howe_NCLB_and_Its_Wake_Bad_News_for_Democracy

4. Less Arguing, More Listening: Improving Civility in Classrooms at https://kappanonline.org/crocco-less-arguing-listening-improving-civility-classrooms/

5. Democratic education in the fourth generation of deliberative democracy at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14778785211017102

6. Characterising citizenship education in terms of its emancipatory potential: reflections from Catalonia, Colombia, England, and Pakistan at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03057925.2022.2110840