Showing papers on "Democratic education published in 2022"

Reflections on contemporary challenges and possibilities for democracy and education

Abstract: ABSTRACT This paper is one of two which bring together leading educational researchers to consider some of the key challenges facing democracy and education during the twenty-first century, including rising social and economic inequality, political instability, and the existential threats of global pandemics and climate change. In this paper, key educational scholar–activists respond to the challenges and possibilities for democracy and education, with consideration of the importance of reimagining education as being for democracy. The questions asked in this paper have particular salience for educational leaders, who must be at the centre of any commitment to democratic education.

Democratic Pluralistic Global Citizenship Education

Abstract: This chapter advances a proposal for a democratic pluralistic Global Citizenship Education (GCE). Democratic pluralistic GCE could offer educators, students, and policymakers new knowledge, values and different future visions that do not adhere to straightforward narratives of service delivery and neoliberalism but still are critically engaged with these narratives. The democratic-pluralistic GCE we describe herewith is based on a value-pluralist paradigm. Value pluralism refers to the existence of many types of values and knowledge that are equally vital for student development yet compete within their shared contexts. The democratic-pluralistic paradigm for GCE envisions a strong kind of value-pluralism that advances from congruence as a potential to the many forms of critical networks and diversified GCE democratic systems that interact with one another.

Huxleyan utopia or Huxleyan dystopia? “Scientific humanism”, Faure’s legacy and the ascendancy of neuroliberalism in education

Abstract: In addition to the longstanding threat posed by narrow economism, faith in the possibility of peace and progress through democratic politics - central to the humanistic vision of the 1972 Faure report - today faces additional challenges. These challenges include the ascendancy of neurocentrism in the global policyscape. Whereas the effects of neoliberalism on education have been extensively critiqued, the implications of a newer, related ideological framework known as neuroliberalism remain under-theorised. Neuroliberalism combines neoliberal ideas concerning the role of markets in addressing social problems with beliefs about human nature ostensibly grounded in the behavioural, psychological and neurological sciences. This article critically examines a recent initiative of one of UNESCO's Category 1 Institutes - the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) - that seeks to mainstream neuroscience and digital technology within global educational policy. Comparing the visions of the 1972 Faure, the 1996 Delors and the 2021 Futures of Education reports with MGIEP's International Science and Evidence Based Education Assessment (ISEEA), the authors analyse continuity and change in UNESCO's attempts to articulate a vision of "scientific humanism" which advocates the use of science for the betterment of humanity. They argue that ISEEA's overall recommendations - as represented in its Summary for Decision Makers (SDM) - reinforce a reductive, depoliticised vision of education which threatens to exacerbate educational inequality while enhancing the profits and power of Big Tech. These recommendations exemplify a neuroliberal turn in global education policy discourse, marking a stark departure from the central focus on ethics and democratic politics characteristic of UNESCO's landmark education reports. Reanimating, in cruder form, visions of a scientifically-organised utopia of the kind that attracted UNESCO's inaugural Director-General, Julian Huxley, ISEEA's recommendations actually point towards the sort of dystopian "brave new world" of which his brother, Aldous Huxley, warned.Utopie huxleyenne ou dystopie huxleyenne? « L’humanisme scientifique », l’héritage de Faure et la montée du néolibéralisme dans l’éducation – Outre faire face à la menace que pose depuis longtemps l’économisme étroit, la foi dans la possibilité que la politique démocratique peut produire paix et progrès – un pilier de la vision humaniste du rapport Faure paru en 1972 – se heurte aujourd’hui à d’autres défis, entre autres à la montée du neurocentrisme dans le champ politique mondial. Tandis que les effets du néolibéralisme sur l’éducation ont été abondamment critiqués, peu d’hypothèses ont été formulées au sujet de ce qu’implique une notion plus récente, mais liée à lui sur le plan idéologique et connue sous le nom de neurolibéralisme. Le neurolibéralisme associe des idées néolibérales sur le rôle des marchés pour résoudre des problèmes sociaux avec la conviction que la nature humaine est prétendument ancrée dans les sciences comportementales, psychologiques et neurologiques. Cet article porte un regard critique sur une initiative récente d’un des instituts de catégorie 1 de l’UNESCO, l’Institut Mahatma Gandhi d'éducation pour la paix et le développement durable (MGIEP), qui cherche à intégrer les neurosciences et la technologie du numérique dans la politique mondiale de l’éducation. Les auteurs comparent les visions des rapports Faure en 1972 et Delors en 1996 et du rapport de 2021 sur les futurs de l’éducation avec l’évaluation internationale de l’éducation basée sur la science et des éléments concrets (ISEEA) réalisée par le MGIEP, pour analyser la continuité et les changements dans les tentatives de l’UNESCO d’articuler une vision de « l’humanisme scientifique » prônant d’utiliser la science pour améliorer l’humanité. Ils avancent que les recommandations principales de l’ISEEA, telles que l’évaluation les présente dans son récapitulatif à l’intention des décideurs, renforce une vision réductrice et dépolitisée de l’éducation, qui menace d’exacerber les inégalités en matière d’éducation tout en accroissant les profits et la puissance des big tech. Ces recommandations illustrent un tournant neurolibéral dans le discours mondial sur la politique de l’éducation, qui se démarque absolument de l’intérêt central pour l’éthique et la politique démocratique, caractéristiques des rapports historiques de l’UNESCO sur l’éducation. Ravivant, sous une forme plus rudimentaire, des visions d’une utopie structurée scientifiquement du type de celles qui attiraient le premier directeur général de l’UNESCO, Julian Huxley, les recommandations de l’ISEEA laissent en réalité entrevoir la sorte de « meilleur des mondes » dystopique contre laquelle son frère, Aldous Huxley, mettait en garde.

Educação para a democracia no contexto neoliberal: desafios para superar a subjetividade concorrencial

Abstract: This bibliographic paper aims to probe the challenges for the formation of democratic subjects in a context of hegemony of neoliberal thought, which press in the construction of competitive subjectivities. The neoliberalism is understood, here, beyond the classically considered assumptions of economic policy that defend a minimum state in the economy and in socio-educational policies. The contributions of Dardot and Laval (2016) broaden the horizons of this understanding and problematize how the neoliberal assumptions enter subjectivities and produce new ways of life. Concepts such as neosubject, self-entrepreneur, competition, among others, translate these new assumptions. Seeking to translate this intention, the paper begins with a general problematization of the theme; reconstructs the main arguments of Dardot and Laval about the “new reason of the world”, in dialogue with authors like Sennett and Antunes; subsequently, it deepens some assumptions of school education, aiming at the formation of democratic subjects, especially with the contribution of Biesta. In conclusion, reaffirms the thesis that only a democratic education is able to qualify the assumptions of sociability in view of a common life.

Tafsir atas buku “Democracy and Education” karya John Dewey oleh pendukung demokrasi

Abstract: John Dewey’s book, Democracy and Education, published in 1916, was considered a millstone of democratic education. This article was aimed at tracing and identifying variants of interpretations among Deweyan. This article is a literature review. There are at least eight perceptions relating to Dewey’s writing on Democratic education. There are elitist, liberal, neoliberal, deliberative, multiculturalist, participative, critical, and agonistic. Each of them has a different conception, implication, suggestion, and criticism as well as debate relating to Dewey’s writing. In this article, however, just elaborates on two of them, namely liberalist and neoliberalist. Teaching Democracy has the benefit of that multi-interpretations. It is suggested that the teacher select and modify various suggestions offered by scholars of democratic education in accordance with circumstances or contextual factors in teaching democracy.

Can Teacher Education Save Democracy?

Abstract: Background/Context: Social scientists, policymakers, and commentators have long assumed that Western democracies enjoy relative stability because of deep commitments to a culture of democratic governance. But those commitments are quickly fading in almost every developed and developing democracy around the globe. In the same period in which support for democracy has declined, schools and teacher education programs have been pressured by “accountability” measures and economic austerity to focus on math and literacy achievement to the exclusion of nearly every other educational goal. These challenges to social cohesion and democratic governance highlight the need for young people to be exposed early on and throughout their educational pathways to the knowledge, skills, and dispositions consistent with democratic life. The narrowing of curricular goals, therefore, is a threat to the stability of democratic institutions. Purpose: This essay examines the potential of teacher education as a lever for change. How might teacher educators ensure that teachers are prepared to foster education that will sustain and strengthen democratic norms? If schools have an essential role to play in preparing students for informed engagement in civic and political life, how can we best prepare teachers to advance those goals? Research Design: This is an analytical essay drawing on recent empirical research on declining support for democratic values and on teachers’ civic engagement as well as conceptual work on democratic education goals. To illustrate the potential for teacher education to prepare teachers to engage students in political issues discussions, I draw on data from the first large-scale empirical study of what U.S. high school teachers currently do to prepare youth to understand economic inequality and its causes, effects, and possible remedies. The study included a teacher survey and follow-up interviews concerning teachers’ political ideology and civic and political engagement as well as classroom practice. The 2,750 teachers who participated in the survey are representative of U.S. public schools (and an additional segment of U.S. elite independent schools) in terms of student demographics and geographic location. We also conducted 150 follow-up interviews. Conclusions/Recommendations: I suggest that teacher education must move from reactive technocratic concerns for accountability and standardization to broader civic and civil commitments to the foundations of democratic community, pluralism, and relationship. Teacher education programs should consider ways to encourage new and experienced teachers to follow the news, engage in civil discourse with one another about topics of public concern, and participate in civic and political life. Moreover, teacher educators could work toward teaching the knowledge, skills, and dispositions associated with political and civic engagement.

A democratic school: Teacher reconciliation, child‐centred dialogue and emergent democracy

Abstract: Abstract This article is an exploration of a democratic school where the author spent several years researching and engaging with teachers and students while investigating the practice of Philosophy for/with Children (P4C) within Irish Educate Together schools. I offer an account of how teachers in these contexts seek to reconcile and harmonise their P4C practice with their own educational and democratic outlooks. These perspectives were uncovered through a ‘lived enquiry’ study involving deep immersion in the day-to-day life of a school as a researcher and P4C practitioner. Teachers seeking to reconcile their practice with their views in this context resulted in the children in their classrooms learning through democratic processes, where democracy is not merely prescribed, but instead becomes a way of life. By drawing upon excerpts of teacher interview data from my doctoral studies, I suggest that there is a ‘rough ground’ of practice where diverse and unique perspectives can be revealed when lived, deeply immersive and sensitive approaches are taken towards practitioners and their communities. The intertwining of Educate Together and P4C philosophies of education is explored, with particular emphasis on the notion of child-centredness, dialogue and philosophical enquiry with children. Expanding on the democratic educational ideas of Biesta and Fielding, I argue that there is a deeply contextual and philosophically compelling connection between teachers engaging in P4C, the atmosphere or environment in which dialogue with children can occur and a different understanding of democracy through education that may result.

Lived Democracy in Education: Young Citizens’ Democratic Lives in Kindergarten, School and Higher Education

Abstract: "Lived Democracy in Education: Young Citizens’ Democratic Lives in Kindergarten, School and Higher Education." Children's Geographies, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), pp. 1–2

Social Studies for Democracy: Cultivating Communities of Inquiry for Filipino Students as Deliberative Citizens

Abstract: This paper provides an overview of the problematic state of Philippine democracy that has long been attributed to the nation’s history of colonial rule, widespread poverty and inequality, oligarchic structures, and dysfunctional institutions. It focuses on the role of education and Social Studies Education, specifically, in cultivating in Filipino citizens skills and attitudes necessary for active participation in deliberative democracy. Drawing from Dewey’s philosophy of progressivist and democratic education, Peirce’s notion of community of inquiry, as well as Lipman’s Philosophy for/with Children, it sketches how Social Studies situated in classroom communities of inquiry will help develop communitarian dispositions and inquiry skills that are indispensable in a healthy and vibrant democracy. While it is recognized that there are numerous other pedagogies that aim at similar purposes, it is argued that the community of inquiry enables a unique and robust learning process that allows students to think reflectively, explore various contexts and experiences, question their assumptions, identify their prejudices, and make their own conclusions through deliberative, intersubjective dialogue.

The Relationship Between Democracy and Nationalism in the Process of Establishing an Educational Ideology after Liberation

Abstract: Several objections were raised during the National Assembly discussion before the ‘humanitarianism’ was adopted as the Korean educational ideology. There were concerns that it could limit the values of democracy and liberalism and become a fascist logic, but there was generally a consensus that the universal (Western) value of ‘democracy’ should be transformed (ethnic) according to our situation. Therefore, the ‘democratic national education theory’ could be proposed by Ahn Ho-sang, the first Minister of Education. Ahn Ho-sang argued that he avoided both the exclusivity of nationalism and the visa nature of democracy and combined it into “democratic national education.” However, it was fascistic in that it filled the empty space with the people and the state by denying most of the existing political ideologies.BR Through the presentations of the Democratic National Education Research Conference held in March 1949 and a book called Democratic National Education Theory, we could get a glimpse of how education officials and field teachers accepted Ahn Ho-sang’s Democratic National Education Theory. Education officials basically recognized democracy and nationalism as conflicting and contradictory concepts, but took a passive attitude to suture the two concepts. Like Sa Gong-Hwan, director of the Higher Education Bureau, there were cases where “democratic national education” was justified by weaving nationalist historical perceptions such as Shin Chae-ho, Ahn Ho-sang, Ahn Jae-hong, and Son Jin-tae. There was also a contradiction that the social life and contents newly established to introduce American-style democracy of the time fell into “organic nationalism.”BR Field teachers also often sympathized with the (guardian) theory that individualistic education and class education should be denied, and that individuals should sacrifice for the people, citing the succession of the Hwarangdo spirit and the Samil independence movement spirit. Some people asked what was essentially the core of “democratic education” and diagnosed that excessive “national education” was being advocated as a reaction to the U.S. military government education policy, but only a few. Education expert Oh Chun-seok also consistently opposed the ‘democratic national education theory’. He criticized that the theory of nationalism education was actually based on a fascist worldview. As a result, however, it did not go further from the level of awareness that seeks the possibility of harmony between democracy and nationalism and concerns about the exclusivity of nationalism.

Analysis of emancipatory pedagogy as a tool for democratic classrooms

Abstract: Sometimes, teachers or instructors find it challenging to understand or achieve a democratic education without compromising the quality pedagogical process. Hence, this study is conceptualised around the principles of emancipatory pedagogy as a tool to ensure effective classrooms democracy across levels of classrooms. This study answers the following question: how can emancipatory pedagogy be presented as an effective tool to implement a democratic classroom? This study locates its argument within a transformative worldview and adopts a conceptual analysis to interpret emancipatory pedagogy as a conceptual framework for the study. Emancipatory pedagogy, its assumptions, and how they informed democratic classrooms were argued with the conclusion that emancipatory pedagogy is a dimension of effective and democratic classrooms because both concepts promote critical thinking and social justice among students, develop a personal connection with learning and create an atmosphere for freedom of knowledge construction among students. The study recommends that teachers or instructors interested in implementing democratic education/classrooms adopt the assumptions of emancipatory pedagogy by tailoring their classrooms towards promoting critical thinking skills, development of personal connection with learning, and freedom to enable students to construct knowledge of their own.

Education and the Reconstruction of a Democratic Society

Abstract: Education and the reconstruction of a democratic society are two themes about which Dewey was especially concerned throughout his life. On the one hand, Dewey regarded education as growth, emphasizing that the end of education is nothing but itself. Dewey received a barrage of criticism for this, as some people saw it as a theory advocating the aimlessness of education. On the other hand, the growth in Dewey’s theory is more than the growth of the individual: it also involves thinking from a social perspective, and thus is democracy-oriented growth. However, Robert B. Westbrook and Aaron Schutz point out that Dewey’s method of starting with local communities to develop a Great Community has its problems, and his proposal to transform society through schools also faces enormous difficulties. This chapter firstly clarifies Dewey’s concept of growth. Then, it discusses the relationships among growth, education, and democracy in Dewey’s thoughts. Finally, it analyzes the problems that existed during the development of a democratic society and argues for Dewey’s ideal of a Great Community, which has been questioned.

Navigating disagreement in democratic education: The potential of the Community of Philosophical Inquiry

Abstract: <p><b>Democracy is premised on disagreement, yet polarisation, passion and populism are everywhere on the rise. In this troubled political context, democratic educators face the daunting challenge of educating young people to navigate disagreement. The theory that provides the framework for this thesis—agonism—understands political disagreement as ineradicable, inherently passionate and enmeshed in relations of power, and it offers an innovative approach to democratic education with the potential to reduce polarisation and promote political renewal. However, the agonistic approach lacks clear pedagogical methods and empirical research investigating how young people engage with, and experience, agonistic democratic education. This thesis seeks to address these gaps by developing a novel educational framework and by offering the Community of Philosophical Inquiry (CPI)—the dialogical method at the heart of the Philosophy for Children (P4C) programme—as a promising pedagogy to advance the objectives of agonistic democratic education. Yet the CPI faces two sets of challenges: the dangers of mentalisation, harmony and apoliticism jeopardise its agonistic potential, while the dangers of distress and antagonism cast doubt on the suitability of the CPI and existing agonistic pedagogies for young people living in a volatile political context. </b></p> <p>To explore the CPI’s agonistic potential, a qualitative case-study was conducted with 76 young people (aged 8-17) involved in CPI dialogues in formal and informal educational settings, in Canada and New Zealand. This exploratory study combined interviews, video observation and body mapping to investigate how participants navigated disagreements and addressed political issues in CPI dialogues, and how they emotionally experienced these exchanges. In most cases, participants managed to sustain disagreement, in part by toggling between amicable and heated disagreement dynamics through moves that defused or stoked the emotional atmosphere of the dialogue. However, the amicable and heated dynamics each had an associated drift—the avoidant and the antagonistic drifts—which threatened to derail disagreement. In CPI dialogues, young people examined the abstract and concrete aspects of multiple political issues, envisioned society as it ought to be and reported feeling powerful political emotions. Yet the primarily philosophical way in which they approached political issues did not emphasise relations of power or political action. Lastly, while most participants enjoyed CPI dialogues, a few had strong negative experiences. Overall, these findings suggest that the CPI can only partially advance the objectives of agonistic democratic education, revealing the need to historicise, politicise and supplement the CPI with other pedagogies to empower young people to navigate disagreement and take political action. This study also underscores the importance of careful facilitation to support inclusive and productive dialogues, particularly when discussing complex political issues. Finally, it highlights the pedagogical and theoretical importance of recognising the entanglement of the emotional, epistemic and social aspects of dialogue.</p>

Democratic Culture Development: Educational Factors’ Impact on Fairness Experience from High School Seniors’ Perspectives

Abstract: The development of a democratic political culture is one of the challenging areas in countries under democratization. The political culture of a country is nourished by the values its society shares, which are sourced from different mainsprings. Considering that fairness is one of the core values upon which democracy is founded, the way the young generation perceives and experiences this value is significant. Keeping in mind that inequalities of the society are also reflected in schools, the question if education is a sphere that mirrors fairness raises naturally. In this paper, we explore the relationship between fairness experience and education-related variables. We also investigate the total variance of fairness experience as explained by educational variables altogether and by each of them individually. The study uses a quantitative methods design and collects data through a questionnaire developed by the researchers delivered online to senior high school students from the four main educational directorates in Albania. The analysis of the data yielded a significant positive correlation between educational variables and fairness experience. It also revealed that educational variables altogether and separately can be predictors of fairness experience. Received: 19 November 2021 / Accepted: 1 February 2022 / Published: 5 March 2022

Democratic Self-Cultivation

Abstract: In this paper I draw on the concept of Confucian self-cultivation to strengthen John Dewey’s democratic education project. For Dewey, democracy is primarily a form of associated living, marked by the broad sharing of interests and rich communication among social groups. In appealing to Confucian philosophy to bolster Dewey’s educational project, I adopt the framework of global Intercultural philosophy, placing philosophical approaches from different cultural traditions together to augment intellectual resources and advance philosophical understanding. This approach initially dictates a comparative method: “setting into dialogue sources from across cultural, linguistic, and philosophical streams” (). I draw particularly upon the Analects of Confucius, the collected works of John Dewey, and standard interpretive works. But I go beyond mere comparison, to argue for an enriched form of democratic education, bolstered by Confucian insights, and suitable for contemporary Western democracies.

Program Redesign Toward Democratic Teacher Education

Abstract: Background: We build on participatory and critical understandings of democracy to analyze a two-and-a-half-year collaborative redesign of our teacher education program. Purpose: To theorize and design for the seemingly everyday, ordinary, and unremarkable work it takes for teacher education programs to embody democratic principles and practices—an effort that is simultaneously outward and inward looking. Research Design: Self-study. Findings/Results: We outline three organizing principles for teacher education redesign: (1) collectively name the societal purpose(s) that will guide our work as teachers and teacher educators; (2) develop a programmatic lens that allows us to see our individual contributions to a program as they relate to the holistic preparation of novice teachers; and (3) deliberately co-construct and sustain open participatory spaces so that various constituents of a program of teacher education learn to practice and enact the first two principles. Conclusion: Our analysis contributes to a theory and practice of democratic teacher education that is grounded in the everydayness of programs and has the interpretive power to understand and help transform the obstacles, structures, and relationships that hinder justice-oriented, reflexive, deliberative, participatory, educative democratic practice in teacher education.

Professional Learning Communities and Democratic Ideals: The Influence of John Dewey

Abstract: This paper conceptualizes as well as theorizes how Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) demonstrate democratic principles using John Dewey’s philosophy of education and democracy. The study reviewed the meaning of democracy and its characteristics and highlighted PLCs as social spaces for building democracy in schools. Also, the study explored whether a relationship existed between PLCs and democracy as ideally conceived. The reason behind this exploration was to ascertain whether the environment created in schools and the activities of teachers in their PLC groups serve as core components of establishing PLCs. The study revealed that the formation and implementation of PLCs truly illuminate democratic principles because all teachers take an active part in discussions and deliberations in matters affecting them; members remain committed to the course of the group and the school system because they feel as part; respect and tolerate the views of others, especially minority views and; take part in the decision-making process of the group. The nurturing of these ideals develops informed democratic citizens who would be capable of influencing local, state, and national level decisions and policies. These principles could also be passed on to their students.

Invitational Education as a Logical, Ethical and Democratic Means to Reform

Abstract: A pervasive feeling exists that whatever is being attempted in education is not working and needs to be changed in dramatic fashion. Educational reform has become faddish and conflicting in the explanations of what is needed. Many reforms ignore that people are involved and concentrate solely on the systems in which people work. Invitational Education seeks to assist individuals and their relationships with others. It is rooted in the foundations of democratic philosophy and it is imperative that those tenets are directly applied in any educational reform initiative.

Interrogating Democracy, Education, and Modern White Supremacy: A (Re)Constitution Toward Racially Just Democratic Teacher Education

Abstract: Background/Context: Almost 100 years ago, John Dewey advocated for a democratic U.S. educational system, one that echoed the tenets of the U.S. Constitution and achieved an ethical ideal by inviting participation of all students. Yet the U.S. educational system continues to stop short of this goal insofar as students of Color—especially those in urban school districts—disproportionately face obstacles not so encountered by white students. Purpose/Focus of Study: If democracy in the United States is characterized by freedom, equality, and liberty, the inherent question is whether these rights are enjoyed in equivalent degrees among all citizens against the context of white nationalist marches, police brutality, racially targeted mass shootings, and racial bias in education and society. Setting: Despite historical strides in civil rights, today’s United States has become increasingly racialized and—some would argue—indicative of a neo-fascist climate wherein whiteness and white supremacy prevail. Subjects: How does this racial tension manifest in teacher education, a field in which racialized whiteness is already so “overwhelming” and most teacher candidates are white? What is the current state of “democratic” education in the United States given the historical bias against students of Color? Can schools, educators, and advocates achieve Dewey’s democratic ideal? Research Design: Using critical race theory and critical studies of whiteness, we theoretically explore a new “constitution” for the state of education, specifically teacher education, in today’s climate to posit whether democratic education can truly exist in the midst of systemic racism. Conclusion/Recommendations: We consider examples from within both teacher education and U.S. society writ large to show associations among attitudes, dispositions, and ideologies as aligned with racialized whiteness and then offer more just recommendations for educators attempting to resist racism in order to create a more democratic educational space.

Reconceptualisation of Democratic Citizenship Education Against Social Inequalities and Electoral Violence in Zimbabwe

Abstract: This article analyses the implications of a reconceptualised democratic citizenship education on universities in Africa with special emphasis on Zimbabwe. This is a qualitative research where data has been gathered through interviews and observation. Democratic citizenship education theory is used as a theory speaking to the argument. The arguments proffered in the research are that the concepts of DCE, education, and democracy that are rooted in liberal ideas of education have the potential to develop critical thinking necessary for political participation, justice, and political tolerance. The findings are that an African university education can teach students to become human with others, meaning students are taught to respect and value human dignity as dictated by Ubuntu.

Nussbaum’s Theory of Democratic Civic Education in the Context of Bibliotherapy

Abstract: 본 연구는 저명한 정치철학자 마사 누스바움의 시민교육론을 독서치료 이론의 맥락에서 검토한다. 누스바움은 문학 작품을 통한 공감이 이성적 판단을 더욱 완전하게 하여 더 나은 의사결정자를 만든다고 주장한다. 문학은 참여와 공감을 통해 사람들의 감정적 변화와 판단력 제고를 가져옴으로써 사회를 개선한다는 것이다. 독서를 통해 사람들이 바람직한 세계관을 갖도록 한다는 점에서 그녀의 견해는 발달적 독서치료 이론과 통한다. 그녀는 문학의 중요성을 강조하면서도 그 악영향을 방지하기 위해 ‘분별력 있는 관찰자’라는 개념을 도입하고, 성찰과 토론을 통해 문학의 악영향을 여과해 받아들여야 한다고 말한다. 독서치료 이론은 성찰과 토론을 통해 개인이 빠질 수 있는 오류를 막고 올바른 의미를 찾고자 하는 누스바움의 노력으로부터 교훈을 얻을 수 있다. 또한, 개인을 사회적, 역사적인 맥락 속에서 파악하려는 그녀의 노력은, 자신을 더 잘 이해하고 문제를 더 잘 극복할 수 있게 해 준다는 점에서 독서치료에 시사하는 점이 많다. 그런 점에서 누스바움의 이론은 발달적 독서치료의 중요한 일부라고 할 수 있다.

Attributes of democratic culture as represented in young children’s drawings

Abstract: Democratic culture refers to a set of values, attitudes, and practices shared by citizens and institutions, without which democracy cannot exist. Preschools and schools have a core role in teaching and transmitting democratic culture as they offer most children their early encounters with the public realm that provides social environments for democratic culture. The aim of this article is to increase knowledge on democratic education of young children and creative means to implement it. The core questions raised are: How do young children understand their classroom social environment and their own role in it? Which of the children’s understandings of their classroom social environment reflect attributes of democratic culture? The data include 125 children’s drawings and their linguistic explanations of them collected from schools that implemented the Cultural Literacy Learning Programme in Cyprus, Israel, Lithuania, Portugal, and the UK. The method used is data-driven content analysis, including qualitative categorizing of the data, quantification of its core features, and a reflexive interpretation of the contents of the drawings. The study reveals how children aged 5–6 are able to elaborate on the ideas, principles, and practices of democratic culture, including participation, collaboration, negotiation, dialogue, listening, and expressing one’s own opinions. The analysis of the data elicited five thematic categories of how children think about social life in their classroom, approach democratic culture, and understand their role in practising it in school. The categories were based on the children’s approach to rules; suggestions taking the action either alone or as a member of a group; and views of the purpose and beneficiary of this action. The analysis revealed how drawing with peers is a multimodal and dialogic process of learning democratic culture. Children engage in dialogic chains of thinking not only in verbal, but also in visual interaction. Since the ability to participate in a dialogue is seen as a core skill in democratic education, educators should better recognize visual dialogic chains of thinking as a way for students to familiarize themselves with and practise democratic culture.